Making Bird Suet

Ever since a couple weeks ago when Bode and I visited the Cascades Raptor Center and I put up bird identification posters in his room, Bode has been noticing birds that he sees each day and commenting on them: "I just saw a robin", "That's a crow", and "the male ducks are the ones that look like UO football players" (he's talking about the mallard ducks with their iridescent green heads).
Before he was born, I used to have various bird feeders hanging outside my kitchen and bedroom windows — in the backyard — and I always took pleasure in seeing the birds come and feed. Since then, I moved elsewhere for a brief time, but eventually returned back here to the same house, sans the bird feeders. Such is the nature of moving, things somehow always get lost in the shuffle.
Bode's recent fascination provided me with the impetus to amp up the backyard again with feeders for our feathered friends. I never before had made suet and thought that now was the perfect time.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 cup Crisco shortening
• 2.5 cups cornmeal
• .5 cup millet
• 1 cup oats
• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• .5 cup raisins 

Over a low flame, we melted down the peanut butter and Crisco in a saucepan until they were completely liquid. Bode and I then added the rest of the ingredients incrementally, stirring each time until they were mixed in well. Other kinds of edible grains, seeds or berries can be substituted also (although be smart about it and make sure they are nontoxic to birds! See a list of 10 foods to avoid giving birds here).

After all the ingredients are incorporated, pour mixture into a mold that when ready will fit into a suet cage. I found that a square rubbermade container worked perfectly.

I ended up with more mixture than I intended. Fortunately,  I remembered that I had a collection of pinecones in storage. I found a large-sized one and I tied twine to the top, placed it in a bowl and then coated it with the mixture, using a rubber spatula. I pushed the mix as far down into the cone as I could. I then put the pine cone in the refrigerator to set, along with the suet mixture in the mold.

An hour later, they were solid. I popped the suet out of the mold and placed it in the cage, and hung it up, alongside the pinecone.

That was 3 days ago. Each day Bode has been anxiously checking hoping the birds have discovered them, but apparently they haven't at this point. I'm giving it a week — I think I am equally as anxious as my son. I miss the birds outside my window! I already have my sights set on a few birdfeeders (including hummingbird feeders) from our local feed store to add to the mix!
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A visit to the local raptor center

My son and I had a great day yesterday. We are fortunate to have a local Raptor Center in our town, and so yesterday I decided to pay it a visit.  It had been a long time since we had gone there.
A couple of years before Bode was born I volunteered there for about 4 hours a week for a year. It was a pretty incredible experience, which I remember with fondness. It is always so nice to be back there again in the presence of all those grand birds.

Bald Eagle

Kites

Spotted owl

We enjoyed walking around and stopping at each cage. I read the stories out loud about why the birds came to be at the center - many got hit by cars, a few had congenital defects and were abandoned when young, and some fell from their nests. We greeted them saying their names that we learned from the placard - Hermione, Tristan, Luna, Shenoa, etc.
After our walk we gathered in the pavilion to hear a talk about the center and the birds.

What we learned:

• Birds that live at the raptor center are there because they cannot survive in the wild due a birth defect or an injury.
• Raptors are different from other birds because they hunt, kill and eat small animals such as birds, mice, lizards, snakes, etc.
• Raptors are exceptional hunters because of their keen eyesight. If a raptor was at one end of a football field and someone was holding a newspaper at the other end of the field, a raptor would be able to see the individual letters printed on the newspaper. 
• Raptors eat their prey whole, bones and all. 
• They are different from other birds of prey because they catch their prey with their talons, while non-raptors that hunt and eat live animals kill their prey with their beaks.
• There are 7 different kinds of raptors: Eagles, hawks, owls, kites, ospreys, vultures, & falcons. Turkey vultures are kind of an anomaly to the group because they are not really birds of prey, and only feed on dead animals.
• The peregrine falcon is one of the fastest birds on Earth. When it is diving for prey it can reach speeds up to 243 mph. 
• Crows that are human imprints can mimic human voices. 
• Kites are loud. (This is the 1st answer that Bode said when asked what he learned today).

After our visit today I dug up these super cool posters that identify different birds and put them up on Bode's wall. I got them for a song at a yard sale a couple years ago (like a buck a piece). They were going for $20 at the center today. I love that!