Stop Birds from Flying into Your Window Glass

If you feed the birds near your windows or glass doors or even if you don't and the glass is near where they fly, you have probably had a bird dash against the glass. They often do not survive. I love watching the birds up close from my kitchen table but often I would have to go out and rescue a stunned little bird. I saw the perfect solution one day at our "everything for a dollar" store. Little metal butterfly stickers. I popped them onto my glass doors and no more knocked out birds! They make the glass visible to my little feathered friends.They have held up through lots of window washes and of course, since they are on the inside, rain is not an issue.

MY DIY SUET GUARD

If you have read my blog for a while you will know that I feed the birds and even grow meal worms in our art studio for the blue birds. For that how to click here but be sure to come back. This week I decided it would be fun to have some peanut butter suet near the window so we could see the woodpeckers and blue birds up close. I knew from past experience that they can be quite messy... slinging suet all over the window and figured the parts that they dropped on the deck would attract ants too. I wanted a tray to catch the crumbs. The first thing I tried was a bakery cake clear top from a birthday cake I purchased. It worked well until a Downy Woodpecker got in it and could not climb out! I turned him loose and went to plan B. Bill remembered the little salad containers we saved from Wendy's take home so I got the lid from one of those, heated an ice pick on my stove burner and melted a hole in each of the four corners. Next I tied jute twine into the holes and tied them all together at the top to make a way to suspend the little tray under the suet. It works great as you can see from the picture above.  here's a closer view:  Next week I'll tell you about the butterflies you see on my door glass.

Blue Bird Treat DIY Project

I feed all sorts of birds but the blue birds are one of my winter favorites. I've written several posts about growing meal worms for them. I started buying little peanut butter balls packaged as a bird treat. They are a little expensive, so I set out to make my own. The experiment was a success and the Blue Birds, Woodpeckers, Wrens, Titmice and others gobble them up the minute I put them out. Following is my recipe:

Mix together in a large bowl the following.
2 parts Plain (not self rising) yellow corn meal
1 part freeze dries meal worms (available at most Walmart stores, Tractor Supply or here http://www.exoticnutrition.com/driedmealworms.html
1 part chunky peanut butter
Mix well, pat into a suitable container, score into serving size chunks and place in the freezer to set. Break apart and store in the refrigerator.

Ingredients ready to mix

Mix to this consistency

Ready to freeze

Not only Blue Birds but all the birds in my yard love this treat. I also made a suet/treat feeder from a carry out meal container. It is pictured below. I used two old hanging basket wires to hang it from a shepherds hook on the deck where I can watch from my window. The Lucite feeder with the cover came from Wild Birds Unlimited and I've had it for years. It is designed especially for live worms. Read how I grow them here
 http://www.tipsforgardeningonline.com/2009/03/worms-in-basement-part-2.html


Here are some of the birds enjoying the peanut butter. The Turkeys aren't after the peanut butter but we love watching them scratch for bugs in the fallen leaves. We have seen as many as 7 in our front yard.

Homemade Suet Feeder 

Blue Bird

Woodpecker

Tufted Titmouse

Wild Turkeys