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The Twelve Days of Christmas have come and gone. For those who had a cut tree for the holidays, it’s time to haul it to the curb. It seems like there should be something more that could be done with a tree that was once so lovely… Yes! You can make a peanut butter and suet feeder for your feathered friends!
One snowy January in my childhood, we had the bright idea of taking the Christmas tree out to the middle of the back yard after the holidays. We pounded it in next to the birdfeeder and hung seed and suet treats in its branches. The birds loved sheltering in it all winter, but next summer we did not love running over those sharp fallen needles with our bare feet -- ouch!
My father came up with a different use for our old Christmas tree that made both us and the birds happy. We have a bird feeder that he made for us 5 years ago. Every winter, we hang it from a shepherd’s hook at the edge of our patio. It’s very popular with the local songbirds, especially on cold and snowy winter days.
To make a feeder of your own, you’ll need the following:
- 1 used Christmas tree (scavenged if necessary) - saw for cutting trunk - pruners for trimming branches - drill with a half inch inch wood bit - a screw eye and a piece of rope for hanging - safety glasses for eye protection Cut a sixteen to twenty inch section of the trunk, near the base of the tree. Trim the branches, but leave 2 inch stubs that the birds can use as perches. Put a half inch wood bit into your drill. Drill ten to fifteen holes into the trunk, about ½ inch deep. A piece of masking or electrical tape placed ½ inch above the bottom of the drill bit will help you gauge the depth of your holes. Space the holes fairly evenly around the trunk, trying to put most of them within the reach of a bird sitting on one of the branch stub perches. It’s fine to have one or two holes with no perch, as nuthatches and woodpeckers will have no trouble reaching those. Birds will also perch on top of the feeder and reach down to the topmost holes.
Install the screw eye into the top end of the feeder. You may need to drill a small pilot hole and put just a drop of wood glue into the hole to help secure the screw eye. Tie a loop of rope through the screw eye, and your new feeder is ready to hang. We get big containers of cheap peanut butter at the local box store and use that to fill the feeder. The birds eat up the peanut butter so quickly that I fill and overfill the holes very generously in order to make it last more than half a day. The feeder attracts all sorts of local songbirds: Downy Woodpeckers, Nuthatches, Tufted Titmouses, Chickadees, Carolina Wrens, even Juncos! At times, it is as crowded as the carousel at the county fair, spinning on its rope as birds land and take off again from the perches. Occasionally, I’ll fill the feeder with a suet-like mixture instead of peanut butter. I use a recipe that is supposed to keep well even in warmer weather, although I generally let the birds concentrate on the bugs in my garden in the summer. I also press this mixture into blocks, storing them in my freezer to use in my little wire suet feeder. (See recipe below)
If you have no Christmas tree to recycle, take a look down the street on trash day. Odds are good that one of your neighbors will be throwing out a cut tree. You may get some strange looks as you saw a section or two from its trunk before the garbage truck arrives. But when your neighbors see the birds flock to your yard, they’ll see their tired old tree in a whole new light!
I’ve had this recipe in my file for years. Internet sources indicate it has been published in Wild Bird, but I’ve been unable to find a specific citation, other than its being definitely attributed to Martha Sargent of Trussville, Alabama. Thanks, Martha!
1 cup crunchy peanut butter 2 cups “quick cook” oats 2 cups cornmeal 1 cup lard (do not substitute vegetable shortening) 1 cup white flour 1/3 cup sugar
Melt the lard and peanut butter, and stir them together. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Pour the mixture into freezer containers or a brownie pan, about 1 ½ inches thick. When cool, cut into squares, wrap in wax paper or plastic, and store in the freezer. If I’m using this to fill my Christmas tree feeder, I'll add a bit more peanut butter to make a softer mixture.
Photos by Jill M. Nicolaus.
About Jill M. Nicolaus
Better known as "Critter" on DG, Jill gardens in Frederick, MD. This week, I've been cutting lavender, putting up pluots (plum-apricot fruits), and pulling weeds (always, LOL). I love being outside in the cooler morning -- coffee cup in one hand, watering hose in the other -- watching the birds and butterflies among the flowers.(Images in my articles are from my photos, unless otherwise credited.)
Posted by patfan41 (from Cameron, MO) on January 1, 2008 at 11:13 PM:
I love the idea of making a suet feeder from a discarded Christmas tree, guess I will have to go into town and scour the neighborhoods for discarded trees. I usually lash my tree to the trunk of a tall deciduous tree and use it for habitat and a feeder with cranberries etc. strung on it. That too provides me hours of joy and entertainment watching the squirrel and birds frolick in the branches. Thanks for the suet recipe, this country living is new for me and I love getting tips on providing for the critters.
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Subject: What an awesome idea!
Posted by Meligrub (from Milton, FL) on January 1, 2008 at 6:14 PM:
Cant wait to try it out!
Thanks for sharing.:)
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Subject: Thank you
Posted by randbponder (from Hornick, IA) on January 1, 2008 at 12:35 AM:
After reading the article I just had to try the recipe. We didn't have a tree. and I hadn't seen any laying around yet. However I improvised. on both the recipe and the feeder. We use a George Foreman grill for bacon. so I used the bacon grease that we usually burn with some of the trash.
Stayed fairly close with every thing else except peanut butter. I used some but it was the good stuff that we like too and the jar was nearly empty. Any way, mixed every thing together. I used an empty egg carton and suspended it from a tree limb. where we could watch it from the comfort of the house. It took about 3 days for any birds found it. It started with chickadees. then today we had a male cardinal visiting it. They can stand on the humps between the egg holes, and eat to their hearts content. It should do fine untill I can come up with a more permanent feeder.
So many thanks for posting your article.
Russ
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Posted by critterologist (from Frederick, MD) on January 1, 2008 at 11:06 AM:
Hey, whatever works! You should see some of the hummingbird feeders I've improvised, LOL.
I was a little hesitant about bacon grease because of the salt, etc, but I googled a little, and it comes up as an ingredient in a lot of bird food recipes, even on some "birding" sites.
Keep your eye out for a tree on the curb this week, though... It'll make a more attractive and sturdier feeder than the egg carton! :-)
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Subject: Great idea
Posted by rachierabbit (from Olympia, WA) on December 31, 2007 at 1:57 PM:
Critter- I love it! Plan on making one this afternoon. Happy New Year! Hugs, Rachel
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Posted by critterologist (from Frederick, MD) on December 31, 2007 at 5:22 PM:
Out with the old (tree)!
In with the new (birdfeeder)!
That sounds like a great activity to help usher in the New Year. :-)
Happy 2008!
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Posted by tabasco (from Cincinnati (Anderson, OH) on December 31, 2007 at 6:15 PM:
I'm so glad you decided to share this idea with everyone on DG! I think it's brilliant!
And so cute!
Love your photos and your writing and I look forward to more articles, critter!
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Posted by KyWoods (from Melbourne, KY) on January 1, 2008 at 12:15 AM:
How cool is that! Thanks for a great idea!
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Subject: the ultimate in recycling
Posted by Dutchlady1 (from Naples, FL) on December 27, 2007 at 6:57 AM:
what a fun idea! thanks for an informative article.
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Posted by doccat5 (from Fredericksburg, VA) on December 27, 2007 at 9:25 AM:
Loved your article, it's full of great ideas. I'm forwarding to both of my DILs who are trying to coax more song birds into their yards. Thanks so much!
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Posted by grampapa (from Wheatfield, NY) on December 27, 2007 at 9:55 AM:
Jill, another great article! I don't know about dragging home a discarded tree...that might be a little beyond my current capabilities LOL. But I love the recipe for the peanut butter suet and will definitely give that a try. I am also trying to attract more songbirds to my yard and birds are mighty scarce around here in the winter.
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Posted by adinamiti (from Bucuresti
(Romania)) on December 27, 2007 at 11:51 AM:
Jill, what a great idea, thanks! Such a sweet article!
Adina
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Posted by planolinda (from Plano, TX) on December 27, 2007 at 2:40 PM:
loved the article--so creative and pretty--my son is a fisher and told me that its good to discard christmas trees in ponds too --gives fish places to hide, lay eggs etc--i think he is talking about really big ponds-not back yard ones! saw a parking lot with lots of trees left over and it seemed sort of sad--to be cut down for nothing!
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Posted by Dea (from Frederick, MD) on December 27, 2007 at 3:53 PM:
The peanut butter suet recipe sounds great - thanks so much and the birdies thank you too :)
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Posted by critterologist (from Frederick, MD) on December 28, 2007 at 11:03 AM:
Thanks! My dad is tickled to think that some other folks will be making a feeder like his.
Toni mentioned the fish pond tip as well as a lot of other great tree recycling ideas in her article today!
I've also used Christmas tree boughs on top of my iris bed in the winter. They did a good job of keeping the rhizomes from heaving up out of the ground during freeze/thaw cycles, and I just made sure to remove them in early spring.
If you've got young kids, you can also make the PB suet by just mushing everything up by hand... it doesn't come out quite as smooth as melting it together in a pot, but it's safer to handle and fun/messy to make. I've had kids form it into patties or small balls with a loop of twine sandwiched in the center and poking out the top for hanging... then press birdseed all over the outer surfaces... and you've got a "bird cookie" to hang in a tree outside!
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Posted by sandyshell (from Cobbs Creek, VA) on December 31, 2007 at 10:39 AM:
Unique! My husband and I will be making one today, New Years Eve. Thanks
