Everyone who knows me well, knows I'm a "birder".  That of course is slang for a bird watcher - person who identifies and studies birds in their natural habitat.  For several years now I have had my bird field guide and binoculars nearby.  I'm always excited to find a new or seldom seen bird, but I also take great pleasure in feeding and watching the "every day" birds.

One of the things I love best about our new home is that it backs up to woods and everyday I can see lots of different varieties of birds.  We get to see lots and lots of woodpeckers, one of my personal favorites.  And because we get so many of those around I like to make their favorite thing to have handy all the time - suet.  The woodpeckers have a definite preference over the homemade stuff versus the store-bought.  Here is the recipe in case you are interested:

Homemade Suet

2 c. crunchy peanut butter

2 c. lard

4 c. rolled oats (not the quick kind)

4 c. cornmeal

2/3 c. sugar

1 c. raisins

1 c. bird seed (preferably black oil sunflower)

In a large saucepan on medium low heat melt together the peanut butter and lard until blended.  Turn heat off and stir in remaining ingredients until well blended.  Using "sandwich size" sealable bags, spoon mixture in large spoonfuls into bags.  Push out air, seal tightly, then push flat.  Stack the bags in the freezer until frozen.  Remove one bag from freezer and peel away bag and place suet in suet feeder.  The rest of the bags of suet can remain frozen until you are ready to use.  Of course any suet doesn't do so well on 100 degree days so keep that in mind. * I received this recipe as part of our science curriculum that we use (www.apologia.com).

"Hannah Making Suet"

Another bird we love is the Ruby Throated Hummingbird.  Hannah was taking pictures one day when we were sitting on our deck and caught these in action:

"Male Ruby Throated Hummingbird"

"Female Ruby-Throated Hummingbird"

She also snapped this pretty silhouette picture of a bird at our feeders, it's a male House Finch.

Here are two of my favorite birding sites:

http://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/site/index.aspx

http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/