Birding from our Kitchen Window

One of the pastimes we took up during the early days of the pandemic was feeding our backyard birds. It was something to did each day during lockdown, filling the birdfeeder and seeing who came to visit. In our tiny backyard at the time, we had hundreds of birds eager to feast on the seed we carefully poured into the feeders and hung in our backyard refuge. We kept a book nearby so we could grab it in a frenzy to quickly identify the fleeting visitor and expanded our knowledge of the local avian company we were eagerly inviting to our oasis.

Now we live near a birder's paradise and have maintained the pastime in our new home. A short drive from High Island, many birders will likely be familiar with the area, and its mention in the movie, The Big Year, starring Steve Martin. Southeast Texas is right where migratory species fly through on their way south each fall and then the famous "fallouts" of the spring after birds make the long journey across the Gulf of Mexico to rest and refuel. We have seen many unusual sightings in our backyard, most proudly of a painted bunting, which many birders obsessively look for for their flamboyant bright feathers.

This year, with increasing prices--well, everywhere--we've seen increases in the cost of bird food as well, most notably, our birds' favorite treat, bark butter. I scoured the internet looking for other bird lovers' replacements for the store-bought item. Most recipes resulted in a mixture that includes lard, which is used in many human recipes, but because we had recently purchased some for an authentic tamale recipe we had planned, I was familiar with an additive: BHT.

I don't have to get into the problems with BHT... a simple Google search will show its ties to a multitude of concerns, including ties to cancer. This isn't something I felt good about including in our homemade bird food, so I continued to educate myself on basic food items in my kitchen that I could use to make my own bark butter and finally came up with something that works for us. Here is the recipe:

Simple Homemade Bark Butter

• 1/2 C stoneground cornmeal (look for one with no additives)

• 1/3 C plain creamy peanut butter (look for a brand with no salt, sugar/other additives)

• 1/3 C or more of filtered water

Using a small bowl, thoroughly mix the above ingredients, adding small amounts of water by the tablespoonful as needed to get to a thick, stirring consistency. You don't want it so runny it falls off your mixing spoon--it needs to be thick enough where it will stick to your bird feed or tree bark.

This recipe works well for our birds, though, note that it doesn't seem to appeal as much to our woodpeckers and is not as loved as the store-bought bark butter that contains lard, though they'll still visit to check out what's on the menu. We now tend to attract more sparrows, chickadees, blue jays, cardinals and wrens, which is fine with us. To make up for it, we provide whole peanuts and other seed blends in other parts of our yard for the woodpeckers and other birds so everyone gets something to snack on.

After learning a little more about bird nutrition and observing our feeder from our kitchen window--where we hung our bark butter feeder--we have been able to provide a supplement we feel good about feeding and hopefully provide our backyard birds with a treat while we continue to enjoy watching them from our window.

Share with us... do you feed your backyard birds? Do you have any special recipes or seed blends that work for you? We're always looking to expand our knowledge and want to hear what works for you!