Backyard bird watching

[Raven]

for drawing the more "exotic" birds in any environment

so, you (2NA) and Clammer and others who have only pesky
sparrows ought to give it a shot and feed some wood peckers and Nuthatches for a while. (strictly suet)

Birds need fat to burn in the dead of winter and insects and grubs provide that for most of the year but not in winter.

now if you have a large amount of starlings that normally are living off the three fast food dumpsters then its a lost cause.

I've had twenty gold finches sitting on a 5 x 5 cube of suet ....still kicking myself that i didn't get that on film and bluebirds and orioles in the spring that never would have been there if not for the suet.

[Backbeach Jake]

Mike I feed birds at my place the same way. In the Early Summer there is nothing more enjoyable to me than to sit with a good view of my feeder and a book and watch all the birds come in. I try to discourage the squirrels and they get POed that I'm there. We had Cedar waxwings last season,hadn't seen one in years.