I always thought suet was a winter-only thing until this morning

For years, I only put my suet cakes out from November to March, thinking birds wouldn't want that heavy food in warm weather. This spring, I saw a downy woodpecker really struggling to find food in my oak tree, so I put a plain suet block back up as a test. Within 20 minutes, that woodpecker was back with two chickadees, and they've been working on it all week. I guess some birds need that fat and protein year-round, especially when they're feeding babies. Has anyone else kept suet out through summer and noticed which birds use it most?

3 comments

3 Comments

harperg7610h ago

Remember watching a pair of nuthatches last summer. They would grab a bit of suet, then fly off to a pine tree. Came back every ten minutes like clockwork. My guess is they had a nest nearby and the suet was just easy fuel. It was the same plain block, nothing fancy. They kept it up until the fledglings left.

anthony_campbell8810h ago

Read an article from a local birding group last year. It said woodpeckers and wrens really rely on summer suet when insects are scarce. They tracked a Carolina wren family that visited a feeder over fifty times a day. Makes sense for feeding hungry chicks fast.

ivanross9h ago

Yeah that makes sense about the nest fuel. I'm curious about the plain suet block though. Did you ever see bugs or ants get into it when the weather got really hot? I had a cheap one once that turned into a greasy mess and attracted wasps by July. Wondering if the no-melt kinds are actually worth the extra money or if you just have to change it more often.