Help Feed the Birds With a DIY Wreath

The holidays are usually a busy time in the kitchen—and birds will appreciate some home-cooked treats just as much as your friends and family. This suet bird seed wreath provides densely nutritious food for the birds that hang around in the winter. Cook one up and hang it outside (ideally either 3 feet from a window, or more than 30 feet from a window, to prevent collisions), and wait for your feathered fans to come snack. What birds should you expect? Suet is a particularly welcome feast for birds like wrens, chickadees, nuthatches, and woodpeckers. 

Here's how to cook up this avian treat:

Materials:

• Bundt Pan

• Large pot

• Wide Ribbon

• 3 Block of rendered suet (available at various garden centers and home improvement stores)

• ½ cup of peanut butter

• 9 cups of bird seed

• Dried fruits and berries

Steps:

1. Over low heat, melt your three blocks of suet in the large pot. Stir consistently and make sure it does not boil.

2. Once your suet is melted, add the peanut butter and let the combined suet fully melt. Remove from heat.

3. Combine the liquid suet with the bird seed.

4. Spray the bundt pan with cooking spray and fill the bottom with berries and fruit.

5. Fill the bundt pan with the liquid suet.

6. Let sit in a cool place (like your refrigerator) overnight to harden. Once hardened, remove the mold from the pan.

7. Tie a ribbon around in order to hang and either decorate as a gift or hang outside for birds to enjoy!

Note: Do not put suet out in hot weather, as it can turn rancid. Keeping it a holiday tradition can help you remember to only hang this wreath in cool weather.

For other ways to help birds make it through the winter, check out Winterize Your Yard for Birds and Audubon Guide to Winter Bird-Feeding.