Yellow-rumped Warblers will eat suet also, I believe. I read a while back that in the absence of insects during cold weather, one can help them by smearing suet and/or peanut butter on tree trunks to tide them over. (Of course, squirrels like it too, which is a downside, especially on my block where there is a huge population of Grey Squirrels due to a neighbor overfeeding them for the past 10 or so years.) A hanging suet feeder out of squirrels' reach might work but, I don't know if the warblers would notice it or dare to use it.
Rebecca Mellentin, N. E. Minneapolis, Hennepin County On Sat, Apr 16, 2022 at 12:15 PM Steve Wilson <[email protected]> wrote: > In early February I noticed my first observation of common redpolls eating > suet that did not contain seeds of any type. At first it seemed to be a > single bird, then a few, and has gained in popularity to where they are > mobbing the suet ball today. Others in NE MN are reporting the same. It > should be noted that reports of hundreds of redpolls at a single seed > feeder > are not unusual in the last week or so. I've not found anywhere, including > in the authoritative Birds of the World species' account, that mentions > suet > as a food item. I'd like to document the extent of this behavior. To that > end, I would appreciate receiving any reports on common redpolls eating > non-seed-containing suet this winter, or in past winters, for that matter. > If you noted any dates, please include them. Even approximations of when > the > behavior was first noted, numbers, and how the behavior progressed - or > didn't - as time went on would be much appreciated. And of course the > location. Replying to me individually is fine. > > > > Footnote: I just had two feeding on peanuts, which I've also not seen > before, but peanuts are not so far afield from their supposed winter diet > limited to vegetable matter. > > > > Thanks! > > > > Steve Wilson > > Tower, MN > > > ---- > General information and guidelines for posting: > https://moumn.org/listservice.html > Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html > > During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social > distancing, and continue to bird responsibly. > ---- General information and guidelines for posting: https://moumn.org/listservice.html Archives: http://lists.umn.edu/archives/mou-net.html During the pandemic, the MOU encourages you to stay safe, practice social distancing, and continue to bird responsibly.
