Aid birds in winter with fun projects

For weeks, copious loads of red berries hung in heavy clusters from the branches of olive shrubs growing along our roadside. The girls and I watched the berries grow. When we walked by we plucked, we savored, we relished the idea of enjoying the wild shrub’s bounty. We kept saying, each time we passed, “We’d better get out here with our ZipLock bags and snag some for the freezer before they all fall off.”

We planned, we schemed, we devised baking plans.

We waited too long! One morning we looked out the window and saw an entire flock of gawky wild turkeys busy among the branches, devouring our red berries with fervor.

A towering oak tree above the stand of weed olives led the birds to the luscious find. In no time the huge brown birds stripped the berries from the branches and went merrily on their way, pecking at the ground here and there, continuing on their incessant feeding frenzy.

As the sun moves farther and farther south along the horizon, the landscape quiets. While a great many birds migrate south, a good portion stay here for the winter. These hardy creatures are no small wonder to this gardener. We help these natives through their winter stay, where we can. In summer the garden benefits a variety of birds in the way of fodder, offering a bounty of insects and seeds for their daily “bread.” When autumn comes, one feels a certain compulsion to continue the gravy train in their favor.

Some simple and fun projects may ease the autumn and winter plight of birds in your yard. Did you grow sunflowers in the garden this year? The oils in the plump seeds offer seed-eating birds plenty of calories. As you’re putting the garden patch to bed this season, clip off the seed heads and string them together by punching a hole at the center of each flower head. Pass a jute twine or heavy cord through the hold. Suspend the sting among the low branches of a tree in the yard or between the posts of a nearby fence. You’ll enjoy hours of amusement as you watch winged creatures pluck breakfast, lunch and dinner from the tightly-knit network of seeds in each sunflower head.

If your yard contains a shrub or tree sizeable enough to hang “pinecone treats,” try this fun project:

You’ll need 6 pinecones, 6 cups of suet and 6 cups of birdseed. Have on hand paper cupcake liners, and florist’s wire or jute or cotton twine.

In a saucepan, melt the suet. Place cupcake liners in a cupcake tray and fill them to about half way with the melted suet. Let the suet partially harden until it is just soft enough to place in a pinecone, plump side down. Let the pinecones harden into place and remove the cups from the cupcake tray. Peel the cupcake paper away from the suet and place the suet cones on a piece of newspaper.

Fashion a hanger for your pinecones by tying a piece of twine or florist wire to the top of each cone. Dip the entire cone into the remaining melted suet. Immediately sprinkle birdseed over the cone until it is completely covered. Let the cones cool and harden on the newspaper.

Hang these delicious treats among the trees and shrubs in your yard and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing you did a little bit to help the feathered creatures in your yard through the tough Maine winter.

Even if they did eat your coveted berries!

Diana George Chapin is the NEWS garden columnist. Send horticulture questions to Gardening Questions, 512 North Ridge Road, Montville 04941 or e-mail dianagc@midcoast.com. Selected questions will be answered in future columns. Include name, address and telephone number.