A Reader's Response:

Debbie, I really enjoy your newsletter articles. The December article Decorating for the Birds inspired me to enlist my two preschoolers to get creative feeding birds in our yard.

Patrick, Bridget, and I have spent some of the coldest days this winter testing a variety of bird “cookie” recipes we've found on-line. The cookies have been decorating a pine tree and feeding a variety of wildlife. The recipes are packed with bird seeds and disappear from the pine tree within a week. The children are thrilled with the squirrels' antics, and have learned to identify the blue jays, and junkos. Soon I'm sure they'll be able to identify more.

It's been a great winter for snow lovers. For the rest of us, layers of snow and ice blanketing our garden mean the only thing growing is the bird seed bill. It seems that the birds (and squirrels and deer) enjoy a little variety once in a while. Last fall we saved some pumpkin and sunflower seeds for the birds. The children enjoy throwing bread crusts, crumbs, and over-ripe fruit, and cores outside to feed the birds. In fact, we have even found vegetable scraps (recent additions to the compost pile) on top of the wood pile, probably moved there by squirrels or mice.

The next internet recipe we plan to test is “peanut butter pudding” (one part peanut butter mixed with five parts cornmeal stuffed into pine cones or tree crevices) to attract woodpeckers, titmice, and warblers. To my relief, I learned that birds supplement their regular diet with our treats, so if our feeder goes empty from time to time, luckily, they won't starve.

So Debbie, thank you for getting us started on this wonderful winter hobby. I'd like to share with you links to three great websites that we've found:

• Birding on the Net is a website where folks list birds and post photos of birds in Rhode Island. Pretty neat.
• Audobon Society of Rhode Island's website is loaded with local birding information.
• Birds of New England is a great website with photos, links and information to help with identification. This site helped us confirm that we received a visit from a Carolina Wren.

I've attached a bunch of pictures of our bird-cookies (brushed with molasses and sprinkled with extra birdseed) and some of our visitors.

Thanks again!
Renee Brannigan