仙台 えいごの教室

 

  I put up my birdfeeder in the middle of December, and had no activity for a long time. It always takes a while for the birds to find the feeder (I don’t feed in the summer, so it’s like starting from scratch¹ each time), but it took a loooong time.

 

My first visitor came at the end of December, but still there wasn’t much activity, until the weather got really cold in January.

 

Then the fun began.

 

Now it’s a constant flurry of² activity.

 

  Many White-eye³ (I counted 15 once), Japanese Tit⁴, Sparrows⁵ (of course), Bulbuls⁶ and the best bird: almost every day a Pale Thrush⁷ comes by to have a taste.

 

 

In the winter, birds sometimes have a hard time finding⁸ enough to eat. The insects⁹ that many of them eat are not around.

 

So while many people have the idea that seeds or rice are good bird foods, the truth is many birds want oils and fat.

 

Here’s the best (and easiest) recipe:

Lard and peanut butter.

 

Yes, that’s it. I melt the lard in the microwave and mix in about equal parts of peanut butter. The birds love it.

 

There are more fancy types of bird suet¹⁰, and I used to make it, but this is a lot easier and a better fit into my busy day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

＊about the photo＊

  The red circles show White-eyes and the blue one shows Japanese tit. White eye has a very nice green body and white eye lines. Really cute! They have a bit brighter green than Uguisu.

 

 

 

◆1 from scratch : ～を中に入れる ◆5 sparrow : スズメ
◆6 bulbul : ヒヨドリ
◆7 Pale Thrash :シロハラ
◆8 have a hard time doing : ～するのに手こずる
◆9 insect : 虫
◆10 suet : 牛などの腎臓の周りの固い脂肪