Suet

Many wintering birds benefit from the high energy nutritional benefits of suet, suet mixes, and peanut butter.

Suet can be fed in onion sacks, wire mesh feeders, wooden dowel (cage) feeders, or placed on open platforms that are secure from dogs and other "suet robbers."

Pileated woodpeckers seem to prefer their suet on solid platforms instead of suspended feeders.

Conventional suet feeders sometimes attract European starlings, another nuisance exotic species that drives native songbirds from your yard and from nesting cavities in the spring.

If starlings are a problem, use a "starling-proof" feeder that forces the birds to feed upside down. Chickadees, woodpeckers, and nuthatches have no trouble feeding this way, but starlings have weaker feet and are not able to feed in such an awkward position.

Peanut butter is another good choice for filling log-style feeders and smearing on pine cones.