An Enormous Demand for Suet

The late springtime is always a period of relatively high suet consumption here. But in 2009 even I am stupified by how quickly this high-protein product is -- flying(?) -- out the door. Since late April I am looking at a rate of consumption that is a little more than a cake a day among four suet baskets. That's twice as much as I had up last year, and all that's happened is that consumption ... doubled. Clearly one of the main needs is feeding young, and I have seen evidence of hungry juveniles for several species. And the insect population is not quite there yet, and summering species are getting a protein boost treat at my feeder stations. It has been my own treat to see so many suet lovers: Catbirds (shown above), Downies, Chickadees, Titmice, Bluebirds, Robins, Mockingbirds, Wrens, Thrashers, White Breasted Nuthatches, Pine Warblers, Red Bellieds, Flickers, and even Grackles. But I hope this pantry raid slows down sometime soon as a treat to my wallet!