We have taken Ruth's suet cake recipe one step further and added some
whole wheat flour, soy flour and coconut. The birds love it. We have
Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, Northern Flicker (red-shafted), Black-capped
and Chestnut-sided Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Dark-eyed Junco,
Song Sparrow, and Steller's Jay feasting on the suet cake. Last winter
during the cold weather we had Varied Thrush as well. A Pileated
Woodpecker made a pass at it but ended up in the nearby water bath, and he
has not been back since.
We are convinced that keeping many birds around a feeder area keeps
them searching for their natural foods in our forest and orchard. We
rarely have tent caterpillar or fall webworm infestations or damage from
bark beetles or raspberry cane borers.

Bill and Erin Woods Woods Tree Farm Redmond, WA U.S.A.
<wwwbike at halcyon.com>