Snow Days are for the Birds
A stormy winter’s day results in a feeding frenzy of birds. As such, snow days are some of the best days for drinking coffee and bird watching out my back window. Yesterday, as the snow was falling, I got to enjoy an incredible array of backyard birds. Five blue jays came and went, in a fanfare of brilliant blue, filling their gullets with Zick Dough, black oil sunflower seeds, and peanuts. My regular flock of juncos, in three varieties—oregon, slate-colored, and pink-sided—and the white-crowned sparrow that hangs out with them, were also here for the homemade Zick Dough and bird seed cakes. At least a dozen doves stopped in and cleaned up fallen millet and milo under the feeders. And then there were my finches—we had 19 beautifully-bronzed American Goldfinches show up, along with three redheaded male house finches. These are my seed-eaters, through and through, along with my chatty chickadees, and they especially love my homemade bird seed cakes and pine cone bird seed feeders. Oh, and I can’t forget my Northern Flickers. We had a mated pair of the red-shafted variety here, on and off, all day. They love suet, most of all, especially Zick Dough. As you can see, there is something for everyone here—no songbird forgotten. I have already shared recipes with you for Zick Dough and Pine Cone Bird Seed Feeders, so today, I want to share my recipe for Bird Seed Cakes, also known as Bird Seed Ornaments.
Bird Seed Cakes
Bird Seed Cakes are convenient and easy-to-make bird seed treats that are sure to be loved by your backyard birds. They utilize gelatin as a binder to hold bird seed together in individual cakes. Tie a string to them and it makes them easy to hang—like little ornaments. They are also great gifts for teachers, neighbors, grandparents—really, anyone who loves nature! They are a great way to feed birds without needing a special bird feeder—just hang them around your house and the birds will come. This last christmas, I hung more than a dozen from a small tree in my father-in-law’s yard, and he was surprised with all the birds they attracted. Within just a couple days, his yard became the hot spot for mountain chickadees, black-capped chickadees, and red-breasted nuthatches. Plus, because I tied cute christmas ribbons to each one, they fit in with the christmas decor, and looked just like ornaments hanging from the tree.
These Bird Seed Cakes couldn’t be easier to make, but they do require some patience, as they will need to set up and harden before you can offer them to your backyard birds. (If you want something that will be immediately ready for bird consumption, try making these Pine Cone Bird Seed Feeders instead!) To make these bird seed ornaments, you will simply mix up a gelatin binding base, combine it with some seed, press it into molds, and wait until they harden up. Tie a string to each feeder and hang them from your trees, and before you know it, the neighborhood birds will be flocking to your yard.
The gelatin binding base in this recipe always stays the same, but the resulting ornaments are usually slightly different because variety is the spice of life, and what I put in these depends on what bird seed I have available. Sometimes when I make them, I will substitute in dried fruit or chopped peanuts for some of the seed. Other times, I’ll make them with a no-mess seed blend containing sunflower kernels, chopped peanuts, cracked corn, and proso millet—pure, ready-to-eat birdy goodness! Most of the time, however, I’ll just whip these up with my regular bird seed mix that I make at home in large totes. My mix varies a little but the general formula come refill time is as follows:
(ONE) 50 pound bag of black oil sunflower seeds
(ONE) 25 pound bag of wild bird seed mix—normally this has a combinations of black oil sunflower seeds, corn, millet, milo*, and safflower seed
(TWO or THREE) 5-10 pound bags of whatever else looks good at the store—usually I’ll find no-mess mixes with lots of peanuts and sunflower kernels or a mix geared toward woodpeckers or chickadees that has little pieces of dried fruit with peanuts, pistachios, pumpkin seeds, almonds, pecans, striped sunflower seeds, etc.
*I’m okay with mixes containing milo and millet because the doves here readily eat it!
Once you combine your seed with your gelatin binder, you will press the mixture into molds that have been greased with cooking spray. You can use a number of different molds for this recipe. I prefer making individual cakes using cupcake tins or slightly larger muffin tins. I also have some mini-bundt tins that work perfectly for this recipe. If you have large metal cookie cutters, those will give you cute shapes. If you would rather make one large bird seed wreath, as opposed to lots of little ornaments, you can use a large bundt pan—just be sure to give it a few days to dry out fully. And, if you have none of the aforementioned containers, just use what you have—even plastic cups or bowls will work.
In order to hang these easily, you will have to have a means of tying a ribbon or string to each cake. I find that putting a hole right into the center of each cake works best, rather than trying to wrap a string around them afterwards, or place a string in them as you are filling the molds. The easiest way to create a hole is to use a drill bit large enough to accommodate your string AFTER the ornaments have set up and dried completely. Until I discovered how well the drill worked, though, I would always just use my finger, or better yet, a pencil-thin wooden dowel. To do this, simply pack your molds full, then before they set, sink your finger or dowel straight down into the center of each cake. Before removing your finger or dowel, put pressure with your other hand around it, so when you remove your finger or the dowel, seed mixture doesn’t get dislodged. Then set your cakes off the side to dry up for a day or two.
When your cakes have completely dried, tie a string to each one. I get a length of ribbon or twine that is about 10-12 inches long, place one end through the hole of the cake and then do a simple overhand knot where the two ends meet. When I hang them, I try to place them near a branch or a spot that birds can perch on while eating. Most seed-eating birds aren’t capable of hovering to eat, so if you hang these from your eaves or a spot where there is nothing to perch on, they may go uneaten. I store “extras” in my freezer to maintain their freshness.
Lots of my backyard birds enjoy these bird seed cakes, including Black-Capped Chickadees, Mountain Chickadees, Goldfinches, Juncos, Red-Breasted Nuthatches, White-Breasted Nuthatches, and Downy Woodpeckers. I’ve attached a PRINTABLE VERSION of this recipe for your convenience. If you try it, please come back and tell me which of your backyard birds have stopped by to try them.
How to Make Bird Seed Cakes
INGREDIENTS
1 cup water
2 -.25 oz. envelopes Knox unflavored gelatin
⅓ cup light corn syrup
1 cup all-purpose flour
8-10 cups bird seed*
Nonstick cooking spray
PREPARATION
Prepare Gelatin Binder: In a large pot over medium heat, dissolve packets of plain gelatin mix in water. Add the corn syrup. Once the mix is completely dissolved, turn off the heat and whisk in flour. Your mixture should be smooth and somewhat runny--like Elmer’s glue.
Add the Seed: Add half the bird seed to the gelatin binder mixture. Stir to coat evenly. Add remaining bird seed, one cup at a time. Seed should be thoroughly coated, but not so wet that it is gloppy and hard to work with.
Transfer to molds: Scoop seed into greased muffin/cupcake/bundt pans and use the back of a metal spoon to really pack it in tightly. You could also use greased metal cookie cutters for fun shapes. You can either poke holes in each feeder with your finger or a wooden dowel before they set up, or use a large drill bit and drill out a hole after they dry for a couple days. I prefer to drill a hole, but have done both successfully.
To Serve: Once cakes are fully dried, tie a string or ribbon to each bird seed cake, and hang from the trees in your yard.
Store in your Freezer until ready to serve.
