My friend loves to watch birds, and frequently buys and hauls seed or suet to her feeder. I also love to watch birds, but usually do so in their natural environment rather than working to maintain a feeder. Recently, I came upon a great alternative to hauling seed and suet to attract birds to watch. While preparing a broth of moose bones, I could not fit all of them into the pot. I decided to try putting one of the bones out for the birds and they seemed quite pleased with it! I especially love watching a woodpecker that often comes and starts pecking away at a fresh bone I just put out; the sound quickly alerts all the neighborhood birds who soon join him to enjoy the treat too!
Moose Bone Bird Feeder
About the Author: Krista Holbrook
Krista and Sterling Holbrook frequently hunt grouse together in Alaska’s taiga forests. When they spot birds, Krista has to nock fast to beat Sterling to a shot.
The birds will surely love moose bones, b-u-t, if you live around any bears, they’ll surely love it too! My bird seed feeder was flattened and the new suit block, along with the wire cage that contained it were not to be found.
Hi Ms. Krista,
Great observation about the good protien food source for birds. I would be interested in your process to make bone broth. Do you open up the bone do all the marrow is exposed?
My hunting partner has hung the rib cages of his boned out deer in the trees around his place for years. The birds will pick them clean before spring. They actually seem to prefer it. They will not touch a manufactured suit block until there is nothing left on the deer carcass.
Thanks for sharing the bird feeding tip, Krista. We also supplement bones and seed with pieces of skin and fat that the birds seem to relish especially in the coldest moths of the year. Feeding birds is enjoyable, but only if the local environment is clear of domestic cats. Studies report more than 3 BILLION birds in the U.S. alone are killed annually by roaming cats! As if wind turbines, windows, cars and wholesale habitat destruction wasn’t harmful enough on birds…