October - November 2002 Edition 

For The Birds   By Jeanne Baratta (Fair Lawn's Kitchen Elf)   A recent topic on the Fair Lawn News discussion board was about bird feeding. I found it ironic, as I had just started feeding my backyard birds once again. I have always enjoyed bird feeding and watching, but had stopped for a couple of years mostly due to squirrel problems.    Now I don’t want to start getting any hate mail from you animal lovers out there, but I really do despise those bushy tailed rodents, and with good reason! They wreak havoc in my garden, gnawing on my pumpkins, squash and gourds, ripping down my prized sunflowers, digging up my annuals and bulbs for no good reason. If they did these dastardly deeds for food, I would not be so upset, but from studying them over time the only reason I can come up with for their behavior is spite!    The proverbial last straw for me was when I witnessed one rogue squirrel, (who was feeding on dropped seed from my feeder with a group of sparrows), maliciously picked up a sparrow and destroyed it in front of my eyes! I will spare you the gruesome details, but let’s just say I was traumatized and hence my birdfeeder was retired for a time. Nevertheless, as always, I digress, back to those native Fair Lawn birds!   Many people may not be aware of the array of birds we have in our “fair” town. Just put up a feeder and you will wonder “where were all these birds before I put out this food?” You have probably heard their songs and never seen them, but they are out there.   The black-capped chickadee is our family favorite, a very friendly little bird, if you are lucky and patient enough you can get one to eat right out of your hand. This is the bird that when you walk outside and other birds scatter, he will stay and perch on the feeder for an uninterrupted meal (see photo). The Tufted Titmouse is another little gem of a bird you will find in Fair Lawn, small and crested his whistle says “peter, peter, peter”. The Downy Woodpecker, with his white spots on black wings, is one of my 6 year olds favorites, we call him the “nervous bird” because he is always bobbing and weaving and looking all around before he descends on our suet feeder. You can tell the male from the female easily as the male has a red head and the female does not. The first time I saw the American Goldfinch I thought someone’s parakeet got loose! Actually, the Goldfinch is the state bird of New Jersey. The male has the brightest yellow body, black cap, with black and white wings and tail, where the female pales in comparison with her grayish brown color and light yellow head. These 5-inch birds enjoy sunflower seeds (right off the plant) and thistle seed. Common Sparrows, House Finch, Morning Doves and Cardinals can all be found feeding off the ground, eating up whatever is dropped from the feeders above.   Obviously, I have relented and once again began bird feeding. My brother-in-law got me started again when he told me about his visit to “Wild Birds Unlimited” on Route 17 south in Paramus. What a wonderful store! The people there are very helpful, after allowing me to browse undisturbed for a good half hour, I finally asked for some help. I was in search of bird food that squirrels would not eat. They suggested safflower seed, telling me that the squirrels may try it but they won’t like it and will leave the feeder alone. They were right. Of course, I could not stop there, I also bought a “sock” filled with thistle for the goldfinch and a small suet feeder and suet cakes that the woodpeckers enjoy. I am trying to talk my husband into their entire “pole system”, where you can hang and perch many different feeders and such from one main feeding station (ok, I get a little obsessive).    If you are wondering about my squirrel problem, well they do go after my suet feeder, going so far as to unhook it from the tree and drag it around my backyard, but I am working on it. For a while, I had my garden hose stationed right by my backdoor, and in a flash I was out there spraying them off my feeder. That worked for a while. Now, much to the amusement of my children, I can be seen running outside banging, screaming and clapping my hands until the squirrel relents and jumps out of my tree. I could swear he is laughing at me, but I will have the last laugh… Fried Squirrel  1 Squirrel; cut into 7 pieces 1 c Flour; seasoned with 1/2 ts Each salt and pepper 1/2 c Crisco; for frying Milk; for gravy   Put seasoned flour into small paper bag. Put squirrel, one or two pieces at a time into bag and shake to coat with flour. Meanwhile melt Crisco in cast-iron skillet. Put squirrel pieces into pan and brown on both sides. Reduce heat, cover skillet, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until done. Pour off about half the fat. Stir in flour from the bag until you have a very thin roux, or put about 2 Tbs. of the flour into a jar with a tight-fitting lid and add milk, then put on the lid and shake until the flour is dissolved and all the lumps have gone. Make sure you scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add milk, stirring, and bring to a boil. If the gravy is too thick, add more milk. If it is too thin add more flour and milk mixture and reheat to a boil.     Check out the Kitchen Elf's Other Wonderful Articles In My Vegetable Garden  (August 2002) What To Do With Kids on Summer Vacation  (June 2002) Family Time and Dinner Time  (April 2002) What To Give (And Not Give) Your Wife (February 2002)  Kitchen Elf on Staying Fit  (December 2001) New Market and Gourmet Apples  (October 2001)