From the Back Cover
LOOK WHO'S COMING TO DINNER
Cardinals for the sunflower seeds. Jays for peanuts. Goldfinches for thistle. Backyard birders Helen and Dick Witty know what birds love to eat, and in this guide to the tastes and temptations of North American birds they show you how to:
· Buy seed economically-and avoid mixes bulked out with grains most birds don't like
· Recycle nutritious treats-from bacon drippings and overripe bananas to stale potato chips and leftover piecrust
· Build a Suet Box, a Hanging-Log Feeder, a Screen-Topped Feeding Table
· Care for an injured bird, distract squirrels with corn on the cob, provide a dust bath
· And more
Helen Witty, winner of three prestigious Tastemaker Awards for her cookbooks, and her husband, Dick Witty, live on a wooded half-acre on the eastern end of Long Island. So far they've identified 55 species of visitors to their yard, including a brown creeper, a bald eagle, and a rose-breasted grosbeak.
DEBUNKED:
Myth #2
Once You've Begun Winter Feeding, You Can't Interrupt It, Even Briefly
Myth #3
Suet Isn't a Suitable Summer Food
Myth #6
Peanut Butter, If Fed "Straight," Can Choke Birds to Death
Myth #8
Untimely Feeding Can Keep Birds from Migrating When They Should
About the Author
Helen Witty's books have been three-time winners of the prestigious Tastemaker Award and the James Beard Award Nomination and she has published many articles in magazines on cooking. A former editor at Cusine and Food & Wine magazines, Helen is also the suthor of Better Than Store Bought, Mrs. Witty's Monster Cookies and Fancy Pantry. She lives on eastern Long Island, New York with her husband, Richard, a stickler for tasting all her own recipes.
Dick Witty lives with his wife Helen on the eastern edge of Long Island under a migration route