This Xmas gift

Holiday decorations for
our fine-feathered friends

WENDY AND John Mor-
ton have many suggestions
for making this holiday a
happy one for the local bird
population.

North Shore residents, the Mor-
tons own Wild Birds Unlimited, a
birder’s boutique at 3879 Oak St.
in Vancouver. The following in-
formation on Christmas decora-
tions for the birds is from a
handout they have at their shop,
and it is also available at Noah's
Ark in Park Royal.

How about decorating one of
your outdoor trees with bird-
friendly ornaments? Among the
Mortons’ suggestions are strung
Popcorn ropes (use carpet thread),
strung fresh cranberries, and pine
cones packed with suet, nuts and
raisins, or with peanut butter
mixed with cornmeal or seed.

John notes that it is important
always to mix the peanut butter in
this fashion — i.e. one cup peanut
butter to 2% cups of cornmeal —
as the straight goods might clog a
bird’s nostrils, with the expected
result.

You can also hang dried apple
tings or figs, rice cakes, and tiny
lengths of natural wool or string
— not to exceed two inches — to
use when they are nesting in the
spring.

Squirrels will appreciate any
whole peanuts and walnuts placed
under the tree.

A special addition that makes a
great pre-Christmas gift for
friends are bird-shaped birdseed
cookies that can decorate your in-
door tree and can then be hung
outside for the birds to enjoy.

The Mortons sell a wide range
of bird-shaped cookie cutters,
from owls to ducks to gulls, but
any shape will do for the follow-
ing recipe.
2c. flour
Y% tsp. baking powder
Y’ c. sugar
¥% c. lard, butter or solid marga-
rine
2 eggs
¥% c. or more small wild bird seed
no salt
macaroni elbows (for hanging)

Peggy
Trendell-Whittaker

ECOINFO

two egg whites (for wash)
extra birdseed
wool or twine to hang cookies

Sift’ dry ingredients together,
then cut in shortening until
crumbly. Add eggs until the
dough is firm, then the birdseed.
Knead until smooth.

Chill) overnight wrapped in
waxed paper and a plastic bag.
Roll out on a lightly floured sur-
face to % inch thickness. Cut out
bird shapes.

Press in macaroni piece towards
top of each cookie for ease in
hanging. Brush cookies with
slightly beaten egg whites and
press more birdseed on top of
each cookie.

Place on ungreased cookie sheet
and bake at 325 degrees F for
12-15 minutes or until cookies are
hard.

Anyone even remotely interested
in local bird life could spend a
fascinating afternoon in the Mor-
tons’ store. Among the tidbits of
birdlore 1 picked up from John
Morton:

* Never feed birds or ducks
bread. I had thought this was
because the bread would swell in
the bird’s stomach and make them
explode, or something to that ef-
fect, but quite the contrary is true.

With no nutritional value to
speak of, bread actually acts as a
laxative on the birds and leaches

Oil Paintings and Watercolours
by
ANN HURST

A Special Christmas Exhibition and Sale

in

THE FERRY BUILDING

at Ambleside Landing
14th Street and Argyle Avenue
West Vancouver

Opening Reception Tuesday December 11, 1990
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Daily to December 16, 1990

11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Friday, December 7, 1990 ~ ‘North Snore News - 33

for the birds

NEWS photo Cindy Goodman

BRENDAN BENSON, 3, thinks Christmas is for the birds. The children of Gatehouse Montessori in
West Vancouver have a live Christmas tree decorated with birdseed cookies that provide a feast for
local birdlife. The recipe for the cookies is in today’s Ecolnfo column, along with other tips for
decorating outdoor Christmas trees.

out of their bodies many of their
needed vitamins and minerals.

Wet bread can also freeze in a
bird's crop and block
breathing.

© Ground-foraging birds such
as sparrows and juncos like small
grains, such as millet, while
chickadees and finches enjoy the
black oil sunflower seeds.

But grub and insect eaters —
woodpeckers and bush tits are in
this category — appreciate a gift
of suet.

* Believe it or

not, your

warm-weather hummingbird feed-
er is also of great benefit in the
winter.

Morton says that many people
bring their feeders indoors in the
autumn to encourage the birds to
follow their usual agenda and
head south, but he notes that
migration is triggered by the
length of days, not the availability
of food.

The hummingbirds that one sees
now are actually not summertime
leftovers; they are the Anna’s
Hummingbird, which makes its

winter home here naturally.

¢ It’s helpful to set out a water
supply for the birds that is high
enough to discourage cats from
pouncing on birds while the birds
are drinking.

For more information, call Wild
Birds Unlimited at 736-2676, or
the Lynn Canyon Ecology Centre,
987-5922.

Send environment questions or
comments to Ecolnfo, North
Shore News, 1139 Lonsdale Ave.,
North Vancouver, V7M 2H4,

SAT. DEC. 8 — SUN. DEC. 23

in the North-East wing between Sears and the Information Booth

Bring us your gifts with a proof of purchase from a Capilano Mall
Merchant and we'll wrap them up free of charge.

JUST ONE MORE REASON WHY CAPILANO MALL IS YOUR
FIRST CHOICE FOR CONVENIENCE AND VALUE THIS

CHRISTMAS SEASON.

SHOPPING HOURS: Monday to Friday 9:30am-9:00pm, Saturday 9:30am-5:30pm,

Sunday 1tam-5:00pm

935 Marine Drive

980-8561