The Bird-Lovers’ Winter: 6 Ways to Stay Inspired

As the New Year begins, winter settles in with a quiet, reflective beauty. If you’re a bird enthusiast, you’re likely already spending plenty of time by the window, watching the lively flocks at your feeders. With their natural food and water resources buried under a blanket of snow, our backyard sanctuaries become more important than ever. But the joy of birding doesn’t have to stay outside in the cold!

To help you make the most of this cozy season, we’ve put together a list of six wonderful things bird-lovers can do indoors to celebrate nature and prepare for the year ahead. At AzarElGreetings.com, we believe winter is the perfect time to slow down, get creative, and bring a little bit of the outdoors inside.

1. Stocking the Winter Pantry: Quality and Value

Before diving into projects, it is important to have the right ingredients on hand. Please, please, please don’t buy those generic mixed seeds at the grocery store! They are often full of “filler” like red milo or wheat that songbirds just toss on the ground That creates a mess and attracts unwanted pests.

Stick to the “Big Three” when you’re there: black oil sunflower seeds, suet, and unsalted shelled peanuts. For a special protein boost, you might also keep some dried mealworms on hand. A little pro-tip: soak those mealworms in warm water for about 15 minutes before putting them out to help the birds stay hydrated.

To truly help your birds without breaking the bank, you have to know where to shop. The absolute least expensive places to buy high-quality food are local feed mills. If you don’t have a mill nearby, your next best bets for bulk value are farm and garden supply stores like Tractor Supply or Agway.

2. Whip Up Your Own Bird Fuel: Homemade Suet

If you really want to be the best landlord on the block, try making your own suet. It’s a high-calorie “heat source” that helps birds maintain their body temperature during freezing nights. To avoid processed ingredients, ask a local butcher for fresh lard. Many years ago, two wonderful friends named Olga and Sarah shared their recipe with me. Their special suet recipe is at the very end of this post so you can whip up a batch for your own backyard visitors.

Once you have your suet or seeds ready, you can start getting creative with how you serve them to your feathered guests.

3. Crafting a Feast: Edible Birdhouses

Another favorite winter project is making an edible birdhouse. You can pick up a simple wooden house at a local craft store like Hobby Lobby or Michaels for under $10. Because these houses are wood, they are completely reusable! Instead of a nesting spot, think of it as a festive “dinner plate” for the winter months. We use a safe, bird-friendly paste to coat the house in seeds and nuts—you can find the specific directions for the paste and the assembly in our “Edible Birdhouses” blog post.

Providing these high-energy treats is the best way to support birds today, but winter is also the perfect time to look ahead to their future.

4. Dreaming of Spring: Planning Your Bird-Friendly Garden

Even with snow on the ground, you can start designing a sanctuary that provides natural food year-round. Create a list of a few native bird-feeding plants that you’d like to add to your garden this year. My top pick is the delicate woodland phlox, closely followed by the vibrant celandine poppy.

My number one choice, hands down is Woodland Blue Phlox (Phlox divaricata).  This low-growing, well-behaved native perennial graces gardens with clusters of delicate, lavender-blue flowers. Its soft fragrance fills the air, a sweet reminder that spring has truly arrived. Research on the native plant database (in resources) shows it may attract fourteen different birds. It’s loved by butterflies and caterpillars. My cat, Tibbs, seemed to love phlox too!

Celandine Poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum) is a cheerful native wildflower that brightens up shady gardens with its vibrant yellow blooms. The four-petaled flowers resemble cheerful buttercups and dance above very attractive bluish-green foliage. Celandine Poppy develops unique, fuzzy seed pods that add further visual interest to the garden. It reseeds, creating beautiful patches of sunshine in the woods. If this isn’t desired, they’re easy to remove.

The easiest way to start picking your plants is by using the “Finding Bird-Friendly Native Plants” database created by Audubon. You just type in your zip code, and it gives you a tailored list of what grows best in your area. Once you have your wishlist, look for the “Where to Buy Native Plants” resource link to locate nurseries near you.

Here’s a “snapshot” of what the database looks like:

While you wait for the ground to thaw, you can focus on adding some nature to your walls.

5. Bringing the Outdoors In: A Wall Makeover with AzarÉl

If you find yourself daydreaming about nature while stuck inside, AzarÉl Greetings Photography is a wonderful way to bring that peace into your home. We offer high-quality canvases in sizes like 12″x18″ and 11″x14″ that fit perfectly in small nooks. Maybe you’re looking for something a bit larger like a medium single panel or large single panel. Our small triptychs and large triptychs look amazing as focal points. AzarÉl photographs capture surprising moments without any AI generation at all. We use premium canvas with a lovely sheen and durable pigmented inks so your view stays vibrant. Each giclée canvas print is printed and prepared one at a time by Brian.

Because we are small, we love entertaining special requests. Want to add a favorite quote to AzarÉl artwork? Discover how to request an AzarÉl Greetings giclée canvas print in our ‘Make It Yours’ blog. It features examples of short quotes and clear instructions for ordering a custom canvas with your favorite text. It’s a true partnership: each quote is thoughtfully reviewed and approved by both you and the artist to make sure it fits the soul of the piece.

Every year, Brian and I have “the discussion.” We inevitably sit down to talk about whether this is the year we finally wrap up our venture and retire the entire business. We aren’t getting any younger. This year we thought about the people we met and the stories we shared. 2026 isn’t our year to retire. Brian and I truly enjoy taking AzarÉl Greetings to craft shows near you. It won’t go long until we retire a second time.

6. Mark Your Calendars: Our 2026 Season

Our 2026 art and craft show schedule is posted online! Be sure to update your calendar with our list of 2026 shows. We always look forward to catching up with our regular friends and meeting new nature lovers who enjoy the outdoors as much as we do. It’s these connections that keep us hitting the road!

In Closing

Winter may be a time of rest for the garden, but for bird lovers, it is a season of action and observation. Have fun creating an edible bird feeder. Enjoy “pre-spring” on-line as you choose a few native plants to add to your flowerbeds. If you’re ready to start your wall makeover, browse the AzarÉl Greetings wall décor online. Get a little inspiration for that perfect, personalized quote in a giclée canvas print, and visit our blog for ideas. And of course, if you’d like a more personal touch, feel free to text or call me, Donna, at 717-844-9949—I’m always happy to help!

Brian and I wish you a cozy, bird-filled winter! Stay warm!

Olga and Sarah’s Suet Recipe:

Hi Donna,

My friend Olga and I met you at the Arts Festival.  We really enjoyed your greeting cards. Here is the bird suet recipe.  I put it out all winter long. This recipe won’t work during warm or hot weather though, it will get drippy.

Tools you will need:

1. a very large container
2. a sturdy wooden spoon or spatula
3. several suet cages (Wal Mart)
4. Aluminum foil

Ingredients:

1. 1 pound lard (Wal Mart or your grocery store)
2. 1 cup peanut butter
3. 2 cups corn meal
4. 1 cup flour
5. 2 cups oatmeal
6. 3 Tbl. sugar
7. Optional:  raisins, peanuts, sunflower seeds, etc.

Melt the lard and peanut butter in microwave using low power until very soft or drippy.  Add everything else and stir until well combined. This recipe is very “loose” – add things as you go until you get the thickness/consistency you want.

Place the suet cages on pieces of foil.  Add the suet and press the foil up the sides of the cages.  It peels off easily once frozen.

The fat in the peanut butter and lard will discolor on your deck so plan where to hang your feeders.

Enjoy the party!!

Sarah