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Directions
Birds just love to chew, lick, and nibble these sweet glazed treats, and they are sure to keep your pet entertained for hours! These can be made to suit any size of type of bird, just by altering the size and ingredients used. You can use any sort of firm twig for the stick, just make sure it is clean and free of toxins untreated fruit tree twigs (or lollipop sticks), as needed
1/2 cup any mixture of edible seeds (sunflowers, pumpkin, any
commercially prepared pet birdseed mixture)
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup any mixture of dried fruit
1 egg
honey, as needed
1. Preheat the twigs or sticks by arranging them on a cookie or baking sheet. Place them in the oven. Then turn the oven to 150 degrees (or its lowest setting) and leave the sticks inside to heat.
2. While the sticks heat up, add the seeds, nuts, and fruits to a small mixing bowl. Crack the egg into the bowl then mix everything together until the egg is completely incorporated into the mixture and all the ingredients are coated and
are sticking together.
3. Once the sticks are hot, remove them from the oven. Turn the heat up to about 200 degrees. Let them cool just enough so that you can handle them safely, but they are still very hot. Form lollipops by taking tablespoon sized clumps of the
mixture, and forming them into balls around the hot sticks. For smaller birds, you can make smaller balls, and pet owners with larger birds may wish to make larger balls.
4. Place the lollipops back onto the cookie or baking sheet and place them into the oven. Bake them for about 20-30 minutes, or until the lollipops are toasted.
5. Remove the lollipops briefly and, using a pastry or basting brush, brush honey over the entire surface (the stick and all) or each lollipop. Once they are all coated, return the sticks to the oven and bake for bout 5 minutes more.
6. Remove the lollipops and allow them to cool completely. Serve to your pet once they are cool, or store them in an airtight container until ready to use. Makes enough mixture for about 12 lollipops, depending on the size.
Avian Lollipops
"I've seen a look in dogs' eyes, a quickly vanishing look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that basically dogs think humans are nuts."
-- John Steinbeck
Bomb Island on Lake Murray each spring and summer is the home of a very unusual event. Each year thousands of Purple Martins return to this island to roost for the summer. The island has been declared a bird sanctuary and it is quite a sight to watch these birds return to Bomb Island each day around sunset.
