Birds in Winter
One way to stay in touch with nature throughout the winter is to feed the birds. And if you’re worried when you see a lonely robin, don’t be. Some birds that normally migrate choose to stay put from time to time. Among these are robins, but also crows and some goldfinches.
Our winter back yards can be filled with feathered friends such as cardinals, blue jays, wrens, cedar waxwings, downy woodpeckers and chickadees. Depending on your location, you may also see house finches, purple finches, evening grosbeaks, common redpolls, pine siskins and dark-eyed juncos. Feeding birds in winter not only helps them, it’s an easy way to add life and entertainment to your yard.
Keeping warm
Birds are pretty good at protecting themselves from the weather. Have you ever wondered how they keep their legs and feet warm? The answer is, they don’t. Their legs and feet have very little fluid in them to freeze, as they consist mostly of bones and tendons with few nerves. As a fail-safe from cold feet discomfort, they have a clever heat exchange and circulation system. What little blood does flow to the feet and becomes cold is warmed upon entering the body by proximity to warm blood flowing from the body down to the feet. Additional strategies include covering their feet and legs with their bodies or standing on one leg while curling the other up where it is warm.
How do they keep their bodies warm? Their well-groomed feathers are nestled in down that traps pockets of insulating air. Late summer and fall gorging adds layers of fat. Birds also shiver to keep warm and cuddle up in roosts to share body heat. With high metabolic rates, they must constantly replace the fat they burn.
At night, some birds allow their temperatures to drop, while others look for a place to huddle together or find shelter in a hollow tree, under shrubs, in evergreens, or even in hollowed-out snow. A garden with dense shrubbery or plenty of cedar or thick evergreens provides excellent shelter. Some people also put up roosting boxes.
Food is the important thing
Consider the black-capped chickadee, a tiny bird weighing less than half an ounce. It maintains a body temperature of 38 Celsius even when temperatures are below freezing. To do this, chickadees must eat 35 percent of their weight every day. Their brains even grow by about 30 percent in cold weather so they can remember where they stored their food, which includes caches of hibernating grubs.
The fattier the food, the better. Black oil sunflower seeds, preferably deshelled, are a good option for most winter birds. Even finches that normally flock to the nyger feeder often prefer black oil sunflower seeds in winter.
Nuts are favoured by some birds. If feeding peanuts, choose deshelled, roasted and unsalted ones, although some birders advise against feeding peanuts at all.
Suet is a great source of energy for cold weather. Suet, which is the hard white fat from cattle or sheep, is far more useful to birds than softer fats, which break down too quickly. You can often get suet from your butcher.
Cracked corn attracts jays and others. Red-winged blackbirds, who normally nest in the countryside, may even come into town for a cracked corn treat. Sparrows enjoy it as well, as do squirrels.
All birds benefit from a varied diet. Dried mealworms add protein. Rice is another inexpensive option; brown rice is nutritious, and many birds love wild rice, although it can be pricey. Barley, cooked or raw, can be mixed with commercial bird feed. Oats and quinoa are additional alternatives.
You can also offer fruit: grapes, sliced oranges, apples and even bananas can be a real treat. Dried fruits such as raisins or cranberries should be soaked first to soften them.
What not to feed
Avoid commercial mixes with lots of tiny seed balls, much of it is filler birds ignore.
Don’t offer bread, which can affect digestion. Potato chips are unsuitable due to salt.
Lard-based products such as bacon fat are not recommended. Bacon contains salt and other additives that shouldn’t be part of a bird’s diet. Jays may steal pet food, but it offers them little nutritional value.
Just as with humans, animals will eat things that aren’t ideal for them, but that doesn’t mean we should provide them.
Feeding habits
When feeding birds, consider their feeding habits. Chickadees, for example, are ground feeders, so place their food on a platform.
Also think about bird size, will your feeder accommodate larger birds such as cardinals or blue jays? Feeders with a sheltering cover or roof can help keep snow out of the food. Clean feeders periodically to maintain healthy feeding areas.
What about water?
Most birds can find water on their own, but they do appreciate a heated birdbath in winter, and yes, they will bathe even in cold temperatures. Heated birdbaths are available in bird stores. You might want to add rocks or features as perches.
