Life is tough for songbirds in winter: Give them some energy!
Don’t forget that a few hardy songbirds hang around during the winter months, even in the coldest climates. Life gets tough when water turns to ice and natural food sources are in short supply, and some may not make it to spring.
Many songbirds survive by shivering during cold weather, which generates heat. However, this depletes fat resources, which is replenished only by eating a hearty birdie breakfast. This is where you come in! It doesn’t take a lot of effort to lend a hand. Just roll out the welcome mat and enjoy the little entertainers all year round.
Provide a variety of food high in protein and fat. Suet is inexpensive, or you can make your own suet substitute using beef fat or lard. Avoid poultry or vegetable fat, which can stick to feathers and hinder flight. If you’re lucky, you might attract woodpeckers; which thrive on suet when insects aren’t available.
Toss out an occasional handful of dried bread or stale cheerios. Many birds love peanuts (including jays).
Sparrows, juncos, chickadees and most types of finches love Nyjer thistle.
Many birds have somewhat different requirements. For example, tanagers, waxwings and robins love raisins, apples, or other ripe fruit.
Keep a consistent source of water. If you put your bird bath away to prevent it from cracking during freezing weather, a bowl or an old frying pan works just fine.
If you have only one feeder, spend a little more and fill the feeder with black oil sunflower seeds, which have a higher fat content and are easier for small birds to crack. Watch for cardinals, chickadees, pine siskins, nuthatches, most finches, grosbeaks, titmice, woodpeckers and others. Yes, black oil sunflower seeds cost more, but you’ll find that most seed mixes create a lot of waste (and unsightly weeds under your feeders)!
Leave your perennial plants in place until spring. Birds find sustenance from the seeds and shelter in the dead plant growth. Enjoy the interesting textures that the plant “skeletons” provide during the winter months. You can always prune the plants in spring.
Want to learn more about birds? The Cornell School of Ornithology is an awesome source of information. http://www.birds.cornell.edu/Page.aspx?pid=1478
