Have you ever wondered how birds keep warm in winter? Like humans, they are warm-blooded which means they maintain their body temperature independent of the outside environment. Their feathers are great insulation and can be puffed up to form small air pockets allowing the bird to warm the air in the pockets to keep warm. They also have an oil coating on their feathers for water proofing. They can stand on one spindly foot and tuck the other one up in their feathers, alternating them. Even though birds can survive cold weather without our help, they can survive better with our help.
Most of us keep an eye on the weather and when we know a storm is approaching; we go to the store and get what we need to be comfortable until the weather gets better. There are things we can do to prepare the birds for approaching storms such as buying food for them and providing a water supply. But, we don’t have to wait for a storm to help the birds. Feeders are beneficial to birds year-round, but especially helpful in winter.
If you like to watch birds, January is a good time to put out bird feeders relatively close to your house so that you can watch the birds feed from inside the comfort of your home. There are good squirrel-proof feeders that work well and extra-large feeders that will cut down on the trips needed to fill them. Sunflower seed attracts cardinals, chickadees, finch, dark-eyed junco and woodpeckers to the feeders as well as ground feeders such as doves and crows, so it’s a good idea to scatter some seed on the ground when filling the feeders. Suet and peanut butter are high-energy foods that help birds survive in cold winter weather. Goldfinches and other finches like thistle. Tall shepherd hooks are a great place to hang feeders, come with one or more hooks and are easily moved from place to place.
In addition to food, birds need to have water available. When daytime temperatures are below freezing is a great time to have on hand a bird bath deicer to place in a bird bath that can be viewed from inside. I have had as many as 8 or 10 bluebirds come to drink at my heated birdbath in January providing good photo opportunities. Pictures taken through the windows from inside my home turn out great.
I have heard that bird feeding may be more beneficial to the humans doing the feeding than it is to the birds, but it is beneficial to the birds and may be life-saving. Whether we do it for the entertainment we get from watching the birds or the satisfaction we get from doing a good thing, let’s just do it.
