Want to help the birds in your backyard stay safe and make it through the freezing temperatures and tough conditions winter can bring? One thing is for sure, overwintering birds can use all of the help and support they can get to survive until spring!
While many birds migrate south to escape the cold, plenty of others stick around. These are known as “resident” birds, and they spend their days searching for food, water and shelter just to get by.
Unlike some animals that hibernate or store food for winter, resident birds stay active and don’t build up reserves. They have to work constantly to find enough food to stay warm at night and make it through the season.
Even though some birds can slow their metabolism slightly, staying warm still requires and burns a lot of energy. Overnight, they use up calories to avoid freezing. By morning, they’re back at it again, searching for food and water to refuel.
The Struggles For Overwintering Birds – How To Help Birds Stay Safe & Healthy Through Winter!
It’s not an easy life for sure. Food is scarce in the winter for birds. Insects, which make up a big part of their daily diet, can be hard to find. As can fruits, nuts and berries. Making it worse, when the temperature plummets, finding fresh water can be nearly impossible.
If that wasn’t bad enough, overwintering birds are also a much easier target than ever for prey. After all, with many of the leaves and greenery gone in the winter, there are far less locations to provide shelter or cover.
All of those factors can be quite detrimental to their survival. Although there are no definitive statistics, many bird enthusiasts estimate that as many as a quarter or more of overwintering birds don’t make it through the winter. And that is unfortunate on many levels – including gardeners!
Simply put, birds are extremely important when it comes to maintaining the balance of nature. Not just in the spring and summer, but all year round. When there are less birds around, there is also far less help to keep insects and pests in check – which is another great reason why it’s so important to help our feathered friends make it through the winter alive!
3 Simple Ways To Help Keep Birds Safe & Alive Through Winter
When it comes to helping birds not just survive but thrive through the winter months, it all boils down to providing them with three important things – fresh water, a bit of cover to help protect them from their enemies and the cold – and last but not least, a healthy food supply.
#1) Fresh Water
One of the most important and often overlooked needs for birds in the winter is a source of fresh water. Without it, they simply can’t survive. Not just to quench their thirst, but also to stay warm.
Good hydration is a big key in helping birds to keep their metabolism up. With a good, hearty metabolism, they are able to generate better body heat to keep them warm. But they also use fresh water to keep their wings clean and free of debris – which also plays a huge role in keeping their wings waterproof and their body dry.
Unfortunately, the colder it gets outside, the harder it can be for birds to locate fresh water. Birdbaths, fountains, small puddles and backyard fish ponds freeze over. As do many small creeks, streams and ponds. Even a mid-sized river can freeze over if the temperature plummets enough.
Although they can get moisture from snow and ice – it takes much more effort. If desperate enough, birds will try to find a few drops here and there from melting snow or icicles. But if the temperatures stay cold enough and for a long enough time, it can spell big trouble for their survival.
So how can you ensure fresh water at all times in your backyard? If you happen to have a bird bath or a small water feature, an inexpensive bird bath heater is an excellent solution! The heater sits in the water and keeps the water from freezing over. Affiliate Link: Daoney Bird Bath Heater, 120W Bird Bath Heaters for Outdoors in Winter
#2) Giving Birds Shelter – How To Help Birds Stay Safe & Healthy Through Winter!
Birds need shelter to stay safe and warm in the winter. With most trees, bushes and shrubs devoid of their leaves, there is simply no place for them to hide. That is one reason why if you have ornamental grasses growing in your landscape – leave them up until spring!
Ornamental grasses can actually be a life saver for birds. Not only do they provide tons of cover and warmth for the birds, the seed heads at the top of plumes can be a huge source of nutrition for chickadees and other overwintering birds.
In addition, leave bird houses up instead of taking them down for the winter. For the winter months, move them to higher locations to give birds more protection. To help even more, cover the top vent holes to keep air and drafts to a minimum.
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Finally, if you have the space to plant and grow evergreen shrubs, bushes and trees, do so! Evergreens provide major protection for resident birds in the winter. Even better, some evergreens even produce edible berries that will help feed birds too!
#3) Feeding Birds – How To Help Birds Stay Safe & Healthy Through Winter!
Last but not least – it’s so important to feed the birds in your landscape! The only way resident birds can survive winter is by having enough energy to burn to keep their tiny little bodies from freezing. They literally eat to just stay warm in the winter, and birds need to replenish that energy every single day.
Although they forage for whatever they can find, this is where having a consistent supply of food in bird feeders can make all the difference. Be sure to keep feeders supplied, especially in the early morning as birds head out to fuel up after burning energy from a long, cold night.
As for what types of food, a high fat/high calorie content diet is best. Black oil sunflower seeds, millet seed, peanuts or bird feed mixes that are geared toward high calorie sources all fit the bill for winter feeding. Suet cakes are another great option to hang from trees. Affiliate Link: What To Feed Birds In The Winter.
When feeding, don’t forget to scatter some feed on the ground for those birds who prefer to feed down low. More than anything else, consistency is the name of the game when feeding. If birds have a steady supply of food and know where to find it, winter life can be much easier on them.
Here is to taking few extra steps this year to help keep the birds in your backyard safe and healthy all winter long!
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This Is My Garden is a garden website created by gardeners, for gardeners. Jim and Mary Competti have been writing gardening, DIY and recipe articles and books and speaking for over 15 years from their 46 acre Ohio farm. They publish three articles every week, 52 weeks a year. Sign up today to follow via email, or follow along!