Winter can be especially hard on birds with fewer daylight hours, longer nights, and scarce food sources and water sources.
Fortunately, there are several ways you can help your backyard birds survive the winter. One of the most essential and often neglected needs for birds in wintertime is access to fresh water sources.
Water
Water is essential to bird survival during the wintertime, particularly when natural sources of water freeze solid. At this time, many birds expend more energy than usual raising young or migrating to new territories.
Maintaining a regular source of fresh water for backyard birds during the winter is essential. You can do this by setting out bird baths and providing a bowl outside so your feathered friends have easy access to it whenever they need it.
Many people mistakenly assume snow provides ample water for birds, but this is not always the case. Snowmelt requires energy for birds to warm it up to their own body temperature; therefore, snow cannot provide all their needs.
If you want to ensure a reliable winter water source for your feathered friends, try placing an unfrozen birdbath near a feeder or feeding station in your yard. Be sure to use a container that won’t freeze quickly – plastic or rubber works better since these materials insulate better than metal does.
You could even put some branches or stones in the bottom of the birdbath to provide extra warmth. However, avoid adding glycerin to the water since this will raise birds’ blood sugar levels and cause their feathers to mat.
Water is one of the most essential molecules in biology. It helps keep cells stable at the molecular level and performs essential chemical reactions that sustain life.
Chemists have long been baffled by water’s peculiar properties. It is a liquid with an asymmetric molecular structure, consisting of hydrogen bonds.
This makes it a powerful solvent for many substances, both mineral and organic. Furthermore, its high boiling point makes it ideal for animals that regulate their body temperatures.
Chemically speaking, sodium bicarbonate is one of the world’s most abundant and versatile substances, playing an essential role in our economy. It’s used for cooking, cleaning, and manufacturing processes as well as drinking, cooking, or cleaning equipment.
Food
Wintertime is when birds require more food than during the summer season, as their natural food sources like insects, seeds and berries become scarcer as temperatures drop.
However, it is still possible to help birds survive the winter. Here are a few ways you can do so:
1. Utilize High-Calorie Feeders
Birds need plenty of calories during winter to stay warm, and they also need regular meals that won’t skip meals. The ideal way to feed them is with high-calorie feeders that are easy for birds to locate and consume.
2. Provide a Variety of Seeds and Suet
To attract more birds during the winter months, add various kinds of seeds to your feeders. Popular options include black oil sunflower seed, peanut hearts, nyjer (thistle) seed, as well as suet mix with seeds or fruit.
3. Provide Suet All Winter Long
Suet and other high-energy foods are the best foods to attract birds during wintertime. These provide fats and proteins that birds need for energy levels, along with nuts and fruits they can easily consume.
4. Roost In Groups
Many bird species prefer to roost together, even during the wintertime. Doing so helps them reduce their metabolic rates while sleeping and helps them survive cold nights.
5. Provide Your Feathered Friends with High-Quality Roosting Sites
One of the best things you can do for your feathered friends is providing them with a comfortable roosting area. Look for places where trees, shrubs or vines retain their foliage throughout wintertime – these make ideal roosting areas!
Make sure your roosting areas are free from pests and debris. Take out any dead branches, leaves or other objects which could pose a hazard to birds.
6. Provide Nuts and Seeds
Peanuts make an excellent winter food due to their high protein content and large calorie count per nut. They’re easy for birds to eat, providing quick energy after a night’s rest. 6. Offer Nuts and Seeds
Nuts and seeds provide essential nutrition during this period.
7. Feed Wild Birds with Suet Cakes or Other Feeders
A study in Wisconsin discovered that wild birds fed human food had a higher rate of overwinter survival than those without additional nutrition. This suggests winter feeding could benefit birds on an expansive scale by increasing their chances of surviving the winter and ultimately improving breeding success.
Shelter
One of the most essential steps you can take to help your birds survive winter is providing them with some form of shelter. A secure roost at night can shield them from predators and the elements.
Some of the most popular shelters for birds include tree cavities, brush piles and roosting pockets. By creating natural habitats on your property, birds will likely return year after year.
The more shelters you provide for birds, the greater their numbers. These can be natural structures like native trees and shrubs or man-made ones like a woodpile.
Evergreen Trees: Maintaining evergreen trees on your property can provide hundreds of birds with shelter each night. Plants like rhododendrons and azaleas are especially beneficial during the winter, but any bushes or shrubs with thick evergreen boughs will do the same job for your feathered friends.
Bushes, ferns and other dense understory cover can protect small birds from predators like squirrels, cats and snakes. Create a brush pile using both small and large branches to provide shelter while your feathered friends sleep.
Other shelters you can create for birds include roosting boxes and nesting boxes. Roosting boxes are larger than nesting boxes and feature multiple interior perches so birds can huddle inside for warmth.
Roosting boxes feature holes near the bottom instead of at the top, keeping birds’ body heat inside while they roost. These can be placed in a protected area like along a fence or beside a shed for added safety.
A birdhouse is an excellent option to provide shelter to your local birds during the winter. Unlike roosting boxes, a birdhouse features a door at the front that allows birds to come and go easily.
Some birdhouses are constructed out of straw, which serves as insulation for the birds while they rest. You may also paint your birdhouse a dark color in order to absorb more heat energy.
Building a birdhouse is an excellent way to attract more wildlife into your yard. Many species prefer nesting inside these structures, so this is an ideal way to bring more of the creatures you cherish into your life.
Other Tips
Birds during wintertime must prioritize three things: water, food and shelter. At this time of year they require extra energy as cold weather makes it difficult for them to find food or a warm roosting place.
Thankfully, there are many easy ways you can help your feathered friends stay warm and dry during the cold and snowy months. Most importantly, remember that providing fresh water to birds during this period of decreased activity is absolutely essential.
A bird bath is an excellent way to provide fresh water in your yard and is essential for all birds year-round, but especially during the winter. Be sure to change the water daily so it remains clean and hygienic.
You can offer food at a feeder or hanging from trees. Consider high energy foods like suet, peanuts and black oil sunflower seeds.
If you want to attract birds to your yard, plant native trees and bushes that produce berries in the wintertime. This will give them extra energy during cold weather so they can stay warm and feed their young in the springtime.
In addition to providing food, you can help your birds survive the winter by creating various roosting and nesting sites. These could include brush piles, dense shrubs and vines or erect roosting boxes in your backyard. These roosting places help birds avoid predators and get enough rest at night.
Raking leaves under trees and shrubs in your yard creates a thick layer of mulch which helps keep the ground warm, protects plants from damage and makes it easier for birds to hide from predators.
Finally, if you have ornamental grasses growing in your landscape, leave them until spring. Not only does this provide cover for birds, but their seed heads are also nutritious!
For added protection, you can plant and grow evergreen trees and bushes in your backyard to keep wildlife safe during the winter. Not only do these provide cover for birds, but some even produce edible berries which can be fed to them.
