Winter’s For The Birds

While your garden is dormant, it can be just as entertaining and rewarding to feed our feathered friends in winter. Feeding the birds in winter is a kindness not only to them, but also to yourself. After all, there’s nothing quite like watching all of the birds happily feeding each morning while you’re sipping on a hot cup of coffee.

Winter is a particularly a difficult season for birds who stick around colder climates, and is at that time of year when their usual foods are in short supply. Birds use a lot of energy in the winter months to keep themselves warm, they need extra stamina. Winter birds are around, but in order to entice them into our yards, we must provide a little nosh – a little seed, perhaps some suet.

Enrich the Birds’ Diet
Birds need extra fat and protein in the wintertime. Fatty treats like oil sunflower seeds, peanuts, and suet are a tasty way to provide these nutrients. (Change the menu in favor of lighter fare when the spring thaw comes along.)

Hang a Covered Bird Feeder
Use a bird feeder equipped with a roof, to shelter your guests from all but the harshest weather that Mother Nature has in store. Fill it up regularly and remember to remove any seeds that get moldy from wintry damp.

Hang Feeders in Cat-Safe Locations
Place bird feeders in locations that do not also offer hiding places for sneak-attacks by cats and other predators. Think of placing the feeders ten to twelve feet from shrubs or brush piles.  This gives the birds some time to react.

Offer Birds both Food and Drink
Birds can become dehydrated in winter even if surrounded by ice and snow. Putting out a pan of water near the feeder on warmer days is a terrific idea.

Save Money and Stock Up on Seed
Bird feeding veterans say it is best to stock up on birdseed in the Fall when many lawn and garden centers are discounting it to make way for winter merchandise. Stored properly, (in cool dry places) seed can easily last for months, particularly seed mixes and sunflower seeds.

Leaving berriesand other fruit on your native trees and bushes. Birds ranging from robins, cardinals, juncos, waxwings and mockingbirds to wild turkey and grouse will feast on these fruits throughout the cold months. And if you’ve been smart enough to leave your fallen leaves on the ground since autumn, the decaying leaf litter will provide a feast of insects, seeds, nuts and other treats for your backyard birds.

Tagged: Bird Feeders, DK Landscaping, garden, Sonoma County, winter