Feeding Backyard Birds

On Jan 15th, I shared with you the first key factor to a bird’s winter survival – food- and as promised, I am now sharing the second key factor to a bird’s winter survival – a backyard bird’s winter shelter.

In view of the recent winter storms mentioned briefly in the Jan 15th post, many beginning bird watchers now wonder where birds go to keep warm in winter. I imagine that such a concern has become quite common by now.

Among the many birds to mention, I would like to share eight birds that caught my interest.

First, I will share with you a bird’s winter shelter for 5 common backyard birds, and then I will share a bird’s winter shelter for three wild birds.

Common backyard bird’s winter shelter:

• Bluebirds

Although Bluebirds are cavity nesters, they are known for being highly adapted to roost boxes. They are also known for their communal roosting, where they escape the cold weather by huddling tightly together in large numbers to share their body heat.

• Chickadees
• Titmice
• Woodpeckers
• Nuthatches

Although the above four common backyard birds and the Bluebird both share the instinct of cavity nesting, Bluebirds have been adapted to roost boxes over a longer period of time.

Whereas, Chickadees, titmice, Woodpeckers, and Nuthatches have relied on dead tree cavities through winter storms. For that instinctive reason, it is of more recent years that these four backyard birds have taken note of roost boxes.

In fact, bird experts have observed such backyard bird species adapting to roost boxes. And through careful observation, they have discovered the individual liking of these species.

So, if you were to build a roost box to their liking, they would soon adapt to your accommodations!

How can you build a roost box to their liking?

Below is a helpful chart to the backyard bird species mentioned above:

Wild bird’s winter shelter:

• Rosy Finches

Rosy Finches depend upon rock outcroppings and cliff crevices as nesting and roosting sites. In winter, they use the spaces between rock outcroppings as well cliff crevices, where they wedge themselves to escape the cold winds. Though Rosy Finches generally make their own roosting nest, at times they use nests built and used by Cliff Swallows in nesting season.

• Bobwhites

Although a solitary bird by warmer months, Bobwhites congregate in shrubby thickets on the ground and huddle tightly together during winter weather to conserve body heat. As they keep warm, they lay facing outside the shelter, ready to escape from any coming predators.

• Ruffed Grouse

To protect themselves from unbearable winter temperatures, Ruffed Grouse rely on snow banks to keep them warm. If the snow depth is ideal, the grouse will burrow into it, which interestingly keeps them 20-30 degrees warmer than the air temperature. Here, they will roost until the winter storm passes.

By now, you know the two key factors that are essential to a bird’s winter survival:

• backyard bird’s food
• backyard bird’s winter shelter

I hope you appreciate that both backyard birds and wild birds do have shelter to keep them warm through winter storms.

The backyard birds that you so enjoy can be helped through harsh winter weather by such accommodations as roost boxes.

Whereas, the wild birds that we learn about, survive – not so much by mans efforts – but that of their own instinct.

- Craig Curtis

Why you should feed them

Many humans suffered greatly from the recent winter storms as such events befell many throughout a portion of the United States.

As some of our lives have been touched or devastated by these brutal winter storms, bird watchers who feed wild birds in winter can equate more fully how greatly backyard birds also suffer through winter.

However, wild birds have an advantage over humans that allows them to survive outdoors, a noteworthy function that allows backyard birds to adjust to such an environment.

Wild birds are noteworthy for a quick rising metabolism. Unlike humans, having a quick rising metabolism means that a backyard bird must eat all day long in order to convert the food’s nutrients into energy and that energy must be burnt as body heat in order to bear cold temperatures by day and night.

Throughout the winter, wild birds need to find food urgently to keep warm through the daylight hours.

Their need for food is even greater as the night approaches, since they need more energy to produce heat for the plummeting temperatures of night.

Because natural food sources are so scarce in winter storms, you can only imagine the relief your feathered friends feel to receive an easy meal from your bird feeder in the midst of brutal winter weather!

Thus, by providing backyard birds a full bird feeder, you are not only greatly easing their struggle to find sufficient food, you are actually providing a real lifeline for wild birds even in brutal winter storms!

You can see by now that wild birds suffer from brutal winter weather in a similar way as humans. Our backyard birds do suffer as greatly as our loved ones who faced these unimaginable recent winter storms.

Therefore, feeding wild birds in winter is crucial to a bird’s winter survival – for a backyard bird’s daily struggle to find food is great in this harsh winter weather.

So far, we have discussed one key to a bird’s winter survival. In a future winter article, we will discuss another key to the winter survival of the wild birds that reside in your backyard.

- Craig Curtis

Recently, a reader of Feeding Backyard Birds addressed a concern about our feathered friends. This concern is very common to many who are unacquainted with wild bird feeding. To all readers, the question in general is:

If I stop feeding birds in winter, will they die?

A bird’s instinct is to rely heavily upon itself to find food. Year round, however, bird feeders draw backyard birds. Providing food distracts wild birds from carrying on their instinctive foraging habits.

If you usually feed birds year-round or close to it, but you suddenly decide to stop feeding birds in winter, backyard birds must break the habit of looking for an easy meal and very quickly resume their instinctive habit to forage in the wild.

True, if you do decide to stop feeding birds in winter, they will face the challenge to find food; nonetheless, this challenge will be temporary, for wild birds have the advantage of flying to a territory that will better meet their needs. This territory may be natural foraging grounds nearby, or even a neighbor or two who feed birds in winter.

If you are away temporarily and need to stop feeding your backyard birds for a period, you may not like the thought of your feathered friends going elsewhere for the feeding season as you return. To avoid their departure, you might consider asking a neighbor you trust to feed your wild birds.

A neighbor who feeds wild birds is likely to handle the bird food and the bird feeders properly. Depending on such a neighbor will assure you that your feathered friends will continue to have a reliable home.

Whatever other reasons you may have for not feeding birds in winter, remember one thing: The wild birds of your backyard will find a way to survive as they rely on their God-given instinct.

- Craig Curtis