Why Feeding Birds in the Winter Is Crucial to Their Survival

Backyard bird watching has become a popular past time, but also a beneficial one. Attracting birds to the backyard are a natural way to control insects during the warm seasons, but in the winter it's our time to return the favor. It becomes even more important to not forget the birds we have attracted to our yards now that the temperatures have dropped. Birds don't have as many sources of food available to them in the winter. Finding enough food in the winter literally becomes a matter of life and death for the birds. It may not be as much fun for the person doing the bird feeding in the winter when the temperatures become harsh, but it is well worth it. The birds will almost instantly show their appreciation by flocking to the feeders and putting on a show. Water is also still crucial to provide to birds in cold weather. In northern climates the bird baths often will stay frozen, but there are inexpensive bird bath heaters available for just that purpose.

The nature lover enjoys their company and their songs whether it's winter or spring. It's so delightful to watch them and it can also relieve stress. For someone new at birding, it also becomes a challenging educational experience. There is so much to learn about the birds that visit our backyards, with the first challenge being identification. After learning what birds are visiting the backyard, then it's time to learn what to feed them. There are birds that are seed eaters, insect eaters, fruit eaters, and some eat a combination of all those things. Often the birds that visit our backyard feeders in the winter months are depending on us and what we provide for them to eat.

The types of birds in the backyard in the winter will naturally depend on the location you live, but there are many varieties of birds that over-winter in all areas of the United States. The birds don't care how basic or elaborate their feeders are, they only care what's in them. Many birds that visit backyard feeding stations are seed eaters, and even insect eaters will begin eating more seeds to replenish their diets since insects are harder to find. By far, the best seed to feed the largest variety of birds is the black-oil sunflower seed. If only one bird seed could be purchased, this is the one to buy. These are less expensive than the grayish color sunflower seeds for people, but they also have a higher oil content making them a better choice for the birds. The extra oil in their diet helps them to combat the cold weather. This seed is a favorite of chickadees, titmice, cardinals, woodpeckers, finches, and many others.

Goldfinches and house finches also love niger thistle seed. This is a very tiny black seed that is more expensive, it usually lasts for a longer time in my backyard because only the finches and occasionally the chickadees eat it. The niger thistle seed will require a special feeder because it is so tiny. There are special tube feeders to accommodate it, and it also comes in a cloth mesh hanging feeder with the seeds already inside. The goldfinches seem to prefer this hanging sack-type feeder because it mimics the way they eat naturally in the wild, hanging onto a thistle plant or other plant to extract the seeds. They do not perch to eat like many birds.

Another seed that many birds will enjoy is safflower, a white seed smaller than sunflower seeds. It also attracts some of the same birds as sunflower seeds. Another less expensive seed that birds like is white millet. This is a seed that can be scattered on the ground for so many of the ground-feeding birds. This includes sparrows, juncos, mourning doves and towhees. I usually sprinkle a few sunflower seeds on the ground as well.

Since so many birds are not getting an adequate amount of insects and worms in their diet in the winter, suet cake is a great way to give them the extra fat and protein needed in the cold months. Suet can be made at home, but the suet cakes can be purchased inexpensively for about $1.00 to $1.50. They also come in several flavors to attract more birds to the winter backyard. Suet or as it is sometimes called "bird cake," is a combination of meat fats, much like lard, with seeds, insects and sometimes fruits imbedded in the fat. Insect eating birds such as Woodpeckers and Carolina Wrens absolutely love the stuff, and even seed eating birds like it. Unfortunately, the squirrels love it to. One little suet cake can feed several birds for a few days, but one or two squirrels will make one disappear fast. There are little cages to put the suet cakes in, and the squirrels can still get it. I use shepherds' hooks to hang bird feeders and then also hang a suet cage on the point of the pole as well. I then put petroleum jelly on the pole to deter the squirrels. I have found that if I provide the squirrels with their own feed away from my bird feeders, they are not as interested in raiding the birds food.

There is inexpensive wild bird seed mixes that are available, but some are not worth buying because of the waste factor. They have more undesirable filler seeds in them that the birds just won't eat. They can sometimes even attract undesirable birds such as starlings. A few starlings would be okay, but they usually come in huge flocks. Some of the mixes contain high quality seeds that the birds will actually eat and these can be good alternative if you have lots of feeders to fill. I would just read the contents carefully of any bird seed mixes and the type of birds it will attract. The cheap mixes usually contain a lot of little round red seeds called red millet that most birds won't eat. When in doubt about what type of seed to buy, I recommend staying with black-oil sunflower seeds, you can't go wrong with these.

Some people have good results with peanut butter and seeds, but I personally have not. But if the birds in your backyard like peanut butter, this would be a fun project to get the children involved. Pine cones can be spread with peanut butter and rolled in seeds. (The squirrels also like this treat.) There are also fun edible garlands that can be made for the birds, such as stringing popcorn, cranberries, grapes, small pieces of cut fruit, bread crusts and dried fruits together so the birds can have their very own winter holiday tree! There are also bird seedwreaths available for outdoor decorating and bird feeding. The method used to feed the birds is not as important to them, as long as we don't forget them during the long cold winter months.