Free Winter Therapy

7 tips to take care of the birds

Photo by Amanda Frank on Unsplash

The snow is piling high and the birds are hungry. And, although, birds can survive without our help in the winter, experts suggest that feeding the birds is actually more beneficial to us humans than it actually is to the birds.

We do it for ourselves!

But, it has been proven that birds with access to feeders in inclement weather survive at higher rates than birds without. The difference is not huge, but it is there.

Photo by Forest Simon on Unsplash

Feeding birds in the winter benefits both the birds and us.

Here are 7 tips to help you take care of your feathered friends in the winter.

1. If you start feeding the birds in winter you must be consistent. Birds become dependent on a food source and will suffer greatly if consistency is not maintained.
2. Ensure that your seed is dry and accessible. Tube feeders or a hopper feeder are the best. Sweep snow from the platform and clear space for ground-feeding birds such as sparrows, doves, juncos and towhees.
3. Construct a windbreak. You can use an old Christmas tree. This will serve as a wall to significantly reduce wind.
4. Have extra feeders available for bad weather. This will give the birds an extra place to feed and reduce your trips to the store. Suet and peanut butter are also good sources of food for our feathered friends.
5. It is good to scatter feed in sheltered places such as hedges, thickets and brambles. Scatter black-oil sunflower, sunflower bits, mixed seeds, and peanut butter bits under your deck, in hedges or bushes.
6. High energy food is great. Meat scraps, suet and peanut butter provide the biggest energy boost. Many songbirds would not survive throughout the night without this extra bit of fat. And, it is not true that peanut butter will stick to the rook of a bird’s mouth and make it choke to death. So put out that peanut butter.
7. Make your bird houses cozy. Furnish with dried wood shavings and dry grass. Three to four inches is great for the last nesting of the summer. Sawdust retains moisture so it is better not to use.

Having birds near in the winter is a pleasure and privilege. Birds add beauty to a cold and grey winter day. Their songs are a welcome sound amidst the stillness and frigid temperatures.

Follow the 7 tips to ensure that our outdoor friends remain healthy and happy!

Happy Birding!