Your backyard birds

[Lee Borgersen]

 

Provide food, water and shelter for your backyard birds

Sitting inside sipping a cup of coffee, it’s hard not to feel a little bit sorry for our avian friends that spend the winter here in the Midwest.

So when the snow flies and the temperatures plummet, people start paying special attention to their backyard birds.

Providing food, water and shelter in the backyard is a good start.

Feeders bring them into easy view, and here are some tips to keeping the birds coming all winter long.

Severe cold and snow cover on the ground make it difficult for birds to find food. They need fat and calories help them get through the night, and sunflower seeds, peanuts and suet provide a lot of the fat and calories they need.



 Water is important for birds, especially when other sources are frozen. Heated birdbaths keep water open for drinking and bathing.

And don’t worry about the birds freezing into popsicles. Their feathers are designed to shed water.

Their feathers have an oily coating so the water is not going to really stick to the feathers when they fly away.

All living things need shelter, so leave birdhouses put – even if nesting season is long past.

A lot of people will take down birdhouses but some birdhouses can provide cover.

Wren houses with particularly small holes probably won’t be much help, because most birds small enough to use them have gone south.

However, bluebird houses may provide shelter for a variety of species — including any bluebirds that stick around.

Bluebird houses have a 1-½ inch hole, and there are a lot of birds that can use them.

Use weather stripping or putty to plug drain holes and gaps designed to provide ventilation.

Those aren’t as important in winter, because less precipitation is falling as rain.

Tighter houses keep drafts out.

If there is no nesting material in the bottom, an inch or two of dried grass or wood chips make real good bedding material.

Backyard birders don’t have to just watch. Birding can be a participatory sport, too.



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[Retired on Osakis]

Had these show up today for the first time. Never had them before in the 3 years I've been up here full time. Couldn't find them in the two bird books I have but posted on another site and they were identified as Snow Buntings. The second pic is through a spotting scope.

[kenhuntin]

Pretty neat to get these. They winter in the U.S. but are the farthest north nesting ground bird in North America. They nest in rocks on shores of the Arctic,Greenland,Aleutians, Labrador. They can withstand temps of -58 but burrow into snow to keep warm. They feed on the ground and are attracted to haypiles, tufts of grass or trash piles. That came from a book and not my memory

[kenhuntin]

To add to Lees birding advice Try hanging your deers ribcage off a tree. Chickadees and woodpeckers will get use of it all winter.

[The General]

To add to Lees birding advice Try hanging your deers ribcage off a tree. Chickadees and woodpeckers will get use of it all winter.

Right next to the cars up on blocks.  Don't forget the beer can wind chime.

[corny13]

I dont stick the ribcage up but do put all the trimmings of fat up in branches for the chickadees when butchering deer!  They Love it!!

[DDSBYDAY]

    Make sure you put it up high enough.  The neighbor's big lab worked pretty hard at finally grabbing the last one I hung up.  It took a crusty snow drift to give him the edge.  He would come by every night to try.  Always left us presents to show that he was still working it.

[kenhuntin]

Your right General the truth is there are a couple old pickups stashed out back a couple hundred yards out and not even blocked. But I can see the birds come to the old deer pretty good. There are only beer bottles over here though.
 My brother also hung a rib cage when he lived in the city and his garage was the only one in the alley that did not get gang graffiti. They thought it was some kind of voodoo. That is what they asked him anyway and he said yes of course.
 Dds you are right as well, The neighbor dog drags off everything that is not secured or high enough. The animal even got off with a salted buffalo scrotum which was on a post that I was gonna have tanned into a Fred Flintstone bowling ball bag.
 Back to the birds it will also attract crows or soul chickens as I have heard them affectionately referred to in my past.