5 Ways to Safeguard Birds in Winter [View all]

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.wingscapes.com/blog/5-ways-to-safeguard-birds-in-winter/?utm_source=manual&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=January2015_newsletter&utm_content=blog-read-more

5 Ways to Safeguard Birds in Winter
January 1, 2015

5 Ways to Safeguard Birds in Winter

If you’ve been outside during a snowstorm for even a few minutes, you begin to wonder how any creature—much less a tiny bird—could survive the frigid temperatures. Luckily, they have a few tactics plus a heavy coat of feathers to help them withstand the cold. But these evolutionary adaptions don’t guarantee birds will make it through freezing months. Give your backyard birds a better chance at survival with Wingscapes’ 5 tips for safeguarding birds this winter.

1. Provide seed

Birds naturally fill up on feed during the winter months. But research shows that birds with access to bird feeders in winter survive at a higher rate than birds without access to feeders. One way to make sure seed is always available to hungry birds is with an Autofeeder. Able to hold up to a gallon’s worth of seed, this programmable bird feeder stays full for longer than regular models. Also, be sure to scatter seed in thickets, brambles, and other sheltered areas where certain birds prefer to forage.

2. Offer high-fat foods

High-fat foods give birds a needed energy boost during cold weather months. Peanut butter, meat scraps, and suet (the fat removed from processed beef) all provide nutrients that help birds survive. Create a suet feeder by dipping a pine cone into liquefied suet. Or smear peanut butter into the hole of a small log and hang it from a tree. Although this high-fat diet seems unhealthy to us, it’s actually good for birds. And it’s a treat both insect-eating and seed-eating birds can enjoy.




FULL story at link.