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Attracting Birds in the Winter

 

A Cardinal and Red-bellied Woodpecker fight for who gets to eat the Flaming Hot Seed Log. Photo by Mark Janetos.

It’s beginning to look like winter here in the Rochester area! In the winter there are three major things birds need for survival: food, water, and shelter. Some birds, like chickadees, nuthatches, jays and woodpeckers will cache food away throughout the year to survive the winter. Other birds, such as cardinals, doves, and finches, do not and need to forage all winter long. All birds must rely on finding some kind of food in the winter to survive. Seeds, nuts, fruit, and dormant insects are major sources of food for birds in the winter. Although birds will visit feeders in the winter, the food they get from it is just a supplement of what they find naturally. Providing high-fat foods like peanuts, suet, sunflower and nyjer seed give birds the calories they need to stay plump and warm in the winter and will keep them flocking to your yard all season!

Sunflower seed, or a sunflower seed mix like our Chickadee blend, is a must have this time of the year. Sunflower seed will give you the most diversity out of any one type of seed, and having a blend with other seeds mixed in will entice birds even more! A tube feeder with small perches will get you birds like chickadees and finches. The Bird House recommends having at least one feeder with ample perching room such as a tray, hopper, or tube feeder with larger, rounded perches. This will not only attract small birds but can also attract the larger birds like Cardinals, Blue Jays and Evening Grosbeaks.

Red-breasted Nuthatch enjoying some “Finch Favorite” seed from The Bird House. Photo by Bob Henry.

Nyjer seed is another food staple of the season. Nyjer feeders are different than other feeders because they have a much smaller opening to dispense seeds. The Bird House recommends nyjer because it is the favorite food of Goldfinches and seasonally abundant Pine Siskins and Redpolls. Goldfinches are in the area all year round, but they molt their feathers before the cold weather so they are a drab olive color. You can also try our Finch Favorite blend which is a mix of nyjer and ground up sunflower hearts to attract these and other birds like Chickadees and Red-breasted Nuthatches this winter. When buying nyjer seed make sure to only buy what you will use in a short period of time. It has a high oil content and can go bad after 2 or 3 months.

A Blue Jay with it's peanut in the shell. Photo by Mark Janetos.
A Blue Jay with it’s peanut in the shell. Photo by Mark Janetos.

Suet is another popular choice in the cold months. Suet provides birds with the much-needed fat that helps them survive the cold. Suet comes in many different flavors, including hot pepper, which will keep squirrels away. Squirrels can taste the hot pepper but the birds cannot!  We also carry “flaming hot” seed that squirrels will not eat but birds will.  Any type of suet with nuts in it is always a favorite. If you’ve ever had a small suet cage before, you may have found it can be hard for the large woodpeckers, like Pileated and Red-bellied Woodpeckers, to land on it. Try a “paddle tail” suet feeder. These have an extra projection on the bottom of them which gives woodpeckers a place to rest their tail and feed upright easier.

Peanuts are another great food source for the winter. They provide birds with protein and fat. Blue Jays love peanuts in the shell and so do Woodpeckers. Peanut pickouts, or the inside of the peanut, are magnets for birds like Nuthatches, Chickadees, and Titmice. This season also be on the lookout for Red-breasted Nuthatches on your peanut feeders! They tend to be more abundant in the winter.

Seed logs are cylinders of stuck-together seeds that last much longer than loose seed will. Because the birds have to peck away at them they don’t need to be refilled as often. These are great in the winter for that very reason- no need to go out in the snow to change them!

Roosting pockets make great escapes for birds in the winter.

Roosting pockets and roosting houses give birds a place to relax and stay out of the elements. Roosting pockets are little woven huts that can be tucked away in shrubs or hung from a tree. Roosting houses are made of wood and often look like bird houses. The difference is, roosting houses have perches in side of them for birds to land on. Multiple species, even birds that don’t nest in houses, will stay in these to keep out of the rain, snow and wind.

And don’t forget about the water! Heated birdbaths provide birds with water in times when it can be scarce. It can be hard for birds to find a shallow, unfrozen body of water once things start to freeze. Birds rely on birdbaths not only to drink from, but to bathe in, even in the winter! Clean feathers mean the birds are able to trap warm air in between their feathers and their body, and that’s what keeps them warm. If you ever see a fluffed up bird in the winter, that is what they are doing! Having water can also attract birds that do not come to feeders, like Robins and Bluebirds.

Having these cold weather staples in your yard will give you the best possible diversity of birds this season.

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