Birdfeeders

Sometimes we have winters where there are dramatic increases in the number of birds visiting our area and certainly taking advantage of our hanging bird feeders. This is called an irruption which is defined as irregular movements on a larger scale than normal, both in the number of birds and often in the distances involved. There are a couple of reasons for these irruptions. When a food supply in a normal habitat fails for some reason, birds are forced to either find new sources of food or perish. A normal example of this happens every few years when northern pines and other conifers fail to set seed. When this happens, flocks of evening grosbeaks especially appear at hanging bird feeders in yards as far south as the Gulf states as winter sets in. As the populations of rodents fluctuate, snowy owls and northern shrikes will fly south in search of food. These are all natural events that birds must adjust to in order to survive. Yet another reason to keep our bird feeders full all the time.