Birdfeeders

Most of the country is experiencing cold weather now, so we will see much different bird behavior than we see at other times of the year. Certainly, our yard has become a very busy place all day long, not just morning and evening. Today the temperature never went above 40. We had so many birds feeding all day that I had to fill all 4 feeders twice and even scattered seed on the ground. The tube feeder filled with black oil sunflower seeds had birds at all ports most of the time. This is a good time to remember some basic facts about birds and cold weather. No, birds will not freeze to death if the temperature goes below 0. They eat all day in order to store fat to keep them warm during the long nights. At night, they fluff up their feathers to trap body heat and their metabolism slows in order to conserve energy. Keep those hanging bird feeders full to help your local bird populations! If you plan to go away for the holidays, try to have a friend keep your tube feeders full. If this isn’t possible, the birds that normally feed in your yard will quickly move on to someone else’s yard and bird feeders.