Winter Bird Feeding

We just moved to a new house up in the hills of Corning. Living in a more rural setting is something I have always wanted to do since I am obviously a lover of nature. We have a few acres and I finally get to experience wildlife at home now, not just at work. We have only been there a week and the weather hasn't been that great, but we have seen deer, bunnies and a few birds. Not enough birds for my liking though, and it is my fault. We moved all of our stuff from the old house down in the city except for the bird feeders. I feel shame. I plan on getting them up to our new place still, but I haven't gotten to it yet- there was so much other "stuff" to move from the inside of the house. I miss having feeders up. Winter bird feeding is especially good because even when the days are dreary like today, if you feed the birds, you still can look out the window and see a splash of color to brighten your day.

Most anyone can attract colorful winter birds like Northern Cardinals, Blue Jays, Juncos, Chickadees, Nuthatches, Titmice and Woodpeckers. People often ask me what the best bird seed is for attracting birds. Different birds prefer different kinds of seed, but my personal favorite for attracting a good variety of birds is black oil sunflower. If money is no option, hulled sunflower is even better because it leaves less mess. Groundfeeders like Doves, Sparrows and Juncos like millet and cracked corn, but so do invasives like Starlings. Squirrels can be a "problem" since they like all kinds of seed and can navigate almost any feeder and baffle, but I don't mind squirrels, so I don't worry too much about them. I also like to put suet up because the Woodpeckers (and others) find it hard to resist. It is a good source of fat and calories to fuel those little metabolic wonders through the cold winter.

Birds are warm-blooded like we are, but because of their small size and the huge energy needed for flight, their metabolisms are higher than ours. They need to be almost constantly eating (therefore the old "she/he eats like a bird" comparison isn't accurate). Birds have to maintain a body heat of about 104 degrees, no matter what the temperature. When it gets really cold they can do things like huddle together in a cavity, or go into a metabolic slowdown called torpor.

If you do feed the birds, especially in winter, try to keep it consistent as some may come to depend on it. And don't forget to put your old Christmas tree outside near your feeders (see picture of Tanglewood's tree last year near our feeders). This gives the birds a good place to hide and keep warm. You might note that Tanglewood's feeders are on a giant flagpole. Thanks to black bears, our old feeder system didn't work out. I am hoping that the black bear don't foil my winter bird feeding in our new home, we will see...