Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show/podcast: Birds are feeding!
It’s full-on winter in much of the country. Last week I talked about ice and snow collected on our trees and shrubs and whether to knock it off.
I admit, the snow DOES look lovely resting on those branches. The birds feeding on some fun ornaments made of seed is also lovely to watch.
Note: the video I have isn’t formatted well for this space so I had to delete it. It’s on my Garden Bite facebook page.
The video above is a chickadee at a birdhouse made of seed that my niece gave me as an early Christmas present! I’ve also seen lots of sparrows and the Blue Jays were here till the peanut garland was gone! You can find more information on Feeding and caring for the birds on previous Garden Bites.
Some additional tips for winter bird feeding include:
- Spacing out bird feeders. They can get pretty territorial when they’re hungry so, if you have multiple feeders, consider moving them further apart, at least if you’re not trudging through several feet of snow!
- Those feeders should be near trees or shrubs for cover too.
- They would also enjoy some water. While some birds will drink from dripping icicles or, when pressed WILL eat snow, but that takes a lot of calories. If you can offer them a heated birdbath, they would be quite happy with you!
- If you want to give birds a real treat, slather a natural pine cone with peanut butter, or any organic nut butter, and hang it on a branch where they can enjoy it. Wrap yarn around the pine cone and hang it with that, not wire.
Keep in mind, especially in winter, there are plenty of other little critters, mice, comes to mind first, that will also be searching out food. When storing your seed, keep it in a container with a lid that fits firmly. An aluminum trash can with a lid is perfect.
