Feeding Birds in Winter

A friend of mine in Pittsfield usually tells me what birds are coming to his feeder. Like all of us he would enjoy having more than he has, and to that end he almost always comments on the need for snow "to drive the birds in." During a warm spell as it was in December, the feeder visitors are rather scarce. The weeds and branches in the wild are accessible, teeming with the wild food the birds prefer, either seeds or insect larva.

That does not mean they don't come in to feed at all; just less often. In any given area of fields and woods there are a limited number of birds, and in the dead of winter (an ominous phrase) they are the same individuals, which have "chosen" that area for their wintering grounds. They may also visit several different feeders in the neighborhood periodically throughout the day.

Well, now we have our snow, and a particularly difficult type of snow it is, with fluctuating temperatures causing ice to form wherever the snow was cleared or plowed. Every driveway is a slippery mess and my three ground feeding areas are a solid sheet. I have resorted to spreading doses of ground seed on top of the undisturbed snow, and more than once or twice a day. There have never been so many small birds at the feeder before. The ground is almost always covered with them, mostly juncos with ten or so each of tree sparrows and white-throated sparrows and a few song sparrows. A quick count of the juncos once reached 115 individuals at the same time.

My guess is that there usually is double the number of individuals visiting a feeder during the course of a day than are seen at any one time. There probably is some ambitious researcher working on this question as we speak. A Professor at Mt Holyoke College has banded chickadees for many years and she can read the band through her windows and determine how many actually do visit. If suddenly there are no birds at all around, a sharp-shinned or Cooper's hawk is probably visiting.

The heaviest feeding occurs at dawn and before dusk, as well as any time there is precipitation or the threat of it. Extreme cold helps to "drive them in" as well. A fresh sprinkling of mixed seed or plain millet on the ground before first light and in mid-afternoon is not a bad idea anytime. During bad weather do it more often. There is something about the sight of a flock of busy eaters enjoying one's effort that warms the nurturing side of our heart.

Never put mixed seed in an enclosed or hanging feeder where the birds that visit must cling or perch precariously. The species that eat mixed seed are not adapted to cling or perch. They like to have a steady piece of real estate under their feet. Place only sunflower seed or thistle in such feeders. A platform or a hopper with a roomy area at the bottom is all right for the mixed seed too, but the ground is best.

The cardinal is a ground feeder and their numbers have swelled with the snow to about six or eight. There have been as many as fifteen at once in past winters. They are especially prone to feed just before dusk along with those white-throated sparrows. It is a long, cold night and they need that last stoke of fuel to bring them through it.

Then they find that favorite spot in an evergreen bush or other protected spot on the lee side of a hill or house to huddle up, fluff out the insulating feathers and nap away the night. In the morning they hurry out to feed again, at first in silent semi-desperation, but as they find the food, they begin a soft twittering celebration.

Winter is a hard time for everyone. If you want to nourish your generous side and have it grow strong so as to use it on your family, friends, and needy neighbors, there is no better place to start than with the grateful feathered creatures outside your window.