Winter_Bird_Feeding

Early spring opens the door to longer days and slowly warming temperatures, making life a bit easier for our backyard birds. They don't have to work as hard to stay alive each day, giving them time to engage in pre-courtship behavior as they begin to form pairs.

But don't be fooled by the kinder, gentler weather--spring is not a time of abundance in nature. Just the opposite is true: the seed-eaters and insect gleaners have picked Mother Nature's cupboard bare over the winter months. They've consumed the seeds on the flower heads, the dried fruits on shrubs and trees and it's harder for the chickadees and nuthatches to find spider eggs or larvae snacks. The food cachers, such as blue jays and chickadees, find their larders now nearly empty.

It will be some time before nature replenishes the natural food supply in the form of buds, insects and nectar. Until then, our birds really need our backyard feeders. They rely on feeder seeds, nuts, suet and--for the lucky--mealworms, for the calories required to

survive the still-cold nights.

Goldfinches are slowly turning gold again as they slowly molt their drab winter feathers. They relish Nyger seed and may turn up in large numbers for frenetic feeding sessions. This thin black seed's popularity with finches is due to its small size and its 40 percent oil content. Nyger is a great source of fat, carbos and protein for finches.

Black-oil sunflower seed is popular with a broad spectrum of birds. Oilers are just the right size for chickadees, who zip in for a seed, then perch on a branch to tap open the hull. Cardinals seem to ruminate as they maneuver an oiler seed around in their mouths, splitting off the hull for the high-calorie treat inside. Oilers are well-named, since their oil content can range from 39 to 49 percent, making them a high energy food for birds.

Nuthatches and blue jays are fiends for high-energy nut meats. Nuthatches like to perch upside down to peck at shelled nuts in a wire cage, while jays carry off whole peanuts-in-the-shell for later consumption. Downy and hairy woodpeckers visit peanut feeders many times a day and like to top off a meal with some pecks at a suet cake.

Some people feed birds year-round, while others keep feeders filled only in wintertime.

Let's remember that although spring is a time of awakening in nature, there's very little natural food in the environment. Keep providing seed, suet and other kinds of foods for a few more months. And to keep birds coming year round, keep feeders filled in all seasons. You'll be rewarded with one of the best shows nature has to offer, especially as parent birds bring in their youngsters for an introductory meal.

Chickadee strategies

Tiny chickadees use many strategies to survive the cold in winter and early spring, from lowering their body temperature at night in self-regulated hypothermia, to fluffing out feathers so they look like little golf balls. Many ‘dees spend cold nights in a tree cavity carefully selected to maximize their body heat. Winter cavities tend to be smaller than the cavities chickadees make for nesting, just large enough and far enough inside a tree to allow a small bird to huddle. Some chickadees bring a last seed along and stick it under bark at the roost's entrance hole to provide quick energy in the morning.

The sounds of spring

Longer days inspire backyard birds to begin singing their spring songs. The cardinal's “wha-cheer” gets louder and louder as spring advances and chickadees begin to whistle their beautiful “fee-bee” song. Nuthatches utter their wacky hooting call and woodpeckers whinny and begin to drum. The quiet of winter is giving way to the raucous sounds of spring.

Wet their whistles

Water can be as important as food to birds, especially the seed eaters (they're not picking up liquid in juicy insects). A year-round birdbath appeals to backyard birds for drinking as well as bathing. Birds need to bathe and preen frequently to keep feathers in top insulating condition. Anecdotal evidence suggests that a feeding station that offers water attracts three times as many birds as a “dry” backyard.