Providing Food For Winter Birds

As winter approaches, you may need to change some of the foods you offer to birds. Providing high calorie and high fat foods can be important to the birds. The birds visiting winter feeders may be arriving in flocks or may come to the feeders as individuals, so you will need to provide different options for the birds. Oil sunflower is a great overall seed to offer in the winter. It has a high calorie/ounce ratio due to its high fat and protein content and its relatively thin shell. Oil sunflower has twice the calories per pound than striped sunflower and its smaller shells make less mess when discarded by the birds. Suet is a great food to offer many of the birds that will visit backyards in the winter. Suet is a high energy, pure fat substance which is invaluable in winter when insects are harder to find and birds need many more calories to keep their bodies warm. Peanuts & peanut butter are another great food to offer birds in the wintertime. Peanuts have high protein and fat levels and are often an ingredient in suet products. Offering peanuts in a peanut feeder can provide a good source of protein for birds. Other good winter options are niger seed and white millet seed. Providing Cover for Birds Roosting boxes or natural plant covers can also aid birds seeking protection from cold weather. Shelter is also needed for protection against natural predators, such as birds of prey. Cats are unnatural predators and birds also need shelter to escape from them. Be sure to clean out old nests from houses to help reduce the possibility of parasitic bugs surviving the winter. It also allows birds the opportunity to roost in a clean house.

1. Eastern Phoebe 2. Baltimore Oriole 3. Chimney Swifts 4. European 5. House Wren 6. House Finches 7. Song Sparrow 8. Carolina Wren 9. Ruby-throated Hummingbird 10. Chipping Sparrow 11. Gray Catbird 12 American Robins 13. Common Grackle 14. Blue Jay 15. American Crow 16. Sharp-shinned Hawk 17. Downy Woodpecker 18. American Goldfinches 19. Evening Grosbeaks 20. Cedar Waxwings 21. Northern Mockingbird 22. Northern Cardinal 23. Tufted Titmouse 24. Dark-eyed Juncos 25. Mourning Dove 26. White-throated Sparrow 27. White-breasted Nuthatch 28. American Tree Sparrow 29. Black-capped Chickadee