Helping The Hungry And The Needy Birds During The Winter

Winter is a tough period for all the wild creatures. Of course birds to migrate for the winter but surprisingly some birds do not migrate. These poor creatures can use all the help we can give to get by the harsh winters. Following are few ways we can help our feathery friends to get through the winter. Most think of just feeding the birds. But more than feeding quality wild bird food there are many other very simple but effective ways to help them.


Choose the food needed for the winter


Provide a diet that they like and also that helps them to survive the winter. Foods that contains a high percentage of calories is very important as they have to keep them warm. If you go many blue birds hanging around your neighbourhood you can feed them with natural dried mealworms. If you prefer to offer food from your kitchen without buying them you can go for items such as cooked potatoes, mild grated cheese, soaked fruit and pastry etc. Black oil sunflower seeds, white millet and niger seeds are also available at the pet shops. If you are buying niger seed you can find them online as well. But make sure that you buy fresh best niger seed or it might be a waste of money. The birds may not consume them and you cannot do anything else with that.


Accomodation


Offer a roosting bird house or nest boxes and it will be an enormous help for the birds. They will be able to spend the night warm and comfortable in one of those accommodations. Also if you like the idea of birds having around your home you can place such a bird house next to your home. Initially they may come to take refuge of the next box during the winter but they might come back to breed in the box if they fiend that is safe and quite enough for them. If you have young children this will be very interesting for them also. Instead of watching getting them with an interesting hobby like bird watching will be very interesting as well as a useful hobby for the. You can even train them to keep the bird feeder well stocked all the time. So they learn to take the responsibility of a task.


Feeding the wild birds during the winter


During the winter all the birds do not migrate. Those who are blessed with high fat reserves make it through the winter in their own neighbourhoods. Even though they are naturally blessed with the means to survive the winter, you also can help them to replenish their fat and stay warm. You can keep the bird feeder stocked up with some quality wild bird food and make their life easier. There is an array of bird food to choose from and following are some of them.

Sunflower seeds are loved by various types of birds. This is a good choice as it can benefit many birds. Black-oil sunflower seeds are the best to feed the birds during the winter time. They are high in oil and fat and are relatively easy for birds to open the seeds.

Nuts are also high energy food for birds and particularly peanuts are high in calories. When you feed nuts for the birds please be aware that it is not only birds who are fans of nuts. You will be attracting squirrels and chipmunks as well. Sometimes they will empty the bird feeder before any bird can feed on any of the nuts. There are squirrel safe bird feeders also available in the market if you have a severe problem with this.

Niger seed also is another high calorie food can be offered to birds to get through the winter times. It is a very small seed that provide oil and lots of calories. As the seeds are small in size they cannot be placed in a hopper feeder as it will pour through the feeder. Generally tube feeders with smaller holes are used to place these seeds. Also do not forget to buy the best Niger seed. If the seed had been sitting in the store for too long it may go off and birds will not touch them. If oil comes out when the seeds are pinched it is a clear sign they are fresh.

Meal worms are another way you can feed the birds during this period. You can buy meal worm cans or keep the worms frozen and feed them when required. The birds are used to eating frozen food during this time so they will not be too picky about it. In case you feel squeamish about using meal worm cans you can go for naturally dried meal worms. Most birds do not like them dry so the meal worms have to be soaked in hot water for a short time to get them moist.

On warm winter days you can place cut fruit on a platter. Many birds would love this as there are almost no fruits available for their consumption during winter. Sliced apples, bananas, melons and halved grapes would be a special treat for them during the winter.


Constant supply of drinking water


During the winter most the natural water sources can be frozen. Whenever possible offer some tepid water near the bird food that will be very much enjoyed by the birds.