Stock up on Bird Food!
Help Your Birds Survive Extreme Winter Weather
We are about to see the "BIG SHOW" of Extreme Winter Weather and EXTREME Cold. For your Birds, the food, feeders and open water and shelter you provide are about to play a critical role in their survival through the weather event we have in the forecast. Remember: Birds Survive Extreme Cold by burning body fat.
Think of the Seed, Suet and Nuts you provide as being both their food and firewood (and their natural forage is about to get iced over!).
Q - "But aren't Calories and Fat Bad?"
During a single 13-14 hour winter night of extreme cold, a bird like a chickadee, will burn off as much as 10% of their body weight to stay warm! To replenish and survive the next night, they must find and consume 30-40% of their body weight in food in a single day (and in winter the days are shorter)!
With ALL the birds doing this at once, this is why its important to add extra feeders and scatter feed! Pull out your spare feeders and fill them before and after the snow. After the Snow, scatter seed on top of the snow to allow ground feeding. Apply Bark Butter to the trees, Hang Seed Wreaths and Seed Bells (Still in stock!) to open up the "bottle neck" of all the birds trying to feed at once. Its going to be a great show for us. For your birds it may make the difference for survival!
It would be a good idea to stock up in advance on all bird foods including: Seed, Suet, Bark Butter products and more. Winter Blend bags of seed/Cylinders, and all of our Suet Cylinders are Excellent food sources!
Q - Are Bird Bath De-Icers a good investment?
Yes. With night after night of hard relentless freezes and days below freezing- Any Open Water Source (as well as your feeders) will be a FRENZY of activity. A reminder: even larger fresh water sources (ponds and lakes) are going to Freeze solid in extreme winter weather.
Q - "But what if I go out and break up the ice periodically and add water to the bird bath?"
It will refreeze in no time during the day, and with overnight lows in the single digits (2F-8F) and teens. Now is the time to invest in a bird bath de-icer,
You can play a vital role in helping birds as extreme winter weather occurs. Feeding the birds becomes critical at these times. A reliable supply of food can mean the difference between life and death for a bird.
"ProTips" for Bird Feeding during Extreme Winter Weather
1-Have an anti-squirrel feeder that shuts down based on weight? Remember to knock the snow and ice off, or it can "shut down" the feeder!
2- Create a Path through the Snow To Your Bird Feeders BEFORE an overnight Hard Freeze! Scatter Seed on the path to give traction when you next go out. (scatter seed elsewhere as well! (Even Better, Shovel out the snow along the path so the compacted snow doesn't turn to ice in the days ahead!)
3- Have a Power point outside? A Bird Bath De-Icer is a SMART investment before the storm and the extreme cold ahead.
4- Create Shelter for Birds by piling Brush in your yard. Leaving an Old Christmas Tree outside or putting out your bird houses (yes in winter) is also a great idea! Birds shelter from the worst of the extreme cold in brush piles and in tree cavities and bird houses!
5- Thinking of adding a new Feeder or Bird House this spring? It would be even better to do it now as your birds will have the benefit of it through this winter event!