Feeding Birds in Winter

 Many birds remain in their nesting grounds throughout the winter, no matter how cold the weather. Others, whose diet consists of berries, remain as long as there is enough for them to feed on and then fly off to seek food elsewhere. Finally there are the birds that inhabit the far north, up to and beyond the Arctic Circle, and migrate south in flocks, remaining in central and southern Europe for the winter.

Among resident species are most tits, the nuthatch, woodpeckers and also many seed-eaters, such as the sparrow, greenfinch, chaf-finch, siskin, goldfinch, and various buntings. All roam the countryside, usually in small flocks, throughout the winter, often visiting gardens. Their numbers are increased by such northern guests as the brambling.

As a rule birds have no difficulty obtaining food in winter as long as there is not too much snow and the ground and trees are not coated with ice. Tits and tree creepers pick concealed insects or their eggs and cocoons out of cracks in the bark, but a coat of ice often blocks their access to food. Many seedeaters are likewise deprived of nourishment when there is a deep layer of snow for they generally seek their food on the ground where many grass seeds are to be found.

When bad weather lasts a longer time the birds are hard put to find food and many of them die of hunger. At such a time city outskirts and houses are visited by large numbers of birds, even woodland birds, and the provision of food saves many from starving to death. Birds, how-ever, cannot be fed only on bits of bread or rolls. For the majority crumbs make a totally unsuit-able diet. Natural food is by far the best, espe-cially seeds, provided, of course, that they are not mouldy or rancid. Oil seeds in particular provide birds with ample calories in winter. Seeds are eaten in winter also by birds that at other times feed mostly on insects, e. g. tits, nuthatches, and woodpeckers. Sunflower seeds are best for these species. A tit will take one at a time from the bird table and fly off with it to a nearby tree where, supporting itself on its feet, it cracks the hard shell with its bill and eats the sweet, oily kernel. The nuthatch, on the other hand, places the seed in cracks or holes in the bark and then proceeds to crack the seed. Hemp seed is also suitable, but as this has a hard shell it should be slightly crushed, e. g. with a small rolling pin, before being served to the birds. Birds may be fed millet, canary seed, flaxseed, rapeseed, hulled oats and poppy seed. The collared dove also eats wheat and maize. In addition one can provide them with the seeds of grass, thistles and conifers as well as rowan, hawthorn, elderberries and the like, dried during the late summer months. Tits also appreciate bits of suet and an occasional mealworm.

Some birds, like the goldfinch, will only rarely visit bird tables. For these it is possible to cut off whole thistle branches in the autumn and store them until the winter months. Then in winter they can simply be stuck upright into the snow.

Food is usually put out for birds in a feeder made of wood, which should be covered with glass. Small feeders may be put outside win-dows, larger ones in gardens or parks. The feeder should be topped with a small roof to protect the contents from rain and snow. Some- times feeders are constructed with an entrance at the bottom, the birds flying in from below, and the feeding space proper enclosed with glass. Such a feeder also provides protection against the wind and birds can take shelter there in harsh weather. Equally suitable are automatic feeders with a larger supply of seeds in a reserve container from which they automatically drop as soon as those on the tray have been consumed. Such feeders must, of course, be replenished regularly.

 

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