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Winter bird seed


Best 8 Bird Foods for the Winter Season

Feeding the birds in winter can be a rewarding way to enjoy birding in your backyard when the weather outside is less than ideal. If you offer the best winter bird foods, you will find a greater variety of birds visiting your feeders even on the coldest days. While you want to be sure to offer the foods that your specific backyard birds like best, these top foods are excellent choices for many common winter birds. All of these foods offer great nutrition, and their high caloric content will give birds plenty of energy to build fat reserves for frigid winter nights.

Feeding birds in winter – the dos and don'ts

Feeding birds in winter is vital to their wellbeing throughout the colder months, as food is scarce and energy is precious.

Start by noting which birds already visit your garden. Different birds have different tastes and favorite foods, so feeding the birds you know already frequent your garden is a good start, plus it will encourage them to keep returning. 

American robins, for example, love to eat fruits while blue jays love to eat peanuts and northern cardinals love black oil sunflower seeds. Once you're feeding your regular guests, you can then branch out with other types of feed and attract even more species of bird into your garden.

During periods of bad weather, birds will come to rely on your feeders as an essential source of food. Easy to find and nutritious seed and fats will help your feathered friends to conserve their energy – using it to keep warm rather than hunting down scarce berries and insects.

Below, we offer tips and tricks for feeding birds in winter as well as what to feed them and what to avoid – you can include them in your winter garden ideas to create a welcoming space.

Feeding birds in winter

(Image credit: Getty images)

Feeding birds in winter is fairly easy to do but makes a huge difference to the well-being of wild birds. Food is scarce in winter and the food that you put out in your garden could be the difference between surviving winter and starvation. You can, of course, put food out for birds, but better still, work plants that feed birds naturally, when planning a winter garden.

‘Birds become used to your feeders, especially in bad weather when the food you provide may be life-saving. If you are gone for a long time, ask a neighbor or friend to keep the feeders running,’ says Ethan Howell, co-owner of Florida Environmental .

(Image credit: Getty images)

Water is as important as food. Like any other living thing, a clean source of water is essential to wellbeing.  ‘Offering a birdbath during the winter season helps wild birds easily find this valuable resource. This in turn helps them reserve energy for other activities such as keeping warm. If you live in an area where temperatures dip below freezing, consider a heated birdbath since its likely natural water forms are also frozen,’ advises Tammy Poppie founder at On The Feeder .

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The best things to feed backyard birds in winter

When feeding birds in winter there are lots of options for good foodstuffs. 'Obviously it helps for the food to be as calorific as possible and seeds, nuts and fat are best of all,' writes Monty Don on his blog .

We've rounded up some of the best things to put on your bird table, hang in a tree or scatter on the ground when feeding birds in winter. 

‘Place bird feeders in areas where predators like cats and foxes can't hide. Place the feeders 10-12 feet away from shrubs or brush piles,’ says Ethan Howell, co-owner of Florida Environmental .

(Image credit: Getty images)

Are eggshells good for birds?

Yes, eggshells are good for birds. Eggshells are high in calcium, a mineral in which many birds are deficient. Calcium is particularly important for female birds who need the calcium to create the shells for their eggs. However, it can be difficult to find enough in nature.

That's where our eggshells come in. Simply rinse your egg shells and then bake them in the oven at 450ºF for 10 minutes. Once they are cool, crush them up and add them to your bird table. Alternatively you can scatter them on the grass or over your borders – this might even have the added benefit of deterring slugs who don't like the gritty feeling – it's a win-win. 

(Image credit: Getty/Elva Etienne)

What should you not feed birds in winter?

There are several things you should never put on your bird feeder, whether you are feeding birds in winter or at any other time of year. 

(Image credit: Getty images)

What plants can you grow to help with feeding birds in winter?

You can also add plants for birds to your garden to help with feeding birds in winter. Pick plants that have seeds and berries throughout the winter period and that are native to your state or region as these are the ones that birds will recognize as safe to eat.

These winter plants will not only be good food for your feathered-friends but will also add some color and life to your garden throughout the winter months:

As well as providing delicious seeds and berries for your feathered friends, the plants will also provide them with valuable shelter during the winter.

(Image credit: Getty images)

Is it good to feed birds in the winter?

Yes it is good to feed birds in winter. Birds' natural food sources, like insects, seeds and berries, will become more scarce in winter. At the same time, birds require much more food during this period in order to have enough energy and fat to keep themselves warm.  

By feeding birds in winter you are providing them with a constant source of food so they don't have to waste energy seeking out insects under layers of snow. This will help your feathered friends to survive the winter, and as such do wonders for the bird population.

Another benefit of feeding birds in winter is that you will encourage more wildlife into your garden. Come spring and summer when you're gardening, these feathered friends will also snack on slugs, snails and other garden pests – helping to keep your garden healthier. 

(Image credit: Getty images)

How to attract birds to my garden?

The easiest way to attract birds is feeding them. Birds are attracted to sources of food and if it is always available to them they will soon be frequenting your feeders.

However, it may take some time for your feathered friends to spot a new feeder. Be patient and ensure there is always food available for them. 

To increase the number of birds to your garden, consider also adding one of these bird bath ideas. ‘Your birds might be attracted more to the water at first, so having the birdbath out and then placing your foods on a ground feeder or scattered near the birdbath may be the best way to attract them to the foods you’re offering,’ advises R. Brune in the Duncraft blog .

To further increase the amount of birds in your garden, you can install some of these bird house ideas which will provide birds with a warm and safe space to nest.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

How to make your own bird feeders to feed birds in winter

Making your own bird feeders is a great way of feeding birds in winter. It's also a brilliant activity to get the kids involved and teach them about the importance of feeding birds in winter.

These coconut shell feeders are made from suet and seed. High in fat and protein, they are great for feeding birds in winter. Drill a hole in the shell of a coconut and tie string to make a loop. Then simply melt 1 cup of lard or suet in a saucepan and then mix with 2 cups of bird seed. You can also add cheese, meal worms and dried fruit. Pack this into the coconut shell and leave to set for an hour or two. Once set, hang in your garden and wait for the birds. 

(Image credit: Getty Images)

While you should never feed birds actual cookies, you can make your own bird cookies. To make your own, mix 7g unflavored gelatin with 1/4 cup of water. Then mix this with the bird seed. Push this into cookie cutters and add string to ribbon. Then leave to set, then push out of the moulds and hang in a tree.

(Image credit: Future)

Winter and wintering birds - detailed descriptions with 100 photos for children and adults with special needs

Contents

  1. All types of wintering birds - names, detailed descriptions and features, 100+ photos
  2. Wintering birds of Russia: classifications, representatives
  3. List winter birds
  4. Bullfinches
  5. Sparrows
  6. Crossbills
  7. Nuthatches
  8. Siskins
  9. Yellow-headed Kinglets
  10. Titmouses
  11. Owls
  12. 0006

With the onset of autumn, we see large flocks of birds in the sky that fly to warmer climes for the winter. There are many stories, books, cartoons and fairy tales about this. Since there are many varieties, that is, those who live in one place all year round, even in winter. Such birds are also called non-migratory birds. There are, in general, quite unusual birds that, on the contrary, fly to us in winter and can breed in winter! This is truly very interesting and amazing. Let's see why different birds do this and what it depends on.

Wintering birds of Russia: classifications, representatives

Which birds stay wintering in Russia? Approximately 70 species of birds remain. Let's clarify again. Wintering birds are considered to be those that remain in their native lands during the cold winter. Therefore, they know how to survive here and find food. After all, the bird will not freeze only if it is full. Therefore, those species that feed exclusively on insects fly away. And those who can eat berries, seeds, crumbs or predators remain.

Therefore, the birds were conditionally divided into several groups according to the type of food :

And also at the place of residence of in winter, the following groups were identified:

The bird trap is used to capture and house birds. Some species take root very easily at home, some simply die in captivity. Therefore, a bird trap is sometimes useless and it is better to release some types of birds at once, and not torturing them. In the next block, we will consider in detail specific varieties of winter birds. Here are the most common:

Bullfinches, Crossbills, Jays, Crows, Pigeons, Waxwings, Nutcrackers, Goldfinches, Muscovites, Sparrows, Siskins, Yellow-headed Kinglets, Woodpeckers, Titmouses, Nuthatches, Beech-eaters, Magpies, Eagle Owls, Owls, etc.

List of winter birds

As we said above, there are many species of winter birds in Russia, we will consider the most common and famous, related to different groups and habitats for comparison.

Bullfinches

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5vTzZEIhX8

Finch family.

Undoubtedly the brightest and most popular representative of wintering birds. He is recognized and known even by the smallest children for his characteristic bright red chest and he does not need a special description. By the way, not everyone knows that females have an ordinary gray breast. Red bright only in males. Bullfinches are about the size of a sparrow.

All year round they live in the forests together in small flocks. In mixed or coniferous forests, they feed on seeds and berries, buds from trees.

We see him only in winter, because only at this time of the year he is ready to leave his natural habitat to feed on feeders in the city. Their favorite berries in winter are, of course, mountain ash, so those who grow it in their yards will definitely be able to watch these bright beautiful birds in winter.

If you wish, you can easily catch a bullfinch and teach it to live at home in a cage. Bullfinches love to eat very much, they are happy to eat all the delicacies of seeds and berries that they will be offered. They domesticate perfectly and are even ready to sing their songs to their owners soon. The only thing that is dangerous is that it is easy to feed them and thereby harm their health.

Although this bird is a winter bird, if it is colder than 50 degrees, they cannot survive. Therefore, bullfinches that live in coniferous forests in the north of the country still fly for the winter. True, not to the south, just a little closer and warmer, and it turns out that the flight for the winter is just the same for us in Russia. So we found out what birds fly in winter?

Sparrows

Finch family.

These small grey-brown birds live well in cities and are in front of our eyes all year round. They have a very large number, they are just for urban wintering birds. There are about one billion of them all over the world! Agree an impressive figure, so sparrows are known in many countries and continents.

These tiny birds, unremarkable in their color, are very unusual in fact. For example, their necks have 2 times more vertebrae than a giraffe. Sounds a bit implausible. sparrows have short necks, not long ones, but the secret is that their vertebrae are flat and that's why so many fit in such a small, short neck.

These birds are also very faithful. Choose a mate for life. They can get together with another bird only if the death of their partner has happened. That's it.

Sparrows are very friendly. In search of food, they fly in groups, and if one sparrow has found food, it immediately calls the rest. At night, in order to keep warm, they all sit together very tightly to each other, periodically change places, thereby warming themselves against each other in turn.

Sparrows are also very useful for the fields, as they feed on various pests. But this moment was not taken into account in the PRC at one time, and since the sparrows also feed on grains, they decided to exterminate the sparrows in their grain fields so that there would be more crops. Scientists have found that a sparrow can be in flight for a maximum of 15 minutes and frightening with noise did not allow them to land on the fields, as a result, they were able to exterminate several million birds. But their joy was not long, a lot of insect pests suddenly divorced and they had to urgently artificially import sparrows in order to save the crop altogether.

See also: Ostriches: types, breed descriptions, photos, videos, how to care, what they eat!

So the sparrow is very important in the food chain.

Crossbills

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_xRK5xFqqk

Finch family.

Completely forest inhabitants, they do not fly to settlements and cities. Food is obtained exclusively in the forest, and even in severe winter frosts up to 30 degrees, they manage to breed and feed their offspring. True, they hatch chicks at any time of the year, the main thing is that the female has enough food, the rest is not so important. They insulate their nests well with the hair of various animals and moss.

Males have a bright red-brown breast and head plumage, females are more inconspicuous, only a slight yellowish breast color, and the whole body is gray.

Individuals reach a size of about 20 cm in length, weight about 50 grams. They have a curved thin beak a little crocheted due to it and get their own food, get seeds from cones. Hardy can fly long distances in search of food.

Klestov in the forest are often recognized by their unforgettable singing even in 50 degree frost.

Nuthatch

Nuthatch family.

Nuthatches are so named for their ability to move quickly along tree trunks. Interestingly, they can do it upside down. In this they are helped by sharp long claws. They live in absolutely different forests of Russia: in coniferous, deciduous, mixed.

In winter they prefer to live and hide in hollows of trees, where they breed offspring. If the hollow is too large, they take care of this in advance and smear the edges with clay in the warm season. They feed on larvae in the bark of trees; for this they are served by a thin, sharp beak. With their beaks, they check every crack in the bark of a tree in order to find food for themselves. We always hide the surplus of the extracted food in reserve under the bark of trees, masking it.

Do not shy away from populated areas such as large parks. Since they themselves cannot hollow out a hollow, they live with pleasure in birdhouses built by people. In the natural environment, they look for ready-made natural hollows or abandoned, for example, from a woodpecker.

Siskins

Finch family.

Also a bird that is well known due to the well-known song “chizhik fawn”. But in the cities you will not see siskins. Nevertheless, they are very sociable and trusting birds. They are easily caught in traps and become domesticated, even breeding easily in captivity. In their natural environment, they live in coniferous forests, feed on seeds and insects.

They make their nests in the roots of trees, they find a couple only for offspring and that's it.

Yellow-headed Kinglet

Very tiny bird, slightly larger than a dragonfly and therefore almost impossible to see. But they sing very memorable and melodious, and all year round, and not only during the mating season. The nests are built very small, the chicks sit there tightly clinging to each other, higher in the branches of trees made of moss, fluff, blades of grass, cobwebs.

They have a yellowish tuft on their heads, hence the characteristic name.

In captivity, most often they do not take root, they stop eating and that's it.

Tits

Another bright representatives of wintering birds are well-known birds about the size of a sparrow with a characteristic bright yellow belly.

Tits need a lot of food. They can eat up to 500 beetles or larvae per day! Therefore, in winter they are happy to get closer to cities and human dwellings, so that it is easier to feed themselves. They eat a variety of foods: seeds, lard, nuts, various dried fruits, crumbs.

Owls

Due to their thick and dense plumage, they endure winter well. They are known to be nocturnal birds of prey. They have excellent vision in the dark and a very quiet flight. The main source of food is small rodents.

Large large bird, can weigh up to 3 kg and average height is about 70 cm. They live in forests.

We reviewed with you some of the brightest representatives of birds that stay for the winter in Russia. This is the winter life of birds. There are also many more wonderful representatives of birds, and in different areas there are different species. For example, wintering birds of Kuzbass are, among other things, black grouse, capercaillie and jay. Other areas have different species. Here are some of them: waxwings, nutcrackers, goldfinches, Muscovites, magpies, jays, woodpeckers, pigeons, smurfs, crows, owls, etc.

The diversity of bird species is amazing and delightful. Winter bird species are only confirmation of how diverse our nature in Russia is.

Below we have prepared a large selection of photos and videos of Russian winter birds.

Let's feed the birds in winter!

Traditionally, when cold weather sets in, birds and squirrels are fed in the Botanical Garden. There are a lot of feeders in the Arboretum, and the employees of the Botanical Garden monitor their occupancy. Let's help them gather food supplies!

Food is taken on weekdays from 8 am to 5 pm. Phone for information 89278824320.

Well-fed birds survive the cold more easily and are more likely to survive until spring.
Here are the main foods that can be used in winter feeding:

1. GRAINS - MILLET, OAT, WHEAT
The favorite food of some birds are the seeds of various plants, especially cereals. Sprinkling millet or oats into the feeder will attract sparrows, goldfinches and other grain-eating birds. Birds in winter can be fed with wheat bran, hard oatmeal, poppy seeds, pearl barley. Some birds eat corn and watermelon seeds, which must be crushed beforehand. If you are interested in breeding useful birds in your garden, then in the fall prepare weed seeds - nettles, quinoa, burdock, thistles, and pour them into the feeder in winter. But keep in mind that this will only be an insignificant addition to the main feed, it is more correct to plant mountain ash, viburnum, hawthorn, buckthorn, bird cherry and other berry trees and shrubs on your feeding area.

2. SUNFLOWER SEEDS
The most versatile food for wintering birds. It can be eaten by both granivorous birds and tits, nuthatches, woodpeckers. The large amount of vegetable fats inside sunflower seeds makes them an important source of energy in cold winter conditions.

3. LAD, MEAT
These products can also be used for winter feeding of birds. They are very fond of tits, nuthatches and some other species of birds. But it is worth remembering that only unsalted lard or meat can be offered to birds. As a rule, pieces of bacon are strung on twine, which is hung on tree branches.
You can also put a small piece of butter in the feeder. On especially frosty days, this product will help the birds survive.

4. DRIED ROWAN AND HAWTHORN, ROSE HIPS, KALINA
Berries of mountain ash and hawthorn attract the most beautiful winter birds - bullfinches and waxwings, mountain ash.
Dried berries and fruits. Make a bunch of dried fruits and berries. Using a needle, put pieces of dried apples, pears, plums, apricots on a strong thread, form a lump and hang near the feeder. You can offer the birds the pulp of a pumpkin. Cut through "windows and doors" in it, so that the birds can get inside. They themselves will choose what to try - seeds or pulp. Tie a small pumpkin by the tail with a strong rope and hang it from a thick branch.
Apples that start to spoil should also not be thrown away. Cut the apple in half, put it in a feeder or hang it on a wire.

5. MAPLE AND ASH SEEDS
The seeds of these trees are also called lionfish. Most of them fall from the trees and become inaccessible to birds. Lionfish are harvested in autumn and hung on feeders. Bullfinches, waxwings and some other visitors to bird canteens like to eat them.

6. HAZELNUTS, CONES, ACORNS
Cones are the main food of crossbills and woodpeckers in winter.
Jays have been stocking acorns since autumn, hiding them in secluded places.

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