{"id":8638,"date":"2025-01-13T11:56:17","date_gmt":"2025-01-13T10:56:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/?p=8638"},"modified":"2025-01-14T13:36:59","modified_gmt":"2025-01-14T12:36:59","slug":"to-feed-or-not-to-feed-the-birds-in-cold-weather","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/to-feed-or-not-to-feed-the-birds-in-cold-weather\/","title":{"rendered":"To Feed or Not to Feed the Birds in Cold Weather"},"content":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s an age-old question — to feed or not to feed birds in fall and winter. \u00a0Some people believe that feeding wild birds can cause more harm than good, like preventing timely migrations, or causing birds to depend on feeders rather than foraging food. The truth is these are myths and feeding birds is beneficial to their well-being. Birds migrate regardless of seed in feeders. It\u2019s estimated that wild birds only get 25 percent of food from feeders, the rest is naturally sourced, so full feeders don\u2019t keep birds from migrating. Instead, several triggers urge birds to migrate: like changes in nesting locations as trees lose leaves, less natural foods, insect decline, winds, temperature drop and day length. As days grow shorter, many birds get internally restless and head south, taking advantage of plentiful natural foods, and stocked feeders to fuel their flight.<\/div>\n
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During cold weather, resident birds that don\u2019t migrate, need extra calories to stay warm as they burn energy keeping body temperatures up when temperatures drop. As natural resources decline, resident birds expend much energy searching for food. Providing supplemental food at feeders helps keep birds\u2019 caloric-intake high, supporting them during bouts of brutally cold weather.<\/p>\n

In wintry weather, birds can use up to 75 percent of their fat stores per night. Studies show birds with regular access to feeders are healthier, have better feather growth, disease resistance and more successful reproduction. The right bird feed and feeders attract a wide variety of resident and migrating birds to backyards.<\/p>\n

Birding expert, Elaine Cole, owner of Cole\u2019s Wild Bird Products, Co., offers timely advice on continuing to feed birds throughout cold weather and keeping birds safe and healthy.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot all bird feed is created equal. Cole\u2019s takes exceptional care to select only the top 1 to 2 percent of the highest-quality seeds birds like, with no filler seed ever used. Our \u2018Harvest Fresh Lock\u2019 packaging protects nutritional content and doesn\u2019t allow seed to spoil or dry out like other bird feed. No dangerous pesticides, chemicals or mineral oils are ever used, keeping seed safe and as close to natural as possible.<\/p>\n

For cold weather, I suggest black oil sunflower, white proso millet, cracked corn, niger seed, raw peanuts and suet cakes or kibbles to ensure the nutritional benefits of feeders.<\/p>\n

\u201cProviding a variety of feed and feeder types increases the diversity of avian visitors. A\u00a0tube feeder\u00a0is a \u2018must-have,\u2019 these all-purpose feeders keep seed dry and accommodate a wide variety of birds feeding from multiple ports. Specialty wire-mesh tube feeders, designed for birds that cling, can easily dispense tiny, oil-rich niger seeds, protein-packed dried mealworms and other specialty feed.<\/p>\n

For an easy-to-use, one-size-fits-most feeder, select a bowl style with a protective dome that can be raised and lowered to thwart large birds and squirrels while protecting seed from inclement weather. \u00a0Easy to hang and fill, bowl feeders accommodate any seed, nuts, suet and even chopped fruit.<\/p>\n

Invest in larger feeders which hold more seed, like the \u2018Tubezilla.\u2019 Frigid weather makes energy conservation critical; birds can\u2019t afford to waste time waiting for food if feeders are empty. Large capacity feeders decrease the frequency of empty feeders, while increasing the number of bird visits. And they\u2019ll save you some frigid trips outside to refill feeders,\u201d says Cole.<\/p>\n

More Tips:<\/p>\n

\u2022 It\u2019s always essential to clean out residue before adding fresh seed. Because some feeders can be difficult to scrub, this step is too often ignored. Cole\u2019s tube feeders have a built in \u201cquick-clean\u201d feature; a removable base that with one push of a button, provides easy access to the inside, making cleaning — a vital step in preventing disease — a breeze!<\/p>\n

\u2022 It\u2019s difficult to find essential, unfrozen water in winter. The fix? A birdbath with an electric heater that\u2019s continuously full and clean.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Allow leaves to remain under trees and shrubbery which attract birds with shelter, insects, and fallen seeds.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Protect birds from cats or hawks by hanging feeders in sheltered spots.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Providing shelter is as simple as stacking branches and brush. Also, instead of dragging Christmas trees to the curb, put them in a corner of the backyard, for protection from wind and predators.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s an age-old question — to feed or not to feed birds in fall and winter. \u00a0Some people believe that feeding wild birds can cause more harm than good, like preventing timely migrations, or causing birds to depend on feeders rather than foraging food. The truth is these are myths and feeding birds is beneficial […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2234,"featured_media":8639,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[162,163],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-features"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTo Feed or Not to Feed the Birds in Cold Weather - Many Roads<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/to-feed-or-not-to-feed-the-birds-in-cold-weather\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" 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an age-old question — to feed or not to feed birds in fall and winter. \u00a0Some people believe that feeding wild birds can cause more harm than good, like preventing timely migrations, or causing birds to depend on feeders rather than foraging food. The truth is these are myths and feeding birds is beneficial…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2234"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8638\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8639"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bodhicharya.org\/manyroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}