Bring Hummingbirds Right To Your Window!
Check PriceHeathern blizzards often make you think of birds escaping harsh weather conditions by relocating hundreds of miles. However, it may surprise you to learn that most birds don’t relocate at all. Instead of migrating, you can find most birds seeking shelter close to home and utilizing ancestral survival techniques.
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Learning how birds weather winter storms can help you turn your backyard into an essential lifeline for them during severe weather.
Reasons Birds Stay During Blizzards
Birds are incredibly capable of using barometric measurements, wind, and temperature fluctuations to detect storms. They have some kind of an early warning system that allows them to seek immediate shelter, however their preparation doesn’t involve long distance escape flights and they won’t use up a lot of energy by flying the area where they take shelter.
The truth is that flying in a blizzard is both dangerous and requires a lot of energy. The combination of cold temperatures, high winds, and low visibility creates a hazardous environment to fly in. During a blizzard, the energy expended whilst flying could lead to starvation and death. Alternatively, birds seek out sheltered microhabitats that are located within their current range, such as dense evergreen thickets, leeward sides of tree trunks, brush piles, and even eaves of buildings.
Chickadees, for example, will wedge into very tight tree spaces, located only a few feet back from your bird feeder. Cardinals will also take cover in thick branches of conifers right in the yard where they feed. These birds have mapped out the safe areas in their territory so when storms come, they reposition themselves and wait.
How far did they go? Usually, it was less than a hundred yards from where they ate.
The Science Behind Their Storm Sense
Studies show that some species of birds detect changes in atmospheric pressure 24 hours before a storm arrives. Their inner ears have specialized receptors that sense these pressure changes and consequently modify their behavior to prepare for impending severe weather.
You may notice this yourself in your backyard before a blizzard. Over the couple hours before a blizzard, you may notice increased bird activity at your bird feeders. Birds like cardinals, blue jays and chickadees may come to your feeders much more often, and they may eat nearly double what they usually eat. This is because they need to stockpile energy for the difficult hours that come with a blizzard.
During winter months, frantic feeding behavior is a good reason to keep your feeders full of high-energy foods, such as black oil sunflower seeds.
Wagner's Black Oil Sunflower Bird Food, 25 lbs
Tactics birds use to survive in your back yard
Once birds are in the open, they use amazing physical tricks to cope with the extremely low temperatures. Puffing up feathers makes blizzard conditions and this creates pockets of warm air to retain and trap heat in their bodies. They essentially double their insulation by doing this. That rounded ball look of cardinals at your feeder during a blizzard is doing exactly this.
The process of shivering is one way to keep warm and it involves rapid contraction of muscles. During extreme weather, dark-eyed juncos, as typical winter visitors, burn through their fat reserves to maintain their central body temperature, and shiver almost constantly. This is why the pre-storm feeding phenomenon is so important as birds have to feed on a lot of calories due to the immense amount of energy that will be used.
The Benefits of Whole Group Roosting
Bluebirds are well known for communal roosting—they pack dozens of individuals into a single nest box! Even mourning doves, which are often solitary, will huddle together on the sheltered sides of branches. The body heat from huddling doves (and other bird species) can create a microclimate that is several degrees warmer than the air!
Offering birds winter roosting boxes can be a huge help to them. The Woodlink Cedar Winter Roosting Box includes in-box perches and a bottom entrance hole designed to trap warm air for winter warmth.
Woodlink Cedar Winter Roosting Box
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Controlled Hypothermia: Extreme Survival Tactic
Smaller birds, like chickadees, undergo controlled hypothermia known as torpor, where they lower their body temperature by 50° Fahrenheit to preserve energy. For example, chickadees can lower their body temperature from 108° to 86° Fahrenheit. This saves them a massive amount of calories during the coldest, longest hours of the night.
This amazing adaptation means that a chickadee survives a blizzard at night, burns less than half the calories it would ordinarily burn. That is the difference between surviving until morning or dying from starvation.
Did You Know?
Black-capped chickadees can drop their body temperature during torpor by 50 degrees F. Their heart rate drops from over 500 beats per minute to under 100. They essentially 'power down' to survive the night.
How Blizzards Affect Late Migrants and Residents Differently
Birds experience blizzards differently depending on if they are residents or migrants. For year-round resident species such as cardinals, chickadees, and downy woodpeckers, winter’s challenges have been faced and adapted to over many generations. These winter-adapted residents know the area and have built food storage and adaptations needed to survive the cold.
Migrants arriving late run into more challenges. Robins that stay late into winter or hermit thrushes that are delayed by nice weather can get caught by an unexpected blizzard. These birds don't have the fat reserves that the residents do, and they likely do not know the best local shelters.
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The most significant problem is snow cover since ground foraging species lose their primary food sources. Also, late migrants are unlikely to try to outfly a storm when it arrives. The energy expenditure is far too great.
However, they use the sheltering strategies of the residents and crowd into dense vegetation, tree cavities, and other protective nooks. For example, in holly bushes, Robins pack and survive on berries until they can access the ground again. Sparrows, on the other hand, burrow into snowbanks, insulating themselves with the snow.
What the Research Tells Us
Research from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology claims that most avian fatalities during blizzards stems from starvation instead of exposure. Birds lose the ability to survive extreme cold when food options become scarce, thus, the availability of food right after the storm is vital.
As soon as the weather changes, even late migrants who are stressed are able to bounce back if they have access to high-energy foods. This is where your backyard helps make a difference.
5 Ways to Assist Birds in the Upcoming Blizzard
Knowledge that birds shelter nearby during storms instead of fleeing gives real power to help. Here are five practical steps that actually change something:
1. High-Energy Foods for Stock Feeders Before the Storm
To attract birds to your yard, it is best to use bird seed, suet, peanuts, and nyjer seed. Also, it is beneficial to fill feeders before the blizzard as birds won't go far to find food and having it available can help them a lot.
Suet cakes are especially useful when it gets extremely cold outside because birds can immediately turn the concentrated fat into body heat. St. Albans Bay High Energy Suet Cakes are conveniently packaged in a bucket of 20 so you can easily keep a supply on hand for the winter storm season.
11 oz Talgkuchen Talg Plus ST. ALBANS BAY
2. Position Feeders in Secured Areas
Feeders that are placed on exposed poles become unusable in heavy snow or high winds. Try placing feeders near evergreen shelter or under eaves so that access to food is easier for the birds, therefore they won't have to fight the elements.
A weather dome or baffle on top of your feeder will keep the seed dry and accessible even when it is snowing hard. The Arundale Sky Cafe Squirrel Baffle is a two-in-one deal! It baffle both protects feeder food from squirrels and the weather so that birds can eat in all the worst weather.
Dôme de Cage Anti-écureuil SKY CAFE 17'' Extérieur
3. Provide Fresh, Unfrozen Water
Birds need to drink water even during a blizzard. They must eat snow which takes energy to melt. This is as dangerous as starvation.
One of the best things you can do for your winter bird care is invest in a heated bird bath. The GESAIL Birdbath Deicer is ice-free in temperatures well below zero and uses only 50 watts, which is less than the wattage of a standard light bulb.
GESAIL Birdbath Deicer 50W Waterproof
In extreme cold weather, if there is no electrical outlet close to your bird bath, plan to change the water multiple times a day to keep it accessible.
4. Houd uw tuinbedekking dicht
Evergreen shrubs, brush piles, and fully-grown trees create the shelter birds look for. If you lack natural cover, think about adding some.
Just a pile of pruned branches can shelter dozens of birds during harsh weather. For added stability, place larger logs on the bottom and pile smaller branches on top. Leave some gaps for birds to get in. You'll be amazed by how quickly birds find and use this shelter.
Short on time to create a brush pile? Coveside Winter Bird Shelter offers similar protection and is ready to use! It is ideal for smaller yards where a traditional brush pile won’t fit.
Coveside Winter Bird Shelter with Removable Perch
5. Post-Storm Rapid Clearance of Feeding Zones
Once the blizzard passes, clear snow from the platform feeders and the ground beneath. Snow covering the feeders as well as the ground feeder birds like the juncos and sparrows will prevent them from accessing the rest of the food. Deep snow will make this food less accessible ground feeding birds. Clearing the snow will help the feeding birds recover from the stress of the blizzard.
An ergonomic snow shovel will likely take some strain off your back, and the faster you finish clearing the area, the faster birds will be able to refuel after their ordeal.
Snow Joe Snow Shovel with Assist Handle
What To Watch For After A Storm
The first hours after a blizzard are very important for the survival of different birds. Signs to look for at your feeders include:
Increased activity: Expect to see 2-3 times the usual number of visitors as birds emerge hungry from their shelters.
Some unique species include: The blizzards push birds into your yard that they would usually never come to. You may be able to see species that you have never seen before. A window feeder will allow you to observe these rare visitors without scaring them.
Lethargic behavior: Birds that are fluffed up and appear lethargic for a long period of time may be having difficulties. Make sure to keep bird feeders full and easy to access.
Flock behaviors include the acceptance of normally territorial species at bird feeders. These species can accept the proximity of others during recovery feeding.
Pro Tip
The best time to feed birds after a blizzard is 4-6 hours after it ends. Birds need to refuel and have burned through their fat reserves. If you can shovel a single path, do it toward your feeders.
Constructing a Backyard Ready for Blizzards
Before the first storm hits is the best time to start getting ready for blizzard season. Think about these improvements you can make to your backyard bird habitat:
Various types of feeders: Different types of feeders work better for different birds and species. Offering a tube feeder stocked with sunflower seeds, a suet cage for woodpeckers and nuthatches, and a platform feeder for ground-feeding birds will guarantee that every bird has food available.
Native plantings: The evergreen shrubs such as junipers, spruces, pines and arborvitae offer shelter throughout the year. The berry producing shrubs winterberry and holly provide emergency food when feeders are buried.
Roosting boxes: Separate from nest boxes, roosting boxes are designed for winter use. They have entry holes at the bottom to capture rising warm air, as well as internal perches for several birds.
The Bottom Line
When another blizzard warning comes into your forecast, think about the birds in your yard. While other birds may be flying hundreds of miles away, yard birds will be taking cover and staying put.
By preparing your yard for winter birds, you may make the difference between a routine night and a potentially deadly one. Keep bird feeders stocked, areas of the yard professionally cleared of snow, and continuously running bird baths. Remember, a yard full of winter birds is a yard full of opportunities.
Happy birding!
