Typically, your feeders serve as a supplemental source of food for birds in your yard. In contrast, during periods of cold and severe winter weather, your birds may switch to utilizing them as the critical source of food that enables them to survive from day to day.
Normally, birds that come to feeders obtain only about 20% of their daily calories from our feeders, with the rest being obtained naturally. However, the story changes dramatically during periods of cold temperatures. One study in Wisconsin showed that when the temperature drops below 10º F, chickadees without access to feeders had twice the mortality rate than their feeder-using counterparts.
Freezing temperatures are only one factor that birds must overcome in order to survive winter. Wind, storms and wet weather can also rob birds of their ability to stay warm, even at moderate temperatures.
The most often overlooked winter survival challenge for birds is having to endure the long period of darkness during a winter night. Depending on its location, a small songbird must sustain itself though 13- 15 hours of darkness by utilizing only its own fat reserves for fuel.
Songbirds may use up 75-80% of their fat reserves in one winter night. This is equivalent to 10% of their body weight being shed and replaced every day as they consume, store and utilize their body fat. This is comparable to a 200lb person losing and then gaining back 20lbs of fat every 24 hours!
Fat is the most concentrated energy source that a bird can consume and stored body fat is the primary energy supply that fuels a bird between meals and through these long winter nights Their daily challenge is to find enough food to not only make it through each day, but to also replace their fat reserves for the coming night -- all in the course of limited daylight hours.
Help your backyard birds survive this winter by offering them high fat foods that are a critical necessity. Foods like premium oil sunflower seeds, peanuts, and a variety of suet are high in fat content. Some of the best foods to offer are Winter SuperBlend Suet, Seed Cylinders and Seed from Wild Birds Unlimited. These foods have been specifically formulated to provide birds with the much-needed fat and energy they need to survive whatever winter throws at them. Don’t forget to provide fresh water in a heated bird bath because it helps keep the birds feathers clean as well as hydrates them in the dry weather.
For helpful advice and wild bird products, visit Wild Birds Unlimited in Gambrills or shop online at MyWBU.Com/Gambrills.
