Tips for feeding birds in the winter
Make the most of feeding birds in winter:
- Clean off feeders, platforms, and perches after each storm so seed is easily accessible.
- Leave fruit and berries on trees, hedges, and bushes to provide a natural source of food throughout the winter.
- Add a heated birdbath to your backyard or place a safe heating element in a regular birdbath to provide birds with liquid water.
- Stamp or shovel snow around feeders to provide easier access to spilled seed for ground-feeding birds.
- Leave nesting boxes and birdhouses up all year round to provide winter roosting sites.
The best foods to offer birds in colder weather have a high fat or oil content that will provide abundant energy for winter survival. Nutritious winter foods for birds include:
- Black oil sunflower seed
- Hulled peanuts or peanut hearts
- Nyjer (thistle) seed
- Suet mixes with seeds or fruit
- Peanut butter
- White millet seed