Ways You Can Care For Yard Birds During The Winter

There are measures you can take to help your backyard birds in cold winter weather.

Lynne Maddux is a coordinator with the Cookeville Bluebird Club. Maddux said providing food, clean bird baths and shelter are ways to help.

“If you’re feeding seed in a seed feeder, you just really need to remember filling that everyday,” Maddux said. “The birds that eat seed really depend on that during the winter months, because other things are not available.”

Maddux said you should put out food in morning times since birds use majority of their energy to stay warm at night. In some cases, seed might not be the best option. Maddux said for birds that need more protein such as bluebirds. try making your own suet. It is a mixture of nuts, oats and fat.

“Our recipe is made of lard, oatmeal and corn meal,” Maddux said. “It has a lot of things in it that gives the bird energy. It is a really goo recipe to give them nutrition in the winter.”

Maddux said despite the cold, clean water for bathing is also important. Maddux said birds by nature bathe daily but sometimes cannot find water during freezing temperatures.