Cookeville Bluebird Society Says To Keep Feeders Out Through Winter

Keeping your bird feeders out and filled during the winter months is important during a time of food scarcity.

The Tennessee Bluebird Society’s Lynn Maddux said it is more important to leave your feeders out during the winter months during any other time of the year. Maddux said feeders provide an easy source of sustenance for our feathered friends.

“The birds that eat the seeds eat them year round, so it’s really good,” Maddux said. “They probably need it more in the spring, I mean in the winter than they do in the spring or summer, because in the spring and summer there’s other food for them to eat.”

Maddux said birds do not nest in winter months. She did say they will often huddle together for warmth in hollowed out trees or birdhouses that simulate that. She said Bluebird Society build nesting boxes for bluebirds in the winter.

“The birds use those in the winter to kind of huddle in together away from the cold,” Maddux said. “They don’t nest in the winter, but a lot of times you’ll see several bluebirds on the roof of the bluebird houses, and then you’ll see them go in an out of the box. So, they huddle together in the winter to protect themselves from the cold.”

Maddux said it is important to keep your feeders a good height off the ground and to clean up any millworms or seed you may spill on the ground, or you are inviting unwanted hungry critters to your yard.

“The seeds when they spill on the ground, you’ll get other animals to come,” Maddux said. “I know one year we had skunks that came to get the seeds off the ground. Squirrels or other small animals, raccoons and different things like that might come around.”

Maddux said she also recommends suet feeders during winter months. Suet provides birds with extra nutrients they need during harsh winters.

Maddux said one more tip to keep the birds in your yard healthy this season is to bring your cats inside. She said not only is it too cold for the cats out there, but they will also try to eat the birds.

Maddux said the Cookeville chapter of the Tennessee Bluebird Society is selling nesting boxes for those interested.