EXPLORING NATURE: BIRDS & COLD WEATHER

After our recent spell of Arctic weather, I am happy to see my backyard birds seem to be in good shape. I have a nice mixture, with robins, chickadees, titmice, goldfinches and cardinals. Plus an occasional black vulture which likes to wade in my birdbath.

That birdbath was at one time a solid piece of ice, and I am delighted it is once more in liquid form.

How in the world did all those birds survive the coldest weather in about thirty years? Well, the truth is, some did not survive. Some birds, and some bats, perished in the cold. Bats were found dead under bridges and some dead birds became food for predators such as cats, foxes and raccoons.

But most bids have strategies that kept them alive.

For one thing, they put on as much fat as possible to act as insulation. They also fluffed up feathers to trap pockets of air around their bodies. They even slowed down their metabolism at night to conserve energy.

Wild birds fare much better in the cold than many pet birds. If your pet parrot or budgie is put outside, the lowest temperature it could survive would be about 65F.

Birds perch with their heads down and beaks pushed into their chests for maximum heat retention. Sometimes they cram together in a nest box of tree cavity to stay warm.

You can help them by providing roosting boxes where they can get out of the worst cold. I have about a dozen wooden nest boxes on the sides of my two-car garage. I even have a bat box in case local bats need a roost.

Do try to keep unfrozen water in your birdbath and keep sunflower seeds and suet blocks available.

In cold weather, our feathered friends need all the help we can give them.