We recently had an exciting snow day at Bird of West Cobb which is located in Marietta, Georgia. It became quite the backyard birding party for our feathered friends!
Recently we had a Snow Day at Birds of West Cobb and all of our favorite backyard birds came out to play (and eat!) in the snow! We were well-stocked with Dried Mealworms, a heated bird bath, and suet cakes as well as bird seed mixtures, basically all of the top bird food options for birds in the Southeast United States.
The forecast is always questionable, and many people joke that it must be nice to have a job where you are wrong 90% of the time... like the weather forecasters. However, January is statistically the coldest month of the year for Georgia residents and it's been a few years since we've had snow that stuck around for more than an hour or two. Here in Marietta, it felt like it was time so we stocked up and planned on not leaving the house for a few days with the iced roads and the countless bird visitors coming to the yard for sustenance.
The weather really made for some entertaining bird watching when snow turned to ice and the birds slide to the food instead of gracefully perching
We woke up early and by around 7AM EST the yard was already turning white. It kept coming down for a few more hours and we had between 4 and 5 inches of fresh powdery snow, before the temperature rose slightly and it actually rained softly for a bit. This made the top of the snow turn into a slick crusty layer that was difficult for us to walk on, but I have to admit it was slightly fun to watch the birds coming in for a landing and sliding for several inches before stopping fully.
Why is it important to feed wild birds when it snows?
Many Wild birds rely on insects or native seeds and berries for either the majority of their diet or their complete diet. In the southern states where snow is pretty rare, many species of birds have already traveled hundreds, or even thousands of miles to get to a warmer place for Winter months, where they can usually find plenty of nourishment. When temperatures plummet and food gets scarce, it's already difficult enough for the birds to find enough food to survive. But when you think of 3-5" of fluffy white frozen powder on top of the insects, leaves, seeds and berries it just becomes that much more difficult. There are parts of Georgia that are pretty barren and full of trees and streams. But much of metro Atlanta has been turned into suburbia and thousands of new subdivisions have been built with few trees. Coupled with manicured lawns and pesticides (or herbicides) being applied regularly, the backyard birding people like you and us DO make a difference.
How much does a bird have to eat to survive in colder weather?
According to All About Birds, the smaller the bird, the higher the percentage of their body weight they must consume each day just to make it in this type of weather! It is estimated that tiny birds like Carolina Chickadees, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Tufted Titmice, House Finches, Gold Finches and small Sparrows may have to consume as much as 35% of their body weight EACH DAY just to survive! How difficult that must be, when it's covered in snow or frozen in a layer of ice! Medium-sized birds like the American Robin, Eastern Blue Jays or Northern Cardinals may require around 20-25% of their weight in food each day. Cooper's Hawks and Crows are estimated between 12% (small hawks) and as little as 4% for the Crows.
How much food should you put out for the birds when it's cold?
I'm certain that Lisa refilled the feeders 4 times on our snow day, and the next few days as well, because we had so many visitors that rely on insects and flipping leaves over to find their next meal. When snow falls it becomes a lot more difficult to find food, as well as fresh water that isn't frozen solid. We saw everything from House Finches to Brown Thrashers, and even had a couple of pretty rare guests swing by for food or water; the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and the Cedar Waxwing! Not only are they pretty uncommon here, they are beautiful birds with tons of character AND style!
What is the best bird food for wild birds in the Winter?
Birds require energy to keep warm, just like you or me. The best foods to provide wild backyard birds with this energy are the ones which are high in fat and protein. Avoid processed foods! Stick with raw seeds or nuts, dried or live mealworms and especially suet! For our top picks, scroll to the end and we'll share our favorite performing picks for Winter Bird Feed!
Which birds will visit my birdfeeder when it snows?
Over the course of the snow day and the following few days, we had visits from MANY of our favorites! Which is yours? This is the list of all of the wild bird species we spotted in just a few of those cold (and bright, white) snowy days!
Of course, your results will vary based on the food you select!
Tufted Titmouse
Carolina Chickadee
House Finch
Chipping Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Carolina Wren
American Goldfinch
Purple Finch
Northern Cardinal
Eastern Blue Jay
Northern Mockingbird
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Eastern Blue Bird
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Cedar Waxwing
American Robin
European Starling
Brown-headed Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Pine Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Brown Thrasher
Cooper's Hawk
Common Crow
We may have missed a few but you can certainly see that the list is pretty long! To keep driving this point home, and also because our readers may find this particularly interesting, many of these birds would not have visited us if we only provided bird seed alone, and on the flipside if we had suet or mealworms only, we would have missed many of the seed-eating favorites. If you are new to bird feeding (or bird watching) a great way to diversify, or see more variations of the bird species in your area, is to offer more options to the wild birds when it comes to the food sources. Some species only eat insects/spiders. Some will only eat seeds. Some birds are only predacious and will only choose on rodents or (gasp!), other birds. If we think of any other bird species we missed last week we will update them above!
As always, thanks for reading! -BOWC (birdsofwestcobb)
Here are the top Winter Bird Feeding Products which you may have spotted in the photos above, (along with the birds of course):
TOP WINTER BIRD FEED PICK 1: C&S Suet Cakes (don't forget the recycled composite feeder!)
TOP WINTER BIRD FEED PICK 2: Crunchy, delicious Dried mealworms. Look, you don't have to take our word for it but you'll likely more than DOUBLE the number of birds visiting your feeders for this delicious birdie snack!
TOP WINTER BIRD FEED PICK 3: Cole's Special Feeder Mix far better than just seeds alone, you'll definitely see an increase in your feathered visitors with this seed and nut blend!
TOP WINTER BIRD FEED PICK 4: Safflower Seed - this favorite of ours is great for songbirds, and is NOT a favorite among the neighborhood squirrels. They'll still eat it if food is scarce, but they'd much rather dig up your lawn trying to find that last acorn.
TOP WINTER BIRD FEED PICK 5: C&S SUET NUGGETS (Peanut Flavored)
TOP WINTER BIRD FEED PICK 6: Hulled Sunflower Seed (also known as the Sunflower "meat" only, or "shelled seed").
TOP HEATER FOR BIRD BATH:
We've been using this small bird bath heater for the last 3 years and it works very well!
TOP HEATED BIRD BATH:
If we decide to get a new upgraded model we'll likely go with this 14" terracotta bird bath with integrated heater element.
Comments