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Celebrate National Bird Feeding Month!
Today begins the month of February and a month-long celebration of National Bird Feeding Month. February is known to be one of the coldest months here in North America as winter crawls along. The days are getting longer as we all look forward to spring next month, but there are still many long, freezing nights ahead. This makes it the perfect time of year to either begin feeding your backyard birds or re-access your current backyard bird feeding station.
According to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service survey, 47.8 million Americans consider birdwatching one of their favorite hobbies. If you don't already feed backyard birds, why not start this month? All you need to get started is a simple, inexpensive feeder, basic black oil sunflower seed, and some installation hardware like a Shepard's hook and you've got a nice winter buffet for your backyard friends.
Don't forget a water source! A heated bird bath is ideal, but even a small dish filled with unfrozen water can quickly draw many birds as water becomes scarce during a hard free. You can even go a step further and attract some different, insect eating birds (woodpeckers, wintering warblers) with some suet cakes.
Why feed birds in winter?
As temperatures plummet and natural food sources such as insects and seeds either die or are depleted, birds search for any available food source. To stay warm, they must eat more in colder temps in order to replenish rapidly metabolized fat sources through the long frigid days and nights as winter lingers.
An added plus is that having a bird feeding station in your yard is an awesome way to enjoy and learn about nature up close!
Have any backyard bird feeding questions as you get started? Feel free to e-mail me with your questions! While I am far from being an expert, my husband and I have been feeding birds in our backyard for over a decade. I'm also currently working part-time at a locally-owned bird supply store and I've learned A LOT from everyone I've worked with, including many customers.
I'll end this blog with some recommendations if you are interested in any aspect of bird feeding:
Bird Feed:
Bird Feeders:
Instalation Hardware:
Variety of the 3 essentials above:
Have fun this February and stay warm!
~Blythe BirdWatchers
