Black-Capped Chickadee
All winter long, a bird’s most difficult task is to continually forage enough food during the day to provide the calories they need to keep warm at night when they aren’t eating.
Cold winter wind saps energy and warmth from birds, and this is especially so at night when their reserves aren’t being replenished. And if a bird’s energy reserves are compromised during the night, it makes the next day’s survival that much more difficult.
Many people provide birds with food and water during the day, but we can go one step further. We can help birds make it through long, winter nights by providing shelters where they can escape freezing winds and icy temperatures.
Roosting Pocket
One way to help the birds stay warm is to leave your bird houses up all winter. Stuffing cotton nesting materials and dried grasses inside will help insulate them, and the box will serve as a cozy place for birds to get out of the elements. Blocking the ventilation holes will help too. You can stuff cotton hay or grasses in the openings or anything else that will keep out the drafts. Just remember to remove these materials in spring, before nesting begins.
An inexpensive way to help birds in winter is to put out roosting pockets. Put out as many as you can, so more birds can find shelter in them. You can stuff the insides of these with nesting materials too, such as cotton and grasses.
Roosting boxes are even better. These have the entrance hole at the bottom and perches inside for roosting. Having the hole at the bottom keeps warm air up inside the box. Sometimes many birds will share the same roosting box. Facing the opening in a southerly position will help warm the box in late afternoon.
Roosting Box
Finally, you can hang nesting materials out in winter for those birds that have found shelter in natural cavities. Birds will take the cotton, grasses and other materials and stuff them into tree holes or anywhere else they have found a place to spend the night.
By taking a few steps now—stuffing your bird houses, putting out roosting pockets, roosting boxes and hanging stuffing materials, your birds will be able to find and get used to their new shelters well before the worst of winter really sets in.
Roxanne Brune is a lifelong backyard birding enthusiast and the editor of the Duncraft blog. Duncraft, Inc. has been providing wild-bird feeding enthusiasts with quality products and supplies since 1952. Visit their website at duncraft.com to request a catalog or for more information.
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