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The Wings of Winter

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Ideas to Help Winter Birds Survive and Thrive

The winter season is hard on wildlife, but most of all the birds. Some bird species migrate to warmer climates, but many do not. There is quite an assortment of beautiful birds that are permanent residents of, or that migrate to Louisiana to spend the winter. This lens is about our favorite winter birds and the things that we do to help insure their survival in cold weather.

How we take care of our winter birds helps many birders up north because many of these birds migrate north in spring to nest and to be enjoyed by birders in the northern states.

You will also find some Christmas and holiday gift ideas for the birder on your list. We have listed cameras, binoculars, books, apparel and other things that we birders would love to receive. There is also bird feeders, seed, suet and other items for our feathered friends.

Contents at a Glance

Crumbs on the Snow
Birding in Winter
Northern Cardinals
Carolina Chickadees and Tufted Titmice
Woodpeckers
Nuthatches
Goldfinches
Cage Thistle Bird Feeder
Birds in Winter
Ruby-crowned Kinglets
Pine Warblers
Carolina Wrens
Eastern Bluebirds
Thayer's Gold Edition Birds of NA
Birds of Winter on Zazzle
Winged Christmas Ornaments on Amazon
Food Plants
Bird Treats

Crumbs on the Snow

When it's winter and the snow
Like a tablecloth is spread,
I remember hungry birds
And see that they are fed.
On their snowy tablecloth
They find my gift of bread.

Lucretia Penny

Birding in Winter

One of our favorite forms of entertainment during the winter is bird-watching and because we also feed the birds and plant winter food plants all around our property, we hardly have to leave our own home to see a variety of interesting and beautiful birds. Because most of the trees and shrubs have lost their leaves during the winter, the birds are so much easier to see and enjoy. All you need is a good pair of binoculars and you can enjoy the fantastic show outside from the comfort of your own home.

Of course, since we are outdoor people, we (and our 2 dogs) walk to the river each day to fill up the many bird feeders that we have all over our 9 acres. We always bring binoculars or a camera because there is usually something interesting to see.

Each December, we participate in the Christmas Bird Count. This is a day in which birders from all over the country locate as many bird species as possible and count the number of individuals for the Audubon Society. Here is a link to our 2008 Christmas Bird count. We observed and counted 36 species, but did not see several birds that we knew lived here.

Northern Cardinals

Cardinals are permanent residents and are one of our most beautiful winter birds. The male's bright red color and the female's soft brown with touches of red always brighten up a winter day. Cardinals are seed eaters and visit our black oil sunflower seed feeders often.

Buy Cardinal in Holly Postcard and Female Cardinal by naturegirl7

Carolina Chickadees and Tufted Titmice

During winter small flocks of Chickadees, Titmice and Downy Woodpeckers travel through the forests and visit feeders, searching for food. It is during the winter that the immature birds in the flock develop pair bonds in preparation for mating in spring. These small flocks love black oil sunflower seed and suet. They also eat many wild seed and berries.

Buy Carolina Chickadee and Tufted Titmouse Bath Postcard by naturegirl7

Woodpeckers

In our habitat, here in Louisiana, there are many species of woodpeckers, including: (from largest to smallest) Pileated, Northern Flicker, Red-bellied, Red-headed, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Hairy Woodpecker and Downy Woodpecker. The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is a winter visitor that pecks sap wells in trees which in turn attract and trap insects. The Red-headed Woodpecker is seen mainly in spring and summer. All the others are year round residents that eat sunflower seeds, suet and the insects from rotting wood.

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Buy Red-bellied Woodpecker by naturegirl7

Red-headed Woodpecker

Red-headed Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

Female Downy
Female Male

Nuthatches

Our resident Southeastern U.S. nuthatch is the little Brown-headed Nuthatch. It is similar to the Pygmy Nuthatch of the west. These acrobatic little birds need pine forests to survive because pine nuts are their primary food. They will also eat black oil sunflower seeds and suet, so providing a bird feeder will aid in their survival.

Buy Brown-headed Nuthatch Poster by naturegirl7

Occasionally in winter, Red-breasted Nuthatches will make their way down this far south. During the winter of 2007-08 several spent the entire winter here. These amusing little birds with their honking call are a delight to watch.

Buy Red-breasted Nuthatch Postage by naturegirl7

Goldfinches

goldfinches feeding Each year flocks of American Goldfinches in their winter plumage come from the north to visit our sunflower and Thistle seed feeders. It's best not to fill up the Thistle feeders until the birds arrive, because the seed must be fresh or they won't eat it. By spring, some of the males are beginning to show the beautiful bright yellow breeding plumage like the one below. Before Hurricane Katrina, we used to host flocks of 200 or more Goldfinches in our habitat, but now we are lucky to have 25 to 30 at one time.

Buy Goldfinch on branch by SteeveO69

Cage Thistle Bird Feeder

Thistle Domed Cage Bird Feeder - $ 87.38
Thistle Domed Cage. Extended top- makes refilling easy. Spring Clamp- keeps dome in place and removes for cleaning. Sheltering dome- protects against weather. Stainless steel wire- long lasting and chew-proof. Droll Yankees tubular feeder.

Birds in Winter

Birds in Winter (Through the Seasons (Smart Apple))

by: Steve Maslowski, Adele Richardson

Amazon Price: $12.00 (as of 02/16/2012)

Ruby-crowned Kinglets

rubycrown eating suet Ruby-crowned (and sometimes Golden Crowned) Kinglets spend the winter with us. They are tiny, active little greenish gray birds with a white eye ring and yellow-orange feet. The males have a red "crown" that stays hidden under a tuft of feathers except when they are agitated or excited. They love suet and they will pick at the seed on our log feeders, but are probably looking for insects. They will also visit the hummingbird feeders that we leave up year round. Most of the time Kinglets are in perpetual motion as they work each branch, looking under every leaf for tiny insect food.

Pine Warblers

Pine Warblers are permanent residents in our habitat. They spend most of their time high in the mature pine trees throughout our property. But in winter, they come down out of the tree tops to visit the suet and seed feeders. Pine Warblers are the only seed eating Warbler and they make their home in the Pine trees on our property. The males are quite attractive with their bright golden yellow breast and the females, though less showy are also quite lovely.

Carolina Wrens

Carolina Wrens, with their many vocalizations, are evident during every season. They mate for life and usually are seen in pairs, even in winter. They absolutely love suet and will monopolize any suet feeder. They also eat tons of insects, so they are beloved by gardeners. Don't leave your Christmas Wreath up too long, because as soon as the weather warms up, these birds are looking for placed to build their nests.

Buy Carolina Wren Poster by naturegirl7

Eastern Bluebirds

The lovely Eastern Bluebirds spend the winter in groups going through the woods and forest, eating winter berries. Bluebirds also like suet, but we have never seen them eating any from our feeders. Water is an important feature for Bluebirds, so an unfrozen feeder or pond will be appreciated by them. Many times we have seen pairs checking out nest boxes in December and January. They also use nest boxes as shelters in which to roost during the really cold nights of winter.

Buy Proud Bluebird Poster by naturegirl7

Thayer's Gold Edition Birds of NA

Thayer's Gold Edition Guide to Birds of North America -
$ 169.95
This top-rated birding software covers 957 species found in North America. See over 2,800 color photos. Songs for 708 birds. Includes range maps, 500 videos and 700 quizzes. Import your own photos. Download songs to your iPod. For Windows.

Birds of Winter on Zazzle

Birds of Winter Designs by naturegirl7

The Wings of Winter

Ideas to Help Winter Birds Survive and Thrive

Contents at a Glance

Contents at a Glance

Crumbs on the Snow

Birding in Winter

Northern Cardinals

Carolina Chickadees and Tufted Titmice

Woodpeckers

Nuthatches

Goldfinches

Cage Thistle Bird Feeder

Birds in Winter

Ruby-crowned Kinglets

Pine Warblers

Carolina Wrens

Eastern Bluebirds

Thayer's Gold Edition Birds of NA

Birds of Winter on Zazzle

Winged Christmas Ornaments on Amazon

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Food Plants

Bird Treats

Christmas Ornament

Binoculars

Binoculars and Cameras at Amazon

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Backyard Birds in Winter

Suplemental Food and Water

More Bird Feeders

Birds in Winter in Kerrville, TN

Backyard Bird Feeder's Bible

Winter Birds Books and Things

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Feeding Winter Birds

Attracting and Feeding Birds YouTube vid

Voices of Owls

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