Feed birds in winter? Why?

Seasonal bird feeding is very popular. Many people tend to feed birds in the summer months. But they do not realize the great disadvantage of feeding at this time of year. Consider, what advantage is there in offering food at a time when the birds should be instinctively busy in carrying out their God-given role of cleaning the air of trillions of insects, as well as eating seeds that bud in the weeds, and enjoying the sweet berries and the seeds they hide? The more the birds are distracted from their natural food sources, the more insects that will pester man and the more fruit and weed seeds that will go to waste. If fed in summer, the birds may even ignore their natural food sources!

Although summer feeding is common, providing water is vital to the bird's survival since harsh heat and little rain result in summer drought. Remember, food sources are very abundant, water sources are scarce. Thus, a bird bath has a far greater benefit than a bird feeder, considering the summer.
As for the winter months, most people do not realize how greatly birds struggle during these brutal months.
If cold, blustery days are not enough for them to endure, long, cold nights pose greater harm and stress. The natural summer and fall food supply has either been eaten or has died or frozen. Also, insects have passed on a new generation of larvae inactive until spring. Thus, foraging can be especially testing for birds during a phase of extreme cold temperatures.

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What's the advantage of winter bird feeding?

A bird's metabolism is very fragile to the winter environment faced each year. Birds have the unique need for high amounts of energy that they expend to produce heat in order to sustain their high metabolism. But when facing brutal winter temperatures, a very strict need to maintain high metabolism rises quickly. Sometimes the winter storms arrive sooner than the birds are prepared. At times like this, a free meal can spare the life of our feathered friends. With such a brutal environment to struggle with, we can greatly ease their load and possibly give them a chance to return our favor with a new generation the next spring.
Birds have warm blood, which basically means that they are designed to withstand changing temperatures by regulating their body heat. How well the bird maintains its body temperature relies on how much heat the bird produces. Thus, a birds winter survival is dependant on how much food it eats daily.
If a bird does not find enough food each day to convert into energy and produce heat , its body temperature drops. In cold harsh weather, a drop in body temperature could mean hypothermia, and even death.
Smaller species are at greater risk than larger birds, since their heart rate is faster and their bodies are only capable of producing a very small amount of energy.
Suppose you are only able to feed the birds one season of the year. What season would be the wisest choice? You see the disadvantage of feeding in the warmer months, and you see the tremendous benefit of helping them through the coldest time of year.

I hope you now see just how vital winter feeding is to these wonderful feathered creatures. You may now see that summer feeding is really unnecessary since the birds are very busy foraging on natural food sources.

You hopefully see too, that feeding them during harsh winter conditions may be a matter of life or death for them. So, what have you resolved? Will you feed all year long? Will you feed only in spring or summer? Or will you will you contribute to the most crucial time when birds are in dire need of food and warmth, and feed birds in winter?

While feeding wild birds is important, consider a more crucial factor to a birds winter survival.

The cold air of winter freezes the water, creating a lack of drinkable water from their major sources at creek and pond edges, to puddles that entirely freeze. So, as many birds struggle to find water sources, they migrate to slightly warmer climates, where water is more available. To meet their growing need for water, backyard birds flock to man-made sources (such as bird baths).
In order to meet this demand some people resort to bird bath heaters to keep the water from freezing. However, if you do not want to incur the cost, you can simply mix warm water into the bird baths yourself every couple hours.
Please be sure to place bird baths near cover. Placing it near a large bush or a tree will give our feathered friends a better chance of escaping their predators. The more baths you provide, the more birds that flock to your yard.

In the northern continental United States, such as Canada and Alaska, bird bath heaters are a necessity, considering extreme below freezing temperatures. However, further south a heater is a matter of personal preference.
In addition to bird bath heaters, the market also sells "heated bird baths" This special design allows the entire bowl of the bath to produce heat. Now that our backyard birds have the energy to produce heat for the evening, they can stop to get a drink, warm up their feet, and maybe take a warm bath. This ensures not only that they survive the cold winter night, but that they get the rest they need to endure the next cold day.

Remember, thirst is more important than hunger. Thirst can take the life of our feathered friends sooner than hunger.

As we now see, sufficient food is crucial to a bird's winter survival. So what can we do to insure that our feathered friends survive the elements of winter?
Let's further consider winter bird feeding, by seeing what foods provide the best source of energy, as well as the best foods that birds prefer. Currently, we are considering the unique benefits of Sunflower seeds.
A bird's struggle is not just by day, but night too. Thus, birds not only need enough energy to carry them through the day - more crucial - they need to survive each night. To keep them sustained, certain foods provide the best chance of helping our feathered friends.

Providing Food

Food is one very essential need to be met over winter which we can influence. Particular foods are crucial to a bird's metabolism, which provides them the warmth they need to prepare for a long, cold night. What are the most vital foods to a birds winter survival?
Each bird species has a taste for different food, and certain foods are more beneficial for winter feeding. For those preferring fatty foods, here is a list, each with their own unique nutritional value.

Sunflower is the most vital seed to provide through the brutal winter. This is because of its protein and high fat content from the seed's oil, giving birds the most valuable calories for every ounce they consume.
There are two types of Sunflower seeds to provide. Black Oil sunflower, which provides more calories, and Striped Sunflower. Black Oil contains two times the calories of Striped, ounce for ounce.

Larger beaked birds prefer Striped, while smaller beaked birds are attracted to Black Oil. Small birds discard large seed because too much effort is taken to open them as they attempt to crack the thick shell.
Although slightly more expensive, providing bulk sunflower seed is a better option than seeds that contain fillers, since they are not rich in nutrients needed to produce heat.

Let's consider a second fatty food that ensures a bird's winter survival. For those birds who are not particularly attracted to seeds, suet is available. Suet is the fat extracted from beef and venison, which is often manufactured in the form of a "suet cake". Its 100% fat content provides a wonderful energy source mainly for wood boring birds. Woodpeckers have an exceptional need for this fatty food during the winter months, since they do not prefer seeds. The suet's highly concentrated fat content is crucial for fueling a birds metabolism, giving them the crucial energy needed to endure the long, cold, winter nights.