Birdfeeding

[ysabetwordsmith]

Today is cloudy and still frigid. Last night it got down to -7°F with -20°F wind chill. Currently it is 2°F with no winchill.

I haven't fed the birds yet, but they are hugging the feeders hard. I've seen a flock of sparrows, a pair of cardinals, at least one dark-eyed junco, a mourning dove.

I have suet to put out later. \o/

Comments

[topaz_eyes]

Yay, you got suet!

-7°F is cold for your area! "Hugging the feeders" is so apt. Our little guys (sparrows, finches, blue jays, flickers, chickadees, nuthatches, collared doves, mourning doves, pigeons, magpies, the occasional downy woodpecker) seem to prefer sunflower seeds and peanuts over suet. We added a 3rd hanging feeder because they've been chowing down hard.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> -7°F is cold for your area! <<

This place was Zone 5 when I was growing up. It shifted to Zone 6a some years ago and is now right on the border with Zone 6b. :/

>> "Hugging the feeders" is so apt. Our little guys (sparrows, finches, blue jays, flickers, chickadees, nuthatches, collared doves, mourning doves, pigeons, magpies, the occasional downy woodpecker) seem to prefer sunflower seeds and peanuts over suet. We added a 3rd hanging feeder because they've been chowing down hard.<<

Awesome.

Currently I have a couple of metal tray feeders, a hopper feeder, a thistle sock, a fly-through feeder, and some suet cages so I can put out a block later today. I'm offering songbird blend (mostly sunflower seeds, some safflower, a few peanuts and bits of dried fruit), thistle, and a corncob. When I put out suet it's devoured by sparrows, starlings, downy woodpeckers, and occasionally wrens. I hadn't put it out this year because the weather was temperate and I hadn't seen any downies. But when it's this cold, I want the suet out there.

Re: Thoughts

[topaz_eyes]

This place was Zone 5 when I was growing up. It shifted to Zone 6a some years ago and is now right on the border with Zone 6b. :/

That's a big shift. We used to be Zone 4a but shifted to Zone 4b some 40 years back. We're on a warming trend this week, so that should help the little guys; they had to deal with temps below -40 and wind chills around -50 this weekend. :-( The bird bath heater couldn't keep up.

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> That's a big shift.<<

Yeah, and it's entirely possible that it was 4b before that.

>> We used to be Zone 4a but shifted to Zone 4b some 40 years back. We're on a warming trend this week, so that should help the little guys;<<

True.

>> they had to deal with temps below -40 and wind chills around -50 this weekend. :-( The bird bath heater couldn't keep up.<<

Yikes. O_O Sometimes all you can do is boil water and pour it outside so they can drink for a few minutes before it freezes.