Amazing birds

staying warm

Very interesting - regulated hypothermia, what a concept!

They're like little 2-stage furnaces :)

I watch those beautiful birds at my feeder on those frigid mornings and wonder in amazement.

I believe we talked last year about them living to be up to 11 years. So those critters we watch every day know us better than we think. I know they wait for me every morning to arrive with the sunflower seeds and get pretty excited one it's dropped in the feeder.
I love chickadees/

quote tumblehome: "I watch those beautiful birds at my feeder on those frigid mornings and wonder in amazement.


I believe we talked last year about them living to be up to 11 years. So those critters we watch every day know us better than we think. I know they wait for me every morning to arrive with the sunflower seeds and get pretty excited one it's dropped in the feeder.
I love chickadees/"

This year I have to fill my small feeder twice a day often,I have just flocks of chickadees.

Good memory on that 11 year old chickadee,now that you remind me.

At the warming shelter on the Anvil Trail in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest. They have a stash of seeds in the cabin and the birds will eat out of anyone's hands. Our girls absolutely loved it!

Do you put out water of any kind for them and how do you keep it from freezing. I have lots of birds and go through pounds of seed but I worry they need water too.

quote Grandma L: "Do you put out water of any kind for them and how do you keep it from freezing. I have lots of birds and go through pounds of seed but I worry they need water too."

I don't,but I know about 2 months ago when things were freezing,I put warm water in my otherwise frozen bird bath which chickadees were actually pecking at the ice before I put water in. That was also when things were cold and we had no snow around,so I think it made them more desperate. They loved the fresh water.

we got a birdbath heater this winter. to be honest, we have not seen many birds using it. i had imagined tons of birds drawn to it but thats not the case yet. what i bought

quote gutmon: " "

Super great photo! Love it. Chickadees rock, as do most birds.

quote Grandma L: "Do you put out water of any kind for them and how do you keep it from freezing. I have lots of birds and go through pounds of seed but I worry they need water too."

from yahoo answers...

"Many birds will eat snow in order to get sufficient water in the winter, when their normal water sources are frozen. Only raptors (birds that hunt and eat other birds or mammals) get their moisture from their food supply."

quote Grandma L: "Do you put out water of any kind for them and how do you keep it from freezing. I have lots of birds and go through pounds of seed but I worry they need water too."

I bought a heated dog dish and just placed it on top of a large planter. My birds and even the darn squirrels drink from it all the time. I have used for a few years now. Bought mine at Petco.

A great book for learning how animals survive during the winter is: Winter World: The ingenuity of animal survival by Bernd Heinrich. It's a great read and it makes your time in the woods during winter that more interesting.

I just got back to my "under construction" mid Gunflint Trail cabin last Sunday Jan 12.
I missed the deep freeze but thought about the birds I'd been feeding before I left mid November. I'd wondered how long it would take them to notice the feeders were full of sunflower seeds again. Never fear. I saw them checking out the feeders even before they were restocked. A Chickadee was first. But she brought her friends! Within a few hours it was bird city again. I'm not going to leave again till the black flies swarm, so they will enjoy the feeders through the remaining winter. doug

Took my granddaughter to "critter day" at a refuge visitor center today. Guy talked about the chickadee and how they survive the nights. They use the method discussed in the article, it's called torpor. They are incredibly adapted creatures.

What does a good feeder for these birds? I'm thinking about making one. Do they need beef suit too?

quote OTH: " What does a good feeder for these birds? I'm thinking about making one. Do they need beef suit too?"

Yes but I am pretty much a black sunflower person.

It really is amazing that tiny little bird can keep from freezing solid in the below zero weather. Even with feathers and a throttle they are a micro powerhouse.

quote OTH: " What does a good feeder for these birds? I'm thinking about making one. Do they need beef suit too?"

something using 1/4" hardware cloth makes for a good black oil sunflower seed feeder. i made a cylinder out of that cloth and cut wood for the bottom and a wood cap for the top. hanger is a rope running thru the middle, out the cap.