Surviving the Cold

𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗱

It can be hard on the birds during the colder months to stay warm and keep safe in the strong wind and rain. 

During the colder months, you may see a few more birds than normal coming into your garden. They are trying to find somewhere safe to keep warm, dry, and also to find any food where possible. High energy foods such as Sunflower Hearts, Suet Pellets and Jumbo Peanuts would be ideal as these provide the birds with everything they need to keep their energy levels up.                                                

As the weather gets colder, you will notice that the birds will start to eat a lot more than usual. This is because they will try and eat as much as possible to keep themselves warm. Once they have eaten plenty they will puff out their feathers to help trap any body heat and keep the cold air away from their skin. Some birds even tuck up one leg at a time up there in addition to keeping warm.

When the strong winds come, birds tend to find somewhere that blocks this wind and will roost in cavities that will allow them to fit. With roosting in these holes and puffing out their down feather to help them in any heat that does manage to escape, they tend to be happy. They will also do the sensible thing and sit at the other side of a tree to block the wind. If they are small birds they tend to stay lower to the ground and will find natural cover i.e. in the lower hedges or in heavy foliage. Bird boxes are a great way for your birds to find refuge from the weather as these protect from any wind and rain. 

When the weather is bad, you may notice that the birds will stick together. They will huddle in pairs or small groups, whilst puffing their feathers to help keep warm as much as possible. A common thing for them to do is to migrate. Birds migration is a movement that happens between breeding and wintering grounds and it mainly occurs in the northern hemisphere. The best thing we can do whilst they are in our garden, is to make sure we can provide them with the correct shelter and food possible if there is not any natural shelter/food available in the colder months. 

𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗕𝗶𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗮𝗳𝗲!