Quick Tip 6 for green thumbs in winter-care for wildlife

Cardinals at feeder

Monday, January 15, 2024

Winter can be a downer time of year for those of us that love to garden, but it doesn't have to be!  There are many "gardener" things you can do during the cold months of the year.  I'm going to share an idea each week for the rest of the winter on gardening activities that help satisfy the itch and prepare us better for the upcoming spring season.  Here we go with Winter Quick Tip 6-care for wildlife. 

 

We love watching the birds on our feeder and bird bath year round.  Both food and water are important year round.  If you started feeding birds during warm weather, you need to keep feeding them until spring.  Once spring is here, they will have enough food that they can forage to survive.

Depending on the birds in your area and the ones you want to attract will determine what kind of bird seed to get.  We do sunflower seeds.  Be sure to thoroughly clean your bird feeder every couple of weeks to prevent spreading of diseases.

Birds need water during winter, too.  A neat thing I saw for keeping water from freezing was using an old tire to put the waterer in.  They used spray foam to insulate the inside of the tire and put a waterer that fills the center space in the hole.  Using a black watering pan helps, too.  The black absorbs the heat of the sun, keeping the water from freezing.  You can buy waterers like this on Amazon, too.  

Again, make sure you clean the waterer every couple of weeks, or sooner if it is getting dirty.

Other folks like feeding the squirrels.  Their favorite food is any kind of nut.  They'll eat any bird seed they can get to preferring sunflower seeds.  Their least favorite is thistle seed.