Help Birds Beat Their Winter Woes

While birds are equipped to withstand most winter weather, they obviously can't turn up the thermostat, throw on an extra blanket or whip up a warm cup of cocoa. However, there are a number of ways you can help make survival easier by providing food, an open source of water and protection from the elements.

The Importance of Keeping Your Feeders Full
Food is the most essential element, providing birds with the energy, stamina and nutrition they need. To stay warm, birds will expend energy very quickly, some losing up to 10% of their body weight on extremely cold nights, and this fat must be replaced every day.

Normally, birds that come to feeders obtain only about 20% of their daily calories from food offered in feeders; the rest come from natural food sources. In contrast, during periods of cold weather, your birds may use your feeders to load up on calories as a means of survival.

The Importance of a Reliable, Open Source of Water
Birds continue to need a source of water for drinking to maintain their metabolism during dry, cold weather. Clean feathers help birds stay warm, and a bird bath is often the only way for some birds to drink and keep their feathers in top condition when it’s cold.

Most birds adjust their feathers to create air pockets, which help them keep warm. The soft, fluffy down feathers are puffed up with air to create a warm blanket around the bird. The body feathers lie on top of each other, overlapping like shingles on a roof. Small interlocking barbules, or “hairs,” zip their feathers together to create an airtight windbreaker. Also, most birds preen their feathers with the oil produced by a gland on their backs near their tails to create a waterpoof rain coat. Research has shown that a chickadee with well-maintained feathers can create a 70° (F) layer of insulation between the outside air and its skin.

Protection from the Elements
Birds need a place to escape the elements. Installing roosting and nesting boxes in your backyard can give birds a warm, dry place to stay overnight. Shelter is also necessary for protection against natural predators, such as birds of prey and cats.
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Source: WBU Nature News http://www.wbu.com/news/naturenews.html

Category › Friday Photo

Cardinal Chilling

Beautiful feathery flakes of snow

Over the woodland and field they go

Making a blanket so warm and deep

Over the flowers that lie asleep

~Mary Louise Allen

Category › Friday Photo

Do opossums hibernate during winter?

I usually see an opossum at night time but this one was coming out underneath my back deck in the morning. Is that normal? Clare, MI

The Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginian) is generally nocturnal, foraging throughout the night. But in the winter months many opossums change their foraging habits from night to day in order to try to take advantage of the warmer weather during sunlight hours.

What do opossums eat? Opossums are not picky eaters. Their normal diet consists of carrion, rodents, insects, frogs, and plants including fruits and grains. They do seem to have a particular fondness for cat food, however, especially the tinned varieties.

How big can an opossum get?

Most are about the size of a large house cat, from 15 to 20 inches long. They generally weigh 10 to 13 pounds.

Are opossums dangerous to pets? Opossums will sometimes eat small critters such as mice, reptiles, amphibians. They will leave larger animals alone and, in fact, are more likely to be harmed by a dog or full-grown cat than they are to inflict injury on them. They will rarely fight, despite putting up a fearsome display if threatened, and most likely will simply attempt to flee or play dead. The only animals that should avoid exposure to opossums are horses. Strange as that may sound, if these animals ingest opossum feces they are at high risk of contracting a deadly disease known as sarcocystosis.

Do opossums carry rabies? Unlike most wild animals, opossums are highly resistant to rabies.

What kinds of noises does an opossum make? Opossums are very quiet creatures. When threatened they often will hiss, like a cat, and can make a low growling sound.

How many babies does an opossum have in each litter? Opposums are marsuipial so mothers carry their young in pouches on their bellies after a 13 day pregnancy. At birth, newborn opossums are so tiny that an entire litter, consisting of 6 to 9 babies, can fit into a single teaspoon. They are so undeveloped that it's impossible for them to survive outside the mother's pouch.

How do I get rid of a bothersome opossum? It is generally not necessary because opossums are transient animal with a territory ranging from 10 to 50 acres. They usually stay in a particular area only a few days at a time and then move on. The best way to avoid being “bothered” by an opossum is simply to make sure no food is available to them. Don’t leave out pet food or table scraps and make sure your trash cans are fully closed. With no food available in your yard, they will simply go search elsewhere.

Do opossums hibernate during winter? Opossums do not hibernate. Their greatest challenge during winter, especially in colder climates, is simply to survive. It is not uncommon for opossums in northern regions to suffer frostbite during extremely cold periods. Their tails are particularly susceptible to frostbite as they have no fur covering to protect them.

These questions were answered by http://opossum.craton.net/

Category › Nature up close

Deterring Deer at the Bird Feeders

I have a Squirrel Buster Plus II feeder and I love it. The birds seem to love it too. The squirrels tried to figure it out the first couple of days that we had it up and failed. Since that time, we haven't seen any squirrels attempt to get into that feeder.

Unfortunately, the neighborhood deer seem to be emptying it each night. I'm assuming it's deer because if the feeder is empty in the morning, I see deer and rabbit tracks in the snow. Over the 15 years I've lived in my home, I've seen the deer in my suburban yard at night all four seasons of the year, well before I recently began feeding birds.

So far, my solution has been to take in the Squirrel Buster feeder each night. The deer don't get into the whole peanut, halved peanut, or finch feeders, so I leave those out. If I buy an extension pole for my Advanced Pole System to get it up higher, I won't be able to see the feeder as well from my window, and it'll be above the small Hemlock pines that the birds like to line up in before they come to my feeders. Are there any solutions, outside of fencing my yard, that have worked with keeping deer out of feeders? .....Thank you, Rockford, Michigan

How to Stop Deer from Raiding Your Birdfeeder
Deer control is very difficult! And any solution that works initially, the deer eventually get around if they are hungry enough.

Deterrents
Some of the oldies but goodies are hanging human hair, Irish Spring soap, noisy chimes, or aluminum pie plates around the feeders, or sprinkling hot pepper or coyote urine granules. It’s suggested that all deterrents should be cycled so that when the deer have become indifferent to the one in current use, you switch to another repellent.

I don’t have deer in my backyard but I have always suggested what you do already; take in your feeders at night. The Advanced Pole System® (APS) is nice because you can extend the feeder up out of deer’s reach but if you can’t see the feeder that isn’t a good solution.

My next answer is use straight safflower seed. That seed has a bitter taste that most mammals avoid and all the birds except blackbirds and starlings will eat.

Does anyone out there have any better solutions? Press the comments button below and tell us your experience with deer.

Category › Question of the week

Why Don't Birds Feet Freeze?

My dad insisted the bird feeder I bought couldn't have metal perches because he didn't want the birds to get stuck to them during the winter. You explained it to me in the store why that wouldn't happen. Can you explain it again so I can show my dad?

By the way I eventually bought the tube feeder with the clear rubber covers and the easy clean bottom that had that forever guarantee and my dad said I did good. Thank you very much. Portland, MI

Unlike humans, birds don’t have sweat glands in their skin to produce any moisture to freeze to metal in the winter. Heat and moisture are accumulated in sacs, transferred to the lungs and eliminated through the mouth.

But the feet are still vunerable to the cold and they actually use several tricks to keep their legs from freezing. First they can stand on one leg and pull the other up under their feathers when one leg starts getting too cold. And if it gets really cold, they can squat to cover both legs with breast feathers. If you see a bird doing this, they may be getting uncomfortably cold legs.

Also birds’ feet are mostly bone and tendons, so unlike mammals, they have a limited supply of nerves, blood vessels or muscles to freeze. And their feet are covered with scales which isn’t a living tissue and less susceptible to freezing.

I'm glad your dad approved of the feeder. Tell him I said he has good taste. That was the new Wild Birds Unlimited Quick-Clean™ Seed Tube Feeder. A quick press of two buttons and the base pops off for easy cleaning. The feeder attracts a variety of birds such as finches, nuthatches, chickadees and titmice. It comes with a lifetime guarantee that includes raccoon and squirrel damage which is a testament to the feeder's quality. The tube is made from a UV-stabilized, clear polycarbonate that protects the food from the sun's rays and won't yellow with age. Also as with most of the Wild Birds Unlimited products it’s made in the USA!

Category › Quick fun Facts

Satkosia Baisipali Gorge Sanctuary (Nayagarh Side)

“Its in genes”, they say and slowly I have started to believe Crick and Watson’s DNA Stranded model. My grandfather, Late Shree Banchanidhi Naik had walked through these forests of Orissa protecting Wild Animals during 70s as Divisional Forest Officer and would have felt proud had he seen me making forests and sanctuaries of Orissa my second love. Perhaps one of the codes if you decode in my genes would be WILDLIFE.I have never seen him and I am sure he would have felt even more proud to see his grandson exploring the virgin and serene forests of Nayagarh, town being my ancestral place. Back in August this year, idea of coming to Baisipalli Sanctuary and leading a laidback life amongst wilderness of forests at least for 2 days came. Planning...re-planning...phone calls....letters and continuous enquiry from different quarters led to the final plan. 18th of Dec me and Siddhu were supposed to leave for Bhubaneswar from Pune. Bubun was to join us at Bhubaneswar. On the target were Baisipalli, Satkosia and Bhitarkanika. 16th evening I came to know that I will be travelling alone to Bhubaneswar. Siddhu because of some unavoidable circumstances had to part away from the plans. On 20th evening,me and Bubun left for Nayagarh. Plan was to leave for Nayagarh around in the evening and reach there at 6. After meeting my relatives over there for half an hour, we were supposed to leave for Chammundia,a place inside Baisipalli Sanctuary.Route to be followed as per Road Map was to Daspalla and then to Chammundia. But I was told at Nayagarh that the route is not that good and in the evening it may not be that wise to travel to Chamundia, the entry point of Baisipalli Sanctuary. I took the advise and we stayed at my Aunt’s place. This gave me a chance to visit our ancestral property at Lenkudipara, a small village about 5 kms from Nayagarh Town towards Orhgan(Odgaon).Early in the morning next day ,around 5:30 we left for Baisipalli along the other route ie Khandapda(Khandapara),Gania and then to Chamundia FRH,the entry point of Baisipalli Sanctuary.Every thing was fine until we reached a place called Diyakanpari. To our shock, the Bridge over Brutanga River was broken.From that point Chamundia is some 4 kms. “Oh God so near yet so far”; I said to myself and enquired with the local Chaiwala about any other route. One old man said that he will make us cross the river at another place and will charge fifty rupees for the same.With all the excitement of crossing the river, we did began our journey in Bolero.


Broken Bridge on Brutanga River

As we reached the river at one place, Driver Pravash and the old man crossed the river walking which gave me and Bubun a lot of confidence that our Bolero will be able to cross the river which was half knee in depth.


The point on Brutanga River where we crossed to other side

There came the second shocker....our vehicle was in the middle of the river , stuck in the sand and flowing water.Brutanga had a lot of surprise in store for us. After trying for half an hour with no result,driver gave up and was cursing us for this fate of his vehicle. To our delight and hope, we saw some forest guards coming from the other side of the Bank. They were from the Kimbharkani Beat House in the sanctuary.Our Mesihas had brought some wooden planks with them. Perhaps they knew the technique. But this happiness was short lived. Even their attempt was futile. I crossed the river and reached Kimbharkani village to find some help and hopefully the sole tractor present. We had planned of bringing the Tractor to pull the vehicle out of the river. Tractor owner Rabi Narayan Sahu was quite hesitant to put his tractor at risk. But it was so nice of him to assure me that he will help me out and will put all his efforts to bring out the vehicle. He called some 7-8 guys from the village and we reached the point where the vehicle had got stuck. With all the efforts and enthu; Bolero pulled out of the river with full throttle. We thanked the villagers and the forest guards and drove down another 4 kms to reach Chamundia entry point of Baisipalli Sanctuary.


Villagers pumping in full energy

After showing our permit to the Ranger, we occupied the room at Forest Rest House which had typical British type archaeology.This Forest Guest Houses are reminiscent of Raj where in Gora Sahebs would come in frequently along with the princely kings for Shikar.Though Chamundia does not belong to that era as it was established sometime in late 60s.


Chamundia(Chammundia) Forest Rest House

As Bubun was getting ready I was eager to gather in forest guards and have a chat. Mr Satpathy, the Ranger came and told us about the plans.I was trying to impress them by saying that I have a lot of idea about Forests of Orissa and was so happy to have come to Baisipalli Sanctuary and photograph it for the first time. He said “ But this is not Baisipali Sanctuary! This is Satkosia Sanctuary.” I had gathered all the confusing information from Net and wrongly interpreted everything. First of all buggers don’t visit places and put all the copied material and secondly, they should have little sense of writing contents or else people who would follow them would be in mess. Luckily for me it was not a mess as i wanted to take some pics of this side(Nayagarh) of Mahanadi. Whole crowd visits the Angul Side of Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary and I was told by one of the Forest Guards that we were the first visitor since March’09. This was a sense of pride for us. Satkosia Gorge Sanctuary is divided in to two parts, one Angul Side belonging to Angul Forest Division and Nayagarh Side belonging to Mahanadi Wildlife Division.



Without wasting any time, at 10:30 am we left for Boat Ride on Satkosia Gorge from Badmul. Its the place on downstream of River Mahanadi where the Gorge ends and slowly becomes wide. So we had to travel upstream. Plan was to go ahead till Binika(Binika) , 22 kms up where the gorge starts.Satkoisa means Sata Kosa or 14 Miles i.e roughly 22 kms and is supposedly one of the deepest and longest Gorges in Asia. As we drove down the road towards Badmul Beat House, one of the forest guards ,Raut babu accompanied us. At Badmul Beat house we were again joined by one Boat man and his assistant. That was the first time I had the spectacular view of the Gorge. Journey on the boat started towards upstream. Great river Mahanadi flanked by hills on both sides was so calm and serene; perhaps at its beauty best at this place during its whole course from Chattisgarh to Bay of Bengal. We were told that it was almost 150 ft deep at some places. That did send a chill down the spine. This chill slowly graduated to freezing point at the first sight of a 15 ft Crocodile basking on the right bank.












As we gradually moved up the stream and approached Kuturi (Kutri) on the left bank, sun was setting creating a sparkle on the river. We had skipped our lunch and moreover who cares about lunch when Satkosia is beckons you. But the boat ride became more enjoyful when pakoda was taken out from the bag. Bubun had hurriedly packed some pakodas from Bethia Sahi near Badmul. Boat ride on the majestic Mahanadi, deep bottle green waters of the Satkosia gorge, basking crocodiles on both the flanks and gulping down pakodas sitting on the boat listening to Crocodile and Tiger Stories from the Boat men.....I felt like a king.



We had to return back from Kuturi as it was getting dark. I could see tents hooked up at a far distance on white sands. That was Eco tourism Complex of Tikarpada in Angul Side of Satkosia. We were supposed to go that side next day and bookings had already been done.As we moved down stream river became more wider and wider.It is narrower at Tikarpada and wider at Badmul.By this time Crocodiles had become our friends and sightings had become quite usual.We anchored our boat near Badmul IB. This IB as parched on a height and sight of the gorge down below is awesome. One can just sit and sit through out and there is no doubt that Shakespeares would emerge out everyone’s soul just by viewing the awesome sight down below. Bookings of this IB is done at Khurda PWD office. This is actually situated in the core area of the Satkosia Tiger Reserve.

Badmul IB...spectacular view of the gorge

We thanked our boatman and promised him to come back in the night for a Safari for some animal spotting. Raut Babu had already passed on the information to someone in Kuturi FRH that we were coming for a night safari to Kuturi around 10 pm. We returned back to our Rest House at Chammundia. Had our lunch comprising of awesome fish curry and rice. Food was awesome prepared by the Chowkidar of Chamundia FRH. After the lunch as Bubun took rest, I went out to see the local Chamundia Bazar, around 10-12 shops and a small post office that’s it. That was perhaps the smallest post office that I have seen till date but good thing is that at least there was one.

Our Night Safari started

It was 8 in the evening and as usual my curiosity to hear Tiger Stories had led to some 3-4 people sitting on the verhandah and anecdotes flowing like a free flowing stream. There are not many Tigers in the reserve, may be some 6-7 and they are finding it hard to survive. Good thing is that there is very less almost nil poaching that is happening currently thanks to the awareness amongst villagers in the core area due to various programmes and campaigns run by Forest Department.Wood Mafias have become dormant because of widespread opposition from the villagers.So hopefully after 4-5 years one may get to see more tigers here.

By 9, we did leave for Kuturi in our Jeep and were accompanied by 2 forest officials. As we entered the core area around 10 in the night, there was thick fog that had settled on the road and visibility was somewhere around 10m. A new salt lick has been constructed at Kutri. We all entered the forest on foot and walked for almost 600 m to see the salt lick. Some porcupines had crossed the path just sometimes back leaving behind some half eaten harida fruits. There was complete darkness except for flickering torch lights. It was complete adventure as you don’t have any idea about what lies ahead on the path and inside the bushes nearby. There is a small waterfall inside the forest and gushing sound of water was indicator of that. After sighting some wild boars near the saltlick we bid adieu to the Kutri Forest officials and returned back to Chamundia FRH. On the way back we could see the broken Forest Guest House at Kutri which had got damaged during the last monsoons.Tired of the whole days activities, it was time for me to snore in peace (horrid for others).

Next Morning it was time for us to leave Chamundia and move to Tikarpada on the Angul side. Route to be followed was Chamundia-Ghuguripada-Daspalla-Gania-Rajakia Chaka-Narsinghpur-Budhabudhi Ghat-Hindola-Angul-Birkera-Pampasar-Tikarpada.Travel back till Ghuguripada was one of the worst experience for our poor driver. We took a village road to Ghuguripada about 10kms from Chammundia .Again another bridge at Ghuguripada over Burtanga(Brutanga) river was broken but atleast there was a cement platform over which we could cross over the river. As we crossed the river, I could see the Hiils of Satkosia in the backdrop standing tall and with pride hiding one of the unexplored spectacular gorges of the world-Satkosia.


On the top of Buddha Buddhi ghat


Future of India


COMING UP----AMAZING SATKOSIA AT TIKARPADA

Category ›

What in the World are the Robins Still Doing Here?

Why am I seeing robins lately (over the last week) right after we had our big 18 inch snowfall (very unusual for Maryland). I thought they had all gone South for the winter. I hadn't seen any for weeks, and then all of a sudden I saw several of them over a week's time. A few years ago I also saw a bunch of robins after a snowfall - I guessed they were migrating, but I thought they had already left a long time ago. And what can they eat when the ground is covered in snow? Thanks! Greenbelt, MD

The America Robin (Turdus migratorius) does migrate but the birds that summer in Canada may migrate to parts of Maryland and mid-Michigan (where I live) and think that’s far enough. If you look at the range map you’ll see that there are winter populations of Robins in most states year round. Robins are surprisingly hardy birds, capable of surviving temperatures well below zero. But that doesn’t mean sightings are common.

After nesting season has ended, they usually form large nomadic groups that roost at night in the woods. Their diet changes from mostly worms and insects to fruit, nuts and berries. I’ve seen them devouring our crab apples, Mountain Ash tree berries, and sometimes under my feeders looking for nuts. They also appreciate open water in the winter. If you have a pond or heated birdbath they may show up for afternoon drinks.

There’s still a lot we don’t know about birds, but there is a way to help personally. The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is an annual four-day event in February that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent and in Hawaii.[1] Anyone can participate and I’ll be posting more information on our Wild Birds Unlimited website and blog in the future.

From the past bird counts, researchers at Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology have an unprecedented wealth of data to create a snapshot of bird distribution and the effects of weather. BirdScope magazine wrote “food availability may be the primary factor influencing some species’ winter ranges, but snow cover may also play a role. Results from the GBBC and other continent-wide monitoring projects show that American Robins overwinter across North America in a patchy mosaic, primarily reflecting their opportunity to forage on fruits and berries. When snow cover is high and food is difficult to find, American Robins move farther south. When snow cover is low and food is more readily available, they seem to overwinter in northern locales in higher numbers.” [2]

I hope that helped. Write back any time. You can send questions to my e-mail at bloubird@gmail.com, visit our web page at http://lansing.wbu.com/, check out our daily blog at http://lansingwbu.blogspot.com/, keep up with what I'm doing from twitter at http://twitter.com/birdsunlimited, and become a fan of our Wild Birds Unlimited Mid-Michigan Facebook page at http://tiny.cc/QmIv5. There is also a Wild Birds Unlimited store in Gambrills, Maryland if you need some more personal help with your backyard bird feeding. In the mean time, stay warm!

References:

1. Wild Birds Unlimited helps sponsor the Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/

2. Malone, S., Cerretani, J. and Kelling, S. 2000.

Birds and Snow. Birdscope, Volume 14, Number 3: 6,7.

Category › Bird of the week