Feathered flurries

Those who feed the birds are reaping their rewards this bitterly cold winter.

Feeders are a flurry of feathers as birds stuff their bodies with life-saving seeds and suet.

How do they survive when temperatures plunge far below zero?

According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, while a steady food supply is important during the cold winter months, some birds survive by conserving their energy and heat.

Small birds like chickadees can drop their body temperatures by up to 15 degrees F at night with an adaptation called “regulated hypothermia.”

This technique enables them to save nearly a quarter of the energy they use each hour.

Information published by the Nova Scotia Museum stresses the need to continue to fill feeders even during the worst of weather conditions.

Feeders are most important to the birds’ survival in times of extreme cold or heavy snow when wild food is hidden or frozen. “These are just the days when you miqht be tempted to skip the morning trip to fill the feeder.”

A hanging suet feeder will attract agile birds like chickadees, nuthatches and woodpeckers, and may discourage

Starlings. Sunflower seeds lure Blue Jays, Evening Grosbeaks, and Purple Finches.

Seedeaters with large beaks eat mixtures of sunflower seeds, corn, cracked grains, rolled oats, peanuts, or the small seeds in commercial packages.

Birds that feed on insects need an animal product like suet ( beef fat), rendered or just hung in a lump from trees or a clothesline.

Chances are that no matter what food you offer, more common birds like pigeons or Starlings will be the first visitors. Their presence will attract other birds.

Carla allen A Blue Jay perches on the edge of a feeder with a peanut in his beak.

Carla allen A male Northern Cardinal stops by to fill up at the feeder before nightfall.

Carla allen A dark-eyed junco puffs his feathers to ward off the cold.

Carla allen A female Northern Cardinal braves the snow flurries for a few safflower seeds.