This is a good time year to make sure your bird feeders and other backyard amenities are clean, well-stocked and deployed to help Georgia’s feathered creatures survive the winter.
Even though Georgia’s winters tend to be mild, birds need more food on cooler days and nights to maintain high metabolic rates and body heat. When temperatures dip to near or below freezing, ample food is vital for tiny birds like titmice, chickadees, sparrows and finches.
If birds learn now where they can find dependable food supplies — namely, your feeders — they will continue to return to them during cold weather. As many as 30 songbird species may visit backyard feeders in Georgia during winter, providing drama and making our yards more cheerful and colorful on cold, dreary days.
So, now is the time to put out the welcome mat. Then comes the question that nearly every host faces: What will I serve?
In general, the type of seed or other food you provide influences how many different birds come to your feeder. Birds can tell the difference between seeds and can be choosey.
More than 20 types of seed may be sold as bird feed, but no one type is preferred by all birds. The best all-round is the small black-oil sunflower seed — the preferred choice of many small birds like chickadees, titmice and nuthatches, although other birds may eat it in a pinch.
White proso millet also attracts many bird species. Peanuts lure blue jays, chickadees, titmice, and woodpeckers. You also should consider offering suet, a high-quality animal fat highly sought after by birds in winter.
For a good backyard bird feeding guide, visit: https://www.fws.gov/birds/bird-enthusiasts/backyard/bird-feeding.php.
And don’t forget to provide water: Birds need water in winter, too.
IN THE SKY: From David Dundee, Tellus Science Museum astronomer: The Orionid meteor shower reaches a peak of 25 meteors per hour tonight and Sunday night. For best viewing, look to the east after midnight.
The moon will be full on Wednesday. Mercury is low in the east just before sunrise. Brilliant Venus is very low in the west just after dark and sets about an hour later. Mars is in the south at dusk. Jupiter is low in the west and Saturn low in the southwest around dusk.
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