Birds of all shapes and sizes Have special adaptations for living, For living in cold, frigid temperatures.
– Tina Shaw, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
What a bitter cold winter we have had, especially from Feb. 14-18, with lots of snow and below-zero temperatures.
It reminded me of growing up in Indiana, where we had similar snows and cold weather. My father showed his love of birds year-round and took much joy in feeding them seed, planting a garden and fruit trees, putting up nest houses and providing water. He used a heated bowl to make sure they had water in the freezing cold.
He would tell me numerous times he knew that most birds would survive the winters, but he just wanted to help them along.
Later on, as I got older, I often thought about these birds and wondered what was their secret to survival if they didn’t have help from people.
After doing some research on this topic, I found out from numerous experts that birds have adaptations to help them survive winter.
In the fall, we can see birds eating more berries, gobbling seeds from trees and bushes. They gorge themselves on whatever is edible. The birds seem to be putting more fat on their bodies and preening their feathers more in anticipation of cold weather and migration. This is one survival method the birds appear to display before winter.
Many features come into play as most birds stay warm by trapping pockets of air around their bodies. The secret to maintaining these layers of air is having clean, dry and flexible feathers.
The chickadee family, in particular, appears to be twice as fat in winter as in summer. What makes them look this way? They are retaining heat in their body by fluffing out their feathers.
Some birds will gladly use a nesting box, like the bluebirds, as they have been documented snuggling together to keep warm inside that space.
The woodpecker family may use holes or crevices in trees to keep warm. Smaller birds may use thick bushes, woodpiles, a canvas cover over a barbecue grill or any device that has a cover. These may serve them with warmth and security. Another asset birds have is a special oil from a gland near the base of their tails. Some of the cold-tolerant birds use this oil to weatherproof their feathers. Preening feathers help birds keep a water-resistant top layer and a warm inner layer to protect them.
Waterfowl species including many ducks, gulls and geese have a different way of keeping warm.
Their blood circulates through what is called a “Countercurrent Heat Exchange” which isolates the blood that flows in their legs rather than circulating it throughout their entire body. This helps to keep their body temperatures higher. They also have scales on the feet and legs that help minimize heat loss. Some people have noticed the Canada Goose has a habit of standing on one leg or sitting down, tucking its head back into its feathers.
I always thought they were sleeping, but the main reason is they are conserving body heat!
Most birds that spend the winter here are birds who migrate from the northern part of America and Canada. They can tolerate the cold temperatures and snow, but long periods of this severe weather take a toll on their ability to find food.
We can help some of them by providing high-energy food like all kinds of suet, peanuts, black-oil sunflower seeds, even corn. We can also use my father’s method – a heated water bowl – to make sure they have plenty to drink.
Like my father said many times, most birds will do okay, but I just want to help them along!
THE FOLLOWING BIRDS WERE SIGHTED IN OURAY COUNTY IN FEBRUARY 2023: Canada Goose, Mallard, Northern Pintail*, American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser, Red-breasted Merganser*, Hooded Merganser*, Ruddy Duck, Wild Turkey, Common Loon, Pacific Loon*, Pied-billed Grebe, Great Blue Heron, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Golden Eagle, Bald Eagle, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Great Horned Owl, Northern Pygmy Owl, Belted Kingfisher, Downy Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, American Kestrel, Northern Shrike*, Steller’s Jay, Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay, Clark’s Nutcracker, Black-billed Magpie, American Crow, Common Raven, Mountain Chickadee, Black-capped Chickadee, Juniper Titmouse, Red-breasted Nuthatch, White-breasted Nuthatch, Pygmy Nuthatch, American Dipper, American Robin, Townsend’s Solitaire, European Starling, American Tree Sparrow*, Darkeyed Junco (Oregon, Slate, Pink-sided, Gray-headed), White-throated Sparrow*, Red-winged Blackbird, Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch, Rosy Finches (Browncapped. Gray-crowned & Black), Cassin’s Finch, House Finch, Pine Grosbeak*, Evening Grosbeak, House Sparrow.
