The weather forecast for a foot of snow last Sunday didn’t become reality however the temperature has dropped down to 0 Fahrenheit plus windchill factor of -20 Fahrenheit. Icy rain water from Sunday turned into solid ice on all surfaces. Our driveway, from which we cleared wet snow & slush off and salted, still became skating rink. Wherever I look there is either frozen snow or ice. Conditions like this are difficult for non-migrating birds.

We have a symbiotic relationship with the birds in our garden. Aside from serenading us with their beautiful songs, they help rid us of insects during growing season. We in turn provide food, water and shelter for them in winter. We left brush piles and bird boxes up for them to take refuge in. Weather conditions like this weekend are crucial for us in expressing our gratitude so there will be more of them visiting our garden next year.

Food, water and shelter are three necessary things for non-migrating birds in winter. Most birds can easily find shelter on their own but having a shelter close to their food source makes life easier especially when it’s frigid outside. But when there is deep snow or ice sheets covering everything, it doesn’t matter how luxurious a shelter is. If there’s no food, birds will move on. They also learn where reliable food sources are and tend to stay close by.

We feed them more in winter: two double suet feeders, one tray feeder (only when we are home to monitor it), and two hanging feeders. We fill them with mixed of shelled sunflower seeds, safflower seeds, peanuts, chipped-sunflower seeds, chipped-peanut, and dried-berries. We reduce to one feeder and one suet in late spring when there is plenty of fresh food around.

Heated birdbaths are very crucial and a magnet for winter birds. We place seven birdbaths in the garden during warm weather which are emptied and clean every five days. This is the best way to prevent mosquito larvae to reach maturity. We leave only two heated ones out in winter. Both of them are in the close proximity of the house so we can clean them regularly. Mosquitos still lay eggs in winter, providing warm water. Yes, to my surprise too, I found mosquito larvae in our heated birdbath in winter.

As our relationship goes, we learn to read each others sign language. When the feeder is empty or they have difficulty getting seeds out of it, we will see birds line up on the pool fence facing the house. It’s as though they’re saying ‘What’s wrong with you people? Don’t you know the feeder’s empty?’ When we fill the feeder, they will perch close by, watching us doing our job, and come down as soon as we close the lid.

Now is when we care for them, and they never fail to reciprocate when growing season begins.