Like you and me, and almost all other living organisms in the world, birds need mainly three things to survive and thrive in this world: proper nutrition, hydration, and shelter.
Winter is a harsh and cruel monster that takes away all three of these things, and we must take due care to make sure our backyard friends are not left to fend for themselves during these difficult times.
Winter birds suffer a very high mortality rate when the temperature gets colder, but with a little help from your side and ours, we can make sure that they are able to withstand even the harshest of winter colds and storms.
Though birds have their own mechanisms to keep safe in the cold, they certainly would not mind a little surplus of resources lying around for when the times get especially hard.
How To Make A Shelter For Birds During The Winter Time?
Without the proper protection and availability of resources, winter can be a tough time for birds.
The harsh cold, the sweeping winds, the freezing temperatures, and more provide ample reason for wanting to provide a secure home for these helpless winged creatures.
It is also at this time when most full trees decide to wilt their fair share of leaves and such, leaving the birds with no space to cozy up.
When thinking about providing this warm and cozy space for birds, it is important to also understand that there are different ways in which seemingly similar bird shelters work.
All of these are easily modifiable to fit the other requirements, so knowing about their key differences and features is essential when you are thinking about providing shelter to the birds.
So let’s have a look at the different types of shelters bird lovers can make:
1. Brush Pile
Building a brush pile is the quickest and easiest way you could help a flying friend in need.
Use fallen branches, both small and big, to build the bulk of the brush pile by stacking them atop one another in a crosshatch pattern.
Make sure you do not pack the body of the brush pile too much and leave enough aerated spaces for the birds to roost and preserve heat.
Also make sure you choose a quiet corner of the backyard, protected by trees and tall plants from the harsh wind, to make your brush pile, as this will make the birds less vulnerable in the snow and thus attract them further to your haven.
2. Evergreen Trees Landscaping
An easy way to provide incredibly efficient shelter to birds is by adopting nature’s way and planting and growing trees that are known to keep their cover nice and thick all year long – like evergreen trees.
This is also a two-in-one deal as these trees can also provide your backyard buddies with fruits, seeds, and nuts – ensuring they have a food source if the one you provide ever runs out.
To ensure that your backyard draws in many birds and is effective for all of them, it is always best to plant not only trees.
But nice thick shrubs and tall grasses as well, so birds comfortable with any height have the option to make your backyard their temporary home!
3. Roosting Boxes, Packets, and Baskets
You can purchase specialized roost boxes online or make one yourself at home. Roost boxes are different from birdhouses and have special characteristics designed to provide heat to many birds effectively.
Things to always remember when making your roost box is to always make sure you add grips to the sides.
This could be in the form of ridges or ledges, or some sort of meshing or netting along the side, so that more than a few birds can perch along the sides and they do not all have to crowd together in the bottom.
Another thing to ensure that no extra heat is lost is to make sure that the entrance hole is on the side rather than the top so that there is no heat loss through the loss of rising warm air.
Another way to create a space for birds to huddle together and share heat is by taking basket-style pockets, or just baskets themselves if you cannot find any, and insulating the heck out of them.
A very inexpensive option, the insulation can be done using wool, bits of straw, wood chips, grass clippings, and so on.
What Seeds Should I Keep For My Backyard Birds? Where To Keep Them?
During the winter months, it is best to give your backyard birds a healthy blend of a variety of seeds. This variety is essential so that you account for most birds, as well as their health.
An easy solution to getting all the birds with one go is black-oil sunflower seeds, which are high in fat and perfect for the colder months, and are also eaten by many birds.
You could also opt for a more protein-rich seed like white-proso millets or peanuts.
As to the positioning of their seeds, birds are much more likely to help themselves to the seeds you have put out if it is in a safe place, away from prowling predators.
Place your feeders ten to twelve feet away from your brush pile or evergreen trees and shrubs.
This is the ideal spot, as birds can make the 12 feet journey easily to reach their food and then their home, but it also disables predators from hiding out to catch the bird in a vulnerable spot.
In Conclusion
If you are one of the kind souls who is going out of their way and making an effort to provide food and shelter for birds, then kudos to you.
If you mess up on some of the tiny details, don’t worry about it – we’re sure the birds still appreciate it! We hope we could help you out in learning something new today!
Thank you for reading!
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