Attracting Birds to Your Winter Garden

Birds  need clean fresh water daily, which is often not available  when the temperature is below freezing.  A heated birdbath is a must during our severe Kansas winters.  There is a wide selection of heated birdbaths available online and through amazon.com, and my shipment arrived in less than a week. 

Since ground feeding birds tend to prefer a ground water source, a heated ground birdbath, as well as the heated birdbath on a stand, is a wise purchase.

Robins enjoying fresh water
from a heated birdbath.

Both heated birdbaths, as well as our birdfeeders, are located in a garden area with some shrubs, lavender and Echinacea stalks to provide cover for the birds in case of danger.  There is also a cypress tree near for a quick escape from predators.

When our temperatures were in the single digits the birds flocked to the feeders and the heated birdbaths.  If you look closely in the upper right side of the picture (below) of the ground birdbath, there is a Cedar Waxwing to the left of  the robins (hidden behind the Echinacea stalks). The only time we see the Cedar Waxwings is when the temperature is way below freezing and they are searching for water.


Robins and Cedar Waxwing drinking from ground birdbath

The water in the birdbaths needs to be replenished daily because of all of the activity during cold periods.  I clean out the sunflower seed hulls and droppings with a small fine sieve, when it is too cold to change the water.

Black oil sunflower seeds are the food of choice for most of our neighborhood birds. We keep three feeders filled, and when the ground is covered with snow, I throw out sunflower seeds on top of the snow for the Juncos, Towhees and Sparrows.  It is quite entertaining to watch the Towhees jumping and scratching in the snow for the seeds.


This cold squirrel is getting ready
to raid the birdfeeder.

Cardinals, Chickadees, Finches, Wrens and Sparrows visit this feeder (left) which has a squirrel baffle below the feeding tray.  The Downy Woodpeckers and Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers prefer the mesh-sided feeders because they can cling to the side.


Most of these pictures were taken through our den window during a snowstorm, so the quality of the photos is marginal at best. But watching the birds, squirrels and deer drinking from the birdbaths and eating sunflower seeds in the snow is a delightful pastime when you are snowed in!