Nest Boxes Provide Winter Retreat

From The Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Ever wonder what you should do with your nest boxes during the winter? After you clean out old nesting material, consider leaving them in place throughout the colder months.

© Donna L. Watkins - Chickadee on Holly Tree

Non-migratory birds seek sheltered locations to stay warm during chilly winter weather. Cavity nesters, such as titmice, chickadees, wrens, nuthatches, woodpeckers, and screech-owls, may consider your nest box to be the perfect place to spend a cold night or wait out a storm.

The body heat of birds can keep the air temperature inside nest boxes about 10 degrees warmer than outside. This means that birds burn much less energy sleeping indoors. Some species prefer to roost alone, but others are more social and may roost in groups.

Although not much research has been done to determine preferred specifications of winter roosting boxes, some species seem to like having perches and ledges to sleep on. Wrapping boxes in foam insulation and blocking ventilation holes may help keep them warm.

Also, don’t forget to make sure that the boxes are well protected from predators. You can help your backyard birds maintain their body fat reserves by providing them with suet and keeping your feeders filled with black-oil sunflower seeds. Check out Project FeederWatch for more information about how you can help birds during the winter.

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Beak Deformities in Birds Rapidly Increasing

From Alaska Science Center

Over the past several years, Alaskans have witnessed a startling increase of beak deformities among local birds. Large numbers of Black-capped Chickadees and smaller numbers of many other species of birds have appeared with grossly overgrown and crossed beaks.

We began research in 1999, and have since identified more than 2,000 deformed Black-capped Chickadees in south-central Alaska—the highest concentration of such abnormalities ever recorded in a wild bird population anywhere!


More recently, rapidly increasing numbers of other species, including Northwestern Crows, Downy Woodpeckers, Steller’s Jays, and Black-billed Magpies have also been reported with beak deformities by biologists and local residents throughout the state.

Although we do not yet know the cause of this widespread problem, we continue to investigate potential agents, including environmental contaminants, nutritional deficiencies, and disease. Nearly all of the species affected are year-round residents, and we suspect that factors responsible for this cluster of deformities may be unique to Alaska and the Pacific Northwest.

We are currently pursuing additional studies to determine where these deformities are occurring and why. Reports from the public help us to determine where and how many birds are affected.

Share this information with other bird watchers. If you see a bird with a deformed beak, please report it to the Alaska Science Center.  Get more information on beak deformities.

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Winter Birds in the Wildlife Garden

by Carole Brown

Birds are especially visible in our wildlife gardens in winter, and they are not as fragile as we may think. Access to food, water, and shelter will help them get through the cold winter days.

Water is one of the most important elements to provide for birds in the wildlife garden in winter. While birds are able to melt snow to drink, this consumes a lot of energy. Providing clean unfrozen water will help them conserve their energy. I use a heated dog dish in which I place a brick to allow the birds to drink, but not bathe.

Cold birds are slow birds, and frozen feathers are not helpful in escaping predators. During the winter, the Robins line up at this water to get a drink, which is so much fun to watch! Read the entire article with bird photographs.

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Top 10 Things to Do For Birds For Winter

From George's Top 10 in Birds and Blooms Magazine.

© 2011 Donna L. Watkins
Female House Finch Eating Safflower Seeds

• Double your number of seed and suet feeders, as birds are now flocking and there are many more mouths to feed.

• Check the condition of feeders and squirrel baffles to make sure they will make it through another winter. Replace the ones you can't repair.

• Stock up on sunflower seeds in any form. They offer the greatest amount of energy for the birds in winter.

• Birds that are migrating south need water to both refresh themselves and to maintain their flight feathers.

• In the North, revert exclusively to suet and seed, as the fruit and insect eaters have gone south for the winter.

• After all the orioles and hummingbirds have passed through the area, remove all sugar-water feeders.

• Revert to simpler, shallower birdbaths that you can heat when the temperatures drop below freezing.

• Plant evergreens around feeders to protect birds from predators, and to provide safe roosting sites during cold winter nights.

• Take down most birdhouses and clean with a solution of 10% bleach.

• Leave several birdhouses up all winter as roosting sites for chickadees, bluebirds and woodpeckers.

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