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Right now the northern states are blanketed in snow, and stepping outside can be hazardous. Winter temperatures can dip below zero degrees Farenheit, and the wind chill pushes far below that. We can throw on layers or stay inside, but what do the birds do? How can 
we help birds brave the winter onslaught of freezing temperatures and battering snow?
Birds can make it through the winter without our help, but many people provide their bird visitors with a heated bird bath. Open water is hard to find in winter, and by providing birds with a constant source of water you will attract more birds to your yard. Some birds (not all) will eat snow, but the amount of energy it takes to process this snow into water is high.
So, you can make life easier for your backyard visitors with a watering dish that does not freeze over. You don’t need to buy a brand new bird bath – you can buy a small heater that you leave inside your current bird bath with an extension cord. But, it is a good idea to use some caution when using a heated bird bath as well. When temperatures drop too far, a bird’s feathers can freeze after taking a bath or even from the steam that comes up from the birdbath. This can be dangerous for the bird, even resulting in death.
Laura Erickson of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology has some good recommendations on how to deal with this problem. Here is a link to an article on her new book, “The Bird Watching Answer Book, Everything You Need to Know to Enjoy Birds in Your Backyard and Beyond“.
Here is the paragraph specifically regarding heated bird baths:
In a section titled “Birds Don’t Need Hot Tubs,” Erickson states: “I would never use a heated bath when temperatures were below about 20 degrees to prevent steam from coating feathers.” She recommends placing a grill made of wooden dowel rods over a heated bath to prevent bathing while allowing access for drinking. If the bird bath is frozen, Laura sets out a small plastic container of water near the bird food in the morning and brings it in when it freezes.
So, while a heated bird bath can make your backyard a winter birding bonanza, you also must keep the safety of your feathered friends in mind. Cornell has some suggestions on setting up a birdbath which can help both you and make the winter a better time for year for your backyard visitors.
right? But, the times they are a changing. Now researchers from the University of Washington have discovered that there are some birds who make a stop in Mexico on the way down south, not to rest and molt, but to start a second family for the season. Known as “migratory double breeding”, this is the first instance of it in the new World, and the first time it has been documented anywhere in a southerly migration. The species researchers discovered taking part in this were Yellow-billed cuckoos, Orchard orioles, Hooded orioles, Yellow-breasted chats and Cassin’s vireos.
The storms this week that brought rain and cooler weather also brought a lot of migratory birds into our city garden. Today was a busy day in the early afternoon for about an hour when one bird after another came to grab some food and a drink from 
our fountain. At one point the fountain had an avian traffic jam with a Robin, several Catbirds, a Hermit Thrush and three Cardinals (I believe our Cardinal family from this year), all trying to get their space at the watering hole. At one point we saw a Towhee, and that is when I got out the camera. I got out my iPhone and brought up my 
eggs and it is essential to their continued survival as they need to double their depleted weight in just a couple of days to continue on their way. But, horseshoe crabs are also cheap bait and in recent years have been “harvested” in such enormous quantities that their populations are crashing. This is not good for the primitive horseshoe crab, which has managed to live in abundance for 350 million years, and it also spells destruction for the red knot. Recently, several key states where horseshoe crabs are “harvested” have instituted a moratorium on these harvests. New Jersey has kept this moratorium in place, but the courts in Delaware rejected it, bowing to the interests of the Delaware Bay fishermen who wanted to use these crabs for bait.
temperatures get near freezing I set out the “heated” birdbath. My friends think I am running a spa for birds with hot baths in winter, but the truth is this really is a lifeline for wild birds when all exposed water is frozen over.
with the heater built in, to separate heating units you can put into an existing bath. You can 
get solar powered heated baths for around $20. The ones that run on electricity aren’t terribly inexpensive (plus you’ll need an extension cord and outside electrical outlet), but if you want to help wild birds in the winter, this is a great investment. Plus you can watch them gather in your backyard or on your deck when there is no other place for them to find drinkable water!
Wild animals also need water and the ground baths are a good way for them to be able to easily get hydrated during freezing weather.
ducks, shovelers and lots of other water birds including of course, the ubiquitous Mallards and Canada geese and a lot of birds at the feeders.
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