We’re likely to see the results of 2007’s early-year extremes this winter. You know, the record spell of warmth in March that produced premature flowering of the fruit trees, followed by an unprecedented cold snap in April that killed off buds and insects and proved super stressful for the maples, ashes, hackberries and beeches, leaving a meager amount of food for our feathered friends, the birds. Add in the summer drought, which shriveled up other sources of seeds, including vines and weeds, and we have a potentially grave situation.
“Feeding the birds this winter may make the difference for their survival,” says Brainard Palmer-Ball of the Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission. He also suggests keeping your yard a little wild. “Think about anything that might provide cover or be a natural food supply. An example is not cleaning your garden plot off,” says Palmer-Ball.
To fill your feeder he suggests special seed mixes put together by the Louisville Audubon Society and sold at Feeders Supply. “The seed is specific to what regional birds eat. Other mixes contain a lot of filler seed that birds don’t even like,” Palmer-Ball says. Crucial times to feed are when there is a snow or ice cover and particularly during late winter months when wildlife is worn thin and food sources have dwindled. “That is when wildlife is just trying to make it to spring,” he says.
