🚀 go-pugleaf

Hi Andrea,

Living in Texas, I certainly do not have the type of winter that you have in
Michigan.  However, I visit my parents in north Arkansas where they have
snow and ice regularly.  They have sunflower seed wire feeders, suet feeders
and a peanut one too.  The only time that they have had problems was right
after a horrible ice storm.  My dad brought the feeders inside to let the
ice melt and then placed them back outside with no problems.  The feeders on
a regular basis would get a thin frosting of ice that posed no problems to
their birds.

If you feel that your feeders would be permanently coated with thick ice,
perhaps you could bring them inside at night and place them back out in the
morning.  Or consider using a hopper type of feeder for sunflower seed so
the seed would not get covered with ice.

Hope this helps!
--
May you always hear the whisper of wings...
Christine Tarski
Internet Birding Guide at About.com
http://birding.about.com
Check out the Birding Forum at:
http://birding.about.com/mpboards.htm
Will/Andrea wrote in message <01bedba7$5c6b2660$c2bcb1cc@default>...
>Yes, I know it's July but I'm so miserably hot today that I'm thinking
>winter thoughts. Being relatively new to bird feeding, I have some
>questions. In the winter, with snow and ice, can birds still retrieve the
>peanuts from the wire peanut feeders? And the same question for sunflower
>seed wire feeders. Both are the cylinder type and will not be under any
>cover so they will be at the mercy of the elements.
>Thanks - Andrea - Michigan

Andrea,
            I can only relate my experiences, but since you're in
Michigan, I don't think your winters are too different from mine,
perhaps a bit milder in some areas.  I don't use a wire hanging
feeder, but have noticed that with a hanging plastic feeder I have
that the seed flow gets jammed.  In fact, any moisture that might get
into the seed will freeze it up.  I used to keep sunflower seeds in it
for the Cardinals and Chickadees and realized that they simply
couldn't get to it.  My husband made me two small hanging platform
feeders and I put them inside my Cedar hedge and the birds flocked to
them.  They appreciate the cover from the wind and snow and can easily
sit on the sides of the feeder and get to the sunflower seeds.

            However I find that even with platform feeders they need
lots of human care.  If it snows heavily, you have to go out and brush
the snow off and sometimes dump out the frozen seed and refresh it.
My husband thinks I'm crazy, I get dressed at 6:00am, put boots and
coat on and head out to the feeders to make sure there's fresh
unfrozen seed ready for the birds when they wake up..  I check the
feeders several times a day and make sure they're topped up and the
seed is loose.

             This fall I'm going to get a heater for the birdbath,
it's useless by sometimes the end of October, depending on the type of
winter we're going to have.  I've read that water is one of Winter
birds biggest problems, but never thought much about it before because
I can see the feeders in the hedge from my kitchen window and have
noticed that the Cardinals love to dig into the snow.  They bury their
heads in it, fill their mouths with it and sometimes flap around as if
they're taking a bath in it..  Same with the Chickadees and Mourning
Doves, so I assumed they got enough water from eating the snow..

               We had a terrible icestorm here a year a half ago,
actually it was three icestorms in a row within 3 days.  Everything
was covered with about 6 inches of ice or more and my hedge was so
heavy it toppled over and froze to the ground.  The ground was solid
ice that didn't melt until way into the spring and I was worried that
the birds would have a really rough time.  I was stuck in the house
without heat or power for 11 days, but fortunately I was able to get
the doors opened and toss fresh seed out onto the ice for the birds.
It was then I realized that the birds didn't mind the icestorm at all.
They scurried out from under the Cedar hedge, they had turned the
frozen hedge into an igloo type shelter.  I had the fireplace in the
family room going non-stop and the hedge surrounds the chimney.  So
they had fresh food delivered dayly to their door and were snug inside
the wind-proof hedge.  I've read all the 'official' reports from the
storm and the birds didn't do badly at all.  Except of course for the
partridges and grouse.  They suffered losses because they couldn't
burrow in the snow.   They are really amazing creatures and a lot
tougher then we sometimes give then credit for.

Lynda






On Sat, 31 Jul 1999 22:35:09 GMT, "Will/Andrea" <aeminier@iserv.net>
wrote:

>Yes, I know it's July but I'm so miserably hot today that I'm thinking
>winter thoughts. Being relatively new to bird feeding, I have some
>questions. In the winter, with snow and ice, can birds still retrieve the
>peanuts from the wire peanut feeders? And the same question for sunflower
>seed wire feeders. Both are the cylinder type and will not be under any
>cover so they will be at the mercy of the elements.
>Thanks - Andrea - Michigan

I used platform feeders last year and also tossed sunflower seeds in the
snow. The problem I had this spring with sprouting sunflower seeds was
unbelievable!  I'm talking thousands of the things - that's why I switched
to the wire ones this spring. One funny thing about those sunflowers - I
now have giant sunflowers going to seed all over the place and none of the
birds touch them. I even lopped off a head and tied it to my feeder pole -
no takers. They want their feed in a feeder - fussy little things!
Andrea

lynda_mccormick@hotmail.com wrote in article
<37a400a6.5145939@news.videotron.net>...
My husband made me two small hanging platform
> feeders and I put them inside my Cedar hedge and the birds flocked to
> them.  They appreciate the cover from the wind and snow and can easily
> sit on the sides of the feeder and get to the sunflower seeds.

Since everyone else pretty much covered it the only thing I have to add is that
I find nothing more rewarding than battling the elements to feed these
wonderful creatures..birds are wonderful and they tend to "warm" the heart
during the cold winter months. I just received a discount card in the mail from
the WBU and I plan on using it to buy a heater for my bird bath. Last winter I
ran my &#(& off trying to keep that bird bath unfrozen.

:)
stephanie

Yup, I know THAT feeling!  I had a giant mess to clean up in the spring
and now have sun flowers growing in the rock garden, against the south
wall, west wall, under the birdbath..heck just about everywhere.  Don't
mind really.  I like 'em.  Reminds me of my youth when people used to
plant them along with Hollyhocks in their front yards.  Mine haven't
ripened as yet, they're just starting to flower and the only thing
coming near them are bees and squirrels to decapitate 'em.


Lynda



In article <01bedc17$b8509580$2c08e0d0@default>,
  "Will/Andrea" <aeminier@iserv.net> wrote:
> I used platform feeders last year and also tossed sunflower seeds in
the
> snow. The problem I had this spring with sprouting sunflower seeds was
> unbelievable!  I'm talking thousands of the things - that's why I
switched
> to the wire ones this spring. One funny thing about those sunflowers -
I
> now have giant sunflowers going to seed all over the place and none of
the
> birds touch them. I even lopped off a head and tied it to my feeder
pole -
> no takers. They want their feed in a feeder - fussy little things!
> Andrea
>
> lynda_mccormick@hotmail.com wrote in article
> <37a400a6.5145939@news.videotron.net>...
> My husband made me two small hanging platform
> > feeders and I put them inside my Cedar hedge and the birds flocked
to
> > them.  They appreciate the cover from the wind and snow and can
easily
> > sit on the sides of the feeder and get to the sunflower seeds.
>
>


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www.sunsponges-birdhouses.com
sunsponges@abac.com


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