Birds In Winter

[Music] in the fall when you look up into the sky you may see a flock of wild geese flying south the winters they come from marshlands farther [Music] north if there happens to be water in the area where you live they may come down to rest during their trip or you may come upon some wild ducks resting from their Southward trip they may stay for a day or two or maybe even for several weeks these long flights of birds are called migration here's another bird that migrates you can guess its name a Redwing Blackbird in the fall blackbirds Gather in flocks and fly south although not as far as the geese and Ducks the robins migrate too but in a different way they don't Gather in flocks but each bird Works its it way Southward day by day as it searches for insects and worms getting food and not the cold weather is the big problem for birds in winter but not all birds migrate The Goldfinch for instance lives on seeds which it can find all winter long on weed stems that the Snows aren't likely to cover starlings don't migrate either they eat many kinds of food including scrap apps that people leave behind they're noisy quarrelsome birds and they aren't like much by many bird lovers the English sparrows stay the year round too birds Don't store food like the squirrels do see how this blue J keeps pecking away Birds must eat very often to give them the energy they need and usually it's all they can do to find enough food for the moment fall is a time you often see unusual Birds this snowy owl is a visitor from the far north it has come to spend the winter here it eats small animals and the hunting here is better in Winter than it is in its more Northern home so just before winter is a good time to be watching Birds even more closely than before [Music] when winter closes in you may think all the birds are gone but watch this these are sharptail grous they're very much at home in the winter Snows of some of our Western States and here's a fine example of protective coloring in Birds these are called Tans they're a kind of grous notice the white feathers as winter goes on this bird will become almost all white spiny feathers will grow in its toes that will help it walk in the snow yes you can find a lot of bird life in winter like these English barrows which you found bread that someone has put out the winter birds you see will fall into two groups one group like these sparrows stay all year round they're called permanent residents English barrows are as common in the city streets as they are in the country the second group includes the snowy all whom we've met before they're called winter visitors since they'll return North in the spring you can see this all is caught a rabbit notice how well its white feathers blend with the snow another example of protective coloring do you recognize this bird yes it's a robin once in a while you find one in Winter that has stayed behind for some unknown reason see how it has fluffed up its feathers to keep warm birds can stand very cold weather as long as this Robin can find food it will probably live through the winter let's look at some of the other permanent residents this one is a magpie that's found in mountain areas mag pies are noisy birds that quarrel among themselves as they hunt for food they're clever birds and usually quite Fearless the jerky flight of horned Larks is a familiar site in the Prairies where they live all year round every region has its own group of permanent residents what's this fellow it's a Downy w woodpecker it finds insect eggs and hibernating insects and laring under the tree bark the crow is a permanent resident in many parts of the country this tiny bird is a chick it's a permanent resident of Woodland regions as you can see it spends a good part of its life upside down now let's look at some of the winter visitors these are wax wings they'll move farther north when spring comes you can find out from a bird book whether they come to your part of the country here's a winter visitor from the far north the tree Sparrow no one knows just why it's called that because it's almost never found in trees the junko is another member of the sparrow family it's a winter visitor too and is often called the snowbird this is the Harris Sparrow still another winter visitor from the far north can you see the three Harris sparrows in this picture this is a good example of how protective coloring makes Birds hard to find can you see the birds here there they are these are red poles winter visitors in this particular area since different places have different winter visitors you'll enjoy learning about the ones that visit your neighborhood since getting food is the bird's main problem in winter there's a lot you can do to help them one way of feeding Birds is to put grain in a shallow tray like this on the ground be sure to use wood since the bird's feet might freeze to metal put some feet outside the tray too soon your tray will be found by with a bird book handy you can learn to recognize these birds and you'll probably find many kinds you haven't seen before there are many kinds of feeders you can use for different birds of course the stars and English sparrows may get most of the food but here is a tit Mouse a tiny permanent resident at a feeder made of a coconut shell this is a chick at another kind of feeder here's a red breasted nut hatch eating sew the fatty part of meat you can tie the sew to a tree without bothering to make a feeder see how this darling is going after it you've just seen this bird it's a red breasted nut hatch and look at this chick at work on a rib bone these are evening gross beaks yes with a pair of binoculars and a feeder you'll have many wonderful hours you may attract a cardinal which loves sunflower seeds so do the chickes but if you want the birds to stay around be sure to keep your cat inside so when the snow falls remember that Birds can't live more than a day or so without eating and that it will be harder than ever for them to find food into the [Music] snow by putting out food for them you'll help them get through the long winter months [Music]