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SheltieLover

(79,539 posts)
Sun Jan 25, 2026, 01:25 PM Jan 25

Please remember to feed birds if you have snow / ice

I just tossed some healthy sprout bread out as my little feathered friends were asking for help.

Their metabolisms are so high that they need to eat constantly.

Ty!

43 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Please remember to feed birds if you have snow / ice (Original Post) SheltieLover Jan 25 OP
TY SheltieLover! Diamond_Dog Jan 25 #1
Ty & Mr. for looking after Mother Nature's other kids. SheltieLover Jan 25 #10
Try and keep mine filled all the time MichMan Jan 25 #2
Nice! SheltieLover Jan 25 #11
Costo sells a 40lb massive bag of bird feed for just $15, 40% sunflower seed, it's a very good deal Shellback Squid Jan 25 #3
Sounds like a great deal! SheltieLover Jan 25 #12
Feed them when they need it Soul_of_Wit Jan 25 #4
I never see birds here, except today. SheltieLover Jan 25 #13
It's 62 here now and I have dried mealworm loving birdies on the lawn, tweeting at me. quaint Jan 25 #5
Ty! SheltieLover Jan 25 #14
Husband was an advocate of peanut butter on whole grain bagles Attilatheblond Jan 25 #6
Thx for sharing! SheltieLover Jan 25 #15
Hubby refilled all our feeders last night before the snow started. woodsprite Jan 25 #7
Ty! SheltieLover Jan 25 #16
It's 20 bucks here, but still a good deal. dem4decades Jan 25 #8
Ty! SheltieLover Jan 25 #17
I put out suet that you buy. Zackzzzz Jan 25 #9
Ty! SheltieLover Jan 25 #18
They are drinking a lot of water too, just had a robin stop by for a very long sip Donkees Jan 25 #19
Ty! SheltieLover Jan 25 #21
I'm on it. The juncos are here in droves and I have more than a few little fat Cardinals and Sparrows. Marie Marie Jan 25 #20
Ty! SheltieLover Jan 25 #22
I spread out peanuts from a big bag Skittles Jan 25 #23
I put nuts and seeds out every morning, although I get almost no birds. Laffy Kat Jan 25 #24
Awww I love squirrels! SheltieLover Jan 25 #25
Awww. You know, I got some peanuts in the shell for mine... Laffy Kat Jan 25 #26
Oh no. Salt is really bad for them. SheltieLover Jan 25 #27
I didn't even realize about the salt. Laffy Kat Jan 25 #31
filled the bird feeder this morning.. ExtraGriz Jan 25 #28
Ty! SheltieLover Jan 25 #29
A couple of years ago we had a lot of snow on the ground. rsdsharp Jan 25 #30
Lol SheltieLover Jan 26 #33
We don't get nearly as much snow here as we used to DFW Jan 26 #32
Nice that you have birds. SheltieLover Jan 26 #34
We don't get a much snow as we used to either, till yesterday. dem4decades Jan 26 #35
True SheltieLover Jan 27 #40
My wife puts food on the deck table for the animals, this morning she had a pair of red shouldered hawks feeding dem4decades Jan 27 #41
Wow! SheltieLover Jan 27 #43
And a heated bath. For birds and squirrels, opossums deers and all creatures question everything Jan 27 #36
Nice! SheltieLover Jan 27 #38
Sunday night we had more sleet/freezing rain mnhtnbb Jan 27 #37
Glad you are staying safe! SheltieLover Jan 27 #39
Good reminder SheltieLover! Emile Jan 27 #42

Diamond_Dog

(40,316 posts)
1. TY SheltieLover!
Sun Jan 25, 2026, 01:32 PM
Jan 25

We always save leftover bread for our bird feeder. Mr. Diamond replenishes it every afternoon when taking our dog out.

MichMan

(17,028 posts)
2. Try and keep mine filled all the time
Sun Jan 25, 2026, 01:35 PM
Jan 25

Must be 20 of them out there right now. Every now and then a deer comes over and eats out of it

Shellback Squid

(10,038 posts)
3. Costo sells a 40lb massive bag of bird feed for just $15, 40% sunflower seed, it's a very good deal
Sun Jan 25, 2026, 01:36 PM
Jan 25

Soul_of_Wit

(74 posts)
4. Feed them when they need it
Sun Jan 25, 2026, 01:36 PM
Jan 25

Too many folks keep the bird feeder filled only when the weather is nice.

quaint

(4,926 posts)
5. It's 62 here now and I have dried mealworm loving birdies on the lawn, tweeting at me.
Sun Jan 25, 2026, 01:38 PM
Jan 25

I'll give in shortly, just treats, because nature is plentiful since we had *rain* last week.

Attilatheblond

(8,673 posts)
6. Husband was an advocate of peanut butter on whole grain bagles
Sun Jan 25, 2026, 01:39 PM
Jan 25

hanging from trees. Black oil sunflower seeds for the ground feeders. He would toss seed under the van to assure the little guys could eat without too much raptor interference. He figured 'let them (the owls & hawks) eat mice'. That bit him on the butt when we found a cache of sunflower seeds stashed inside the back of the van, under the third row of pull-up seats.

Wildlife management degree and a lifetime of bird watching in COLD locations, New England, Montana, Austria.

woodsprite

(12,582 posts)
7. Hubby refilled all our feeders last night before the snow started.
Sun Jan 25, 2026, 01:40 PM
Jan 25

Right now there is not much left of anything. I think the hoard of grackles ransacked all the feeders - even the ones the were way too big for.

We're in the sleet/freezing rain line now so probably won't get out to refill until the storm ends.

dem4decades

(13,954 posts)
8. It's 20 bucks here, but still a good deal.
Sun Jan 25, 2026, 01:40 PM
Jan 25

Spent the day filling feeders yesterday, they've been busy all day today, not to mention the feed under the table on the deck.

My wife throws peanuts out for the squirrels too, and food for the possums to but they disappear in the cold and snow.

Zackzzzz

(345 posts)
9. I put out suet that you buy.
Sun Jan 25, 2026, 01:42 PM
Jan 25

The feeder box is right out my dining room window and
and I can see which birds are in the neighborhood.
When it is empty, the Jays sit on the porch railing,
point their head at the feeder and tell me, 'fill the feeder.'

Donkees

(33,611 posts)
19. They are drinking a lot of water too, just had a robin stop by for a very long sip
Sun Jan 25, 2026, 02:21 PM
Jan 25

I work at keeping the water warm for them during this arctic blast.

Marie Marie

(11,168 posts)
20. I'm on it. The juncos are here in droves and I have more than a few little fat Cardinals and Sparrows.
Sun Jan 25, 2026, 03:25 PM
Jan 25

I like to think I helped fatten them up for the winter.

Skittles

(170,926 posts)
23. I spread out peanuts from a big bag
Sun Jan 25, 2026, 06:50 PM
Jan 25

it was a squirrel and blue jay festival! also lots of sunflower seeds for the little ones

Laffy Kat

(16,938 posts)
24. I put nuts and seeds out every morning, although I get almost no birds.
Sun Jan 25, 2026, 07:03 PM
Jan 25

I don't know why. What I do get is squirrels, though. They have to eat, too. I was late getting up this morning, since I couldn't sleep last night due to the MN situation, and the poor squirrels were lined up on my fence waiting for me to come out. It was 9 degrees, windy and snowy. They got extra rations due to my guilt. One of the little females looks gravid, which I assume is odd for this time of year. She's the bravest of all and comes right up to me. I'm keeping an extra eye on her.

SheltieLover

(79,539 posts)
25. Awww I love squirrels!
Sun Jan 25, 2026, 07:13 PM
Jan 25

Very few here, but in Chgo burbs I fed them toasted peanutbutter sandwiches. One particularly cold morning they ate 7 1 lb loaves of bread & a huge xtra crunchy jar of peanut butter. I miss them...and my life. :-/

Laffy Kat

(16,938 posts)
26. Awww. You know, I got some peanuts in the shell for mine...
Sun Jan 25, 2026, 07:19 PM
Jan 25

But they didn't seem to like them as much as the walnuts and pecans. I finally realized that I'd gotten salted peanuts and that's probably not very good for them, anyway. I'll try crunchy peanut butter sandwiches. Great idea.

SheltieLover

(79,539 posts)
27. Oh no. Salt is really bad for them.
Sun Jan 25, 2026, 07:23 PM
Jan 25

I used to go to the feed store & get 10lb bags of unsalted peanuts for them too & the healthfood store would grind no salt peanuts into xtra chunky for them.

Laffy Kat

(16,938 posts)
31. I didn't even realize about the salt.
Sun Jan 25, 2026, 10:18 PM
Jan 25

I'll save those for the next Rockies game, I guess. I only put a few out to begin with. Won't do that again.

ExtraGriz

(508 posts)
28. filled the bird feeder this morning..
Sun Jan 25, 2026, 07:51 PM
Jan 25

It's cold and snowing like heck in southern Maine right now. But bird feeder is full of peanuts, sunflower and various other seeds....also a huge hunk of suet.

And peanuts in shell for the squirrels.

Stay warm everyone.

rsdsharp

(11,942 posts)
30. A couple of years ago we had a lot of snow on the ground.
Sun Jan 25, 2026, 10:09 PM
Jan 25

Our neighbors to the east (our back yards meet) are an older couple — like us. The man is a little unsteady on his feet — like me. Unlike us, they have bird feeders.

One day the gentleman bundled up to go out and fill the bird feeders — apparently while his wife was out of the house. Unfortunately, he fell on his ass. We asked if he was alright, and he said he was, but he was struggling to get up. We told him we’d call the EMTs, but he said no. Then he paused and said, sadly, “Judy’s gonna be mad!”. Judy is his wife and the neighborhood busybody.

He eventually was able to get up and get inside, so maybe Judy never knew.

DFW

(60,045 posts)
32. We don't get nearly as much snow here as we used to
Mon Jan 26, 2026, 02:34 AM
Jan 26

But we leave seed feeders out anyway, since we have numerous and varied birds where we live.

SheltieLover

(79,539 posts)
34. Nice that you have birds.
Mon Jan 26, 2026, 02:44 AM
Jan 26

I never see or hear any, but today they showed up asking for food.

dem4decades

(13,954 posts)
41. My wife puts food on the deck table for the animals, this morning she had a pair of red shouldered hawks feeding
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 10:14 AM
Jan 27

together on the table,

They were stunning.

mnhtnbb

(33,290 posts)
37. Sunday night we had more sleet/freezing rain
Tue Jan 27, 2026, 05:09 AM
Jan 27

which froze the seed I'd spread on top of the retaining wall. I didn't want to chance getting out to the feeders. So I put more seed out on top of the frozen mix. Boy, did the birds like that!
I'll go back to filling the feeders once it's safe to venture outside my courtyard.

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