A lot of people make New Year’s Resolutions to lose weight. The birds that come to your yard have the opposite problem. They can lose 15 percent of their body weight in just one cold winter’s night trying to stay warm. Even though they can lose weight fast, they can gain it fast too.
Bird feeders filled with seeds will help some birds make it through the coldest nights. To find out an approximate number of the birds that have survived over the winter, and before many migrant birds start arriving from the tropics, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology operates the Great Backyard Bird Count. This year, it will take place February 13-16.
