Ice-covered Feeders, 7 January 2009
Well, the rain/sleet/snow/slush storm hit overnight and has continued most of the day. I feel like I’m living on glacier right about now… When I went to fill the feeders at lunch time today, I found the lid of the red, cylinder hopper completely frozen. It took a while to chisel away at the ice before it opened up. I then realized that enough ice had built up on its tray to freeze over the hopper openings. I was able to break enough ice off so the birds could get to it. One side of the wooden feeder was also frozen in, but that ice jam was soon broken up. No sooner had I gotten back inside than almost two dozen birds showed up to feast.
I felt sympathy for the little birds—they appeared to be drenched and had trouble hopping around on the slippery layer of ice coating the yard. Okay, to be honest, I did chuckle while watching a couple of goldfinches slip and slide all over the place. I was nice though and broadcast some seed on the ground to make it easier for them to retrieve.
I don’t recall where I saw it, but I recently read that the survival rate of chickadees in winter storms is substantially higher (something like 68% v 29%) when they have access to feeders. I feel much better about myself tonight!
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2 comments:
I think that's along the same lines as me buying fish at the pet store with the Sharpie-scrawled text of "feeder" on the tank. Because I know what THAT means....
All good deeds by all creatures are appreciated... no matter how small the creature or deed.
My birdfeeder is called the WBU Eliminator Squirrel Proof birdfeeder. When a squirrel (or a big bird depending on the weight you adjust it for) gets on the perch ring it closes the feed holes. When it gets icy the weight of the ice closes the feed holes too. Your stats will remind me to be more vigilant.
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