If you enjoyed the video. Liking, Leaving a comment or sharing it helps out in a HUGE way. From myself and my bird buddies, thank you ALL for watching. It's greatly appreciated!
Your videos on these common backyard birds is riveting. Thank you so much, not only are the videos informative, but it's a pleasure to listen to your voice. I have crows, Blue jays and chickadees everyday in my yard. I live in southeastern NH, USA, and I put out peanuts and sunflowers seeds in the morning and the Blue jays dive bomb down to get them. The crows are more cautious and wait in the trees for their opportunity, singley, or in pairs, or threes. I swear they call other crows to come. They'll fill their craws with 3,4,5 whole peanuts at a time, and fly to the nearby house's rooftop to eat them. So wonderful to hear how they survive the winters. It was -7 last night and I wondered how they do it. Cheers!
Every time I see your videos I am reminded of the importance of planting native plants and not doing a Fall cleanup. The seeds are still viable to eat throughout the winter for our wild birds. Lovely video as always!
Yes! We bought a little old farmhouse at the start of the pandemic and there are a couple of huge old lilac trees. Almost as tall as the 2 story house! All of the care info says to trim them back and cut all old blooms off. But the first winter those blooms turned to seed & fed hundreds of birds. There's no way I'll ever trim them now!
Lesley, I want to tell you about a short-eared owl that has been visiting the property lately hunting for moles. So, I always talk to the birds and other animals and they let me get real close. But a few nights ago a saw this owl in the yard again and when I began speaking to it it flew to me and landed in the tree I was standing next to. It perched on a branch just a couple feet away and seemed so comfortable near me. It was pretty cool.
@@MrGrouse09 Yes, though it was not high in the tree, perhaps seven feet or so. I did see it in another tree a few days before that encounter, during a rain storm, but again not very high up. It was on the lowest branch of that tree, maybe eight or nine feet up. I've been looking for it since my last encounter when it came to me, but so far have not seen it around...but I sleep at night...
I live in Pennsylvania and we are having record low temperatures. I keep seeing a tiny ruby crowned kinglet at my suet feeder. I've never seen one before. Cute little thing and he hovers like a hummingbird.
Right now it is snowing and blowing like crazy but there is a little bird in my feeder just outside the window munching on seed. :) My birds are well fed!
It was 1 degree this morning, so this video is very timely! It's amazing the variety of ways birds manage to survive the winter, either through their physiology or their "smarts" in finding & storing food. I was most fascinated by the Golden-crowned kinglet for sure. Talk about a survivalist! #1, yes!! Thanks Lesley 🐦💙
I LOVE the info!! I'm 71 and live in MARYLAND. My local birds keep me from being lonely. I buy seed and feeders. Thankyou so much for the photographer's hard work!
FUN FACT: The Willow Ptarmigan is the state bird of Alaska. They are so adorable! 🥰 Anyway, it’s been cold where I live for awhile, and I have made sure that the birds have some energy-rich foods in the meantime, like peanuts and mealworms. The Carolina Wren couple, who are regulars to my feeders, are really appreciative of that. I’m so amazed that birds can endure such harsh conditions in the winter, and even raise chicks in the winter, in the Canada Jays’ case. I don’t think I could pull either off. LOL But I also feel bad for them knowing that they are sleeping through the cold. 🥶 The part about the Chickadees shivering at night made me shiver at the thought of imagining them doing it just to stay alive. Poor things. 😰 Nevertheless, thanks for sharing, Lesley!
I have 8 chickadees, 2 Harry and 2 Downy woodpeckers, and around 30 Red poles at my feeders. There are also some Magpies and Ravens around, occasionally I see the resident Horned owl around to. I have often wondered how such tiny critters live here in the winter, we just got through 3 weeks of temps from -25C to -38C. I have usually just feed sunflower seeds, but because of your videos where you feed peanuts, I got some, it took a little while for the chickadees to take them but now when I restock the peanuts they go for them very quickly, it makes me smile every time I see them come in and take a peanut.
went for a visit to my sister in mid Michigan, Houghton Lake. there was a posting on the community message board of snowy owls hanging around old 27 road. so we took a drive. yes, we found a male and female sitting atop a telephone poles. it was the coolest thing I've ever seen. we could see their head rotating looking for food. I was awestruck. many other people were stopping too. it was something I will not forget.
Good morning Leslie, what a cold morning for your video to drop. We’re preparing for 40cm of snow tonight and tmro. Currently it’s -13c and the panic has begun. I have had probably a underdog birds to my patio and hundreds more at my feeders in my ravine back yard. Made a fresh batch of suet this morning which is so good for them in the cold weather. I watched one blue jay making his squawking noice and every time he opened his beak to squawk a puff of breath would escape.
Sounds like you are getting the same system we are in the middle of. Lots of snow and it was so cold today. That's really kind of you to make some suet for the birds, they will be going crazy after that stuff.
@@LesleytheBirdNerd I’m in Niagara Ontario. I make my suet in a pizza box lined in parchment paper. It makes 9 blocks. I start putting suet out when the weather turns cold as to my reasoning they need to “bulk up” for the winter considering how many calories they must burn to keep warm. I use animal lard, peanut butter, flour, corn meal, oats, bird seed, peanuts, raisins and meal worms. I consider it a deluxe suet lol. Best in the neighbourhood!
Tough comes in many forms. Just loved this one. ❤️. We are having very few birds visiting Central Park this winter. Last winter was a miracle for us. Hope our chickadee, titmice, owl visitors are happy and healthy in their northern haunts.
I put out a very robust winter smorgasbord for the birds…they need it. I’ve got suet cakes, a black oil sunflower seed feeder & another with various seeds, grains & nuts. It’s like a superhighway…birds coming and going all day!🤣👍
We do too and have counted 31 different species of backyard birds. Our feathered friends are very spoiled and enjoy a broad buffet of black oil sunflower seeds, different flavored suets, shelled peanuts, mealworms and nyjer seed. In addition, we have several wildflower patches and leave the seed heads intact until spring. My husband also built several birdhouse gourd shelters for them.
I normally do that, too, but I've cut back because of last winter (I live in GA). Last year we had many pine siskins and unfortunately many of them contracted what I suspect was a strep infection. Several of them died, but it appeared that they were the only breed affected. I did manage to capture one and support it in a cage until it was well enough to be set free. So I've stopped using feeders and just distribute seed over a wide area (about a half acre) on the ground.
@@StopWhining491 Any way it works is good. We haven’t seen any communicable diseases spreading in the bird population here…but will change feeding tactics if we do.👍
Great info about the foot blood heat exchange - had no idea of that! Thanks as always Leslie. My poor chickadees woke up to minus 7 here in upstate NY this morning. Needless to say, they have been coming and going to the feeders for black oil sunflower seeds and suet!
One of the feeders I keep for "my birds" is on the boundary of our property in Massachusetts, which abuts many acres of conservation land. As soon as they see me come outside, the birds start festooning the nearby bushes like little Christmas ornaments. They're "dining" almost the moment I turn back for the house. And I'm amused by the jays' reaction to corn cobs, which they usually snub during the summer. During this cold I can almost hear them saying, "Corn! My favorite!" as they strip the cob bare.
Thanks Leslie,another interesting video.I wonder how the blue jays in Kansas USA stay warm.I have three that have been around for years.I feed peanut pickouts and sunflower chips.they come in and load their beaks and throat with the peanuts.
Good morning, I have a pair of Cardinals that come to my sunflower feeder. I've observed they come early but in the morning or at dusk.Both times when the number of birds is small. I've also observed when there are numerous chickadees and nuthatches at the feeder, they sit patiently on my lilac bush ten feet away.They are so much bigger, but seem to avoid the competition. Just wondering. As always, enjoyed your video. Thank you 😊
You're welcome, I'm glad you enjoy it. The Blue jays stay warm by puffing up their feathers to create little air pockets of trapped heat in between their body and plumage. They also stay hidden in very dense trees. To keep their furnace going they eat food they've cached away over fall :) All pretty awesome birds aren't they?!
Lesley, my husband and I just adore you. We are long time subscribers, avid birders, met because I contacted him to get permission to paint a snowy egret photo he put on a Facebook birding group. We love your content! We love the perky music. We love how you name them and share education. Like I said, we love you. Thank you for all you do!
Aww Angela you are so sweet, not going to lie, kind of blushing right now. haha! I'm so glad you both enjoy my content and the fact I name my birds. So sweet how you two met. Have a really wonderful week ahead :)
There's a little robin at my camping spot in the forest. He's so cheeky, he'll come right up to me when I'm not looking. He gets close in front of me too. I get the feeling he enjoys my company. He's the toughest trooper in the forest. The weather has been terrible here in Britain, I always feel for the little guy
The Robin Redbreast is a pretty sweet bird. They seem to be pretty friendly, too, from what I have seen in videos. I visited the UK between late August and early September last year, and have seen some of the native and non-native species of birds, like the Magpie and feral Rose-Ringed Parakeets. I haven’t seen a Robin Redbreast during my visit, but if I did, it was too far away for me to truly identify it as the species. I hope I get the chance of a close encounter of this charming species during a future visit.
I've been watching most of these birds for years and never realized how much frenzied effort they have to put in just to stay alive! Just yesterday I was watching Canada Jays, Black-capped Chickadees, Boreal Chickadees, and redpolls coming to feeders in a black spruce bog in northern Minnesota. Now I understand better how their lives really depend on it!
I am always amazed by the birds of ❄️ winter! They are a tiny flying miracle of design and adaptability! The suet cages and bird feeders are kept full hoping to help more of them to make it through winter a little more comfortably. Thanks Lesley, this subject has always amazed me!
It's been a bit nippy here in New Brunswick. All the little birds are fluffed up! We are filling up the black oil sunflower seed feeder almost daily. The chickadees peek into the kitchen window shortly before sunset and that's my cue to bring them walnuts. They have me well trained! I've hung several roosting pockets lined with alpaca hair so they have that option to stay cozy.
I’m in Michigan and I was just looking at the birds at my feeder wondering how they were making it. It’s coooold here❄️☃️☃️⛄️❄️Thankyou for the information ❄️❄️❄️
What a great video! I'm not going to vote on the toughest survivor, but I really love chickadees, they're just the most fearless little birds I can't help but root for them.
I make sure they have my Bird feeders full! I just love to see them! I can’t believe they’re out there with these low temperatures. Especially, my lovely Cardinal’s and my beautiful Blue Jay’s. Ptarmigans are the toughest! Amazing! Watching this video again, I must say, the tiny Chickadees are the bravest. Lol.
on really cold days -30 and bellow i've noticed the Chickie's are late to the feeders , guessing they sleep in for a few hrs.(not a bad idea lol) until the sun rises and warms things up a bit , thanx for uploading another great video
A snowstorm is about to roll in, so I made sure to fill up all of my bird feeders so that all of my feathered friends will be well-fed. I have two bird feeding stations, and each station has a seed feeder, tray feeder, platform feeder, suet feeder, and seed stacker feeder. In mid-spring through early-fall, I swap out the platform feeder for a Hummingbird feeder. Great video, Lesley! 😁👍
Such great information. Some of these birds are new to me. I think they are all tough birdies but my favorite was the gray jay. I’m a sucker for cuteness. Thanks Leslie.
Walked around my apartment yesterday and saw several Golden Crowned Kinglet. I've noticed that they like hanging around the Ruby Crowned Kinglets. I've been around both long enough this year that I can easily tell the difference in their calls. The Golden is the hardest to photograph bird I've ever dealt with. The Ruby seem to stop more often allowing me to get good photos. I'm so glad that we get so many of both of them here in South Carolina! 🤗
Once again Leslie, you made a very informative video about birds during the winter. It is just amazing how these birds survive, I get cold just filling the bird feeders. In Michigan we have had several nights of single digit temps. Thank you for featuring the chickadee which is my favorite winter survivalist, with the nuthatch being a very close second.
I keep my feeders supplied all winter and top off before storms. This video brought home just how important the extra help can be for the little feather balls. A great reward is the passing visitors that are attracted during spring migration. Bird-word gets around.
We’ve been having -20° weather here and I’ve been so worried about my birds. Every morning I look out at my feeders and see them and it brings me such relief.
Great video again and happy new year. Been pretty frosty here with wind chill at about -38 so I have been putting extra sunflower seeds out. Feeder is very busy
Great video I learned a lot. All the birds have my respect for braving winter weather. This afternoon we getting hit with a lot snow. I'm hoping the birds who come here eat the rest of the food before the snow. I worry about then eating spoiled food. Do you have any tips on how make sure the food isn't spoiled by the weather? We keep everything in a clean dry area of the house until it's put out.
If it’s cold enough to snow, it’s unlikely that the food will spoil. The only thing to worry about is suet kept at room temp… so just keep it in a container in the garage or deck and give it a sniff before putting it out for the birds
The more amount of time I spend outdoors watching nature, the more amazed I am at what animals can go through. Lovely video again, and I always appreciate your time to teach me even more, even at 50 you can never know too much. Is it too or to or tue or two? LOL Thank you!
I am so happy that you made this video. I had been wondering how their little toes didn't freeze. The Redpoll and the Chickadees were wonderful to see. Redpolls seem to come to the feeders here only years apart, but Jays and Chickadees, Nuthatch's are some I feed daily.
Excellent video Leslie! I love learning more about all the different adaptations birds have. Thanks for doing all the research and sharing it with this informative video. I’ll definitely be passing it along!
I agree that the Kinglet takes the crown.... I watched a pair of our closely-related Eurasian Goldcrests a couple days ago, ceaselessly hopping from twig to twig in search of their invertebrate food, whilst making little high-pitched calls to each other. Like you, I find them quite magical tiny creatures.
Great video with fantastic information all around. I always wonder how ducks et al. didn't lose their feet. Need to watch this one again to take it all in. Love all those tough little birds.
Great video! A treasure chest of wonderful information. Extreme survivalists - every one. I just can't resist the Mallards' cheery, chubby cheeks! Lesley, thanks so much for your work.
Im old enough to recall when ducks and geese actually flew South each Fall. Somewhere along the way they decided it was easier to stay in Central Wisconsin all Winter long provided they can find some open water. These would be Canada goose and Mallard ducks. Nothing like driving to work on a -15F morning and seeing a hundred geese and ducks on the river, makes me wonder what the hell they are thinking and how/why they decided to stay up North here. Seems we first started noticing it in the 90s and Ive never heard a reason why, it used to be a big thing seeing or hearing the geese arrive each Spring. Great vid Lesley, all these tough birds are certainly a wonder. EDIT: A few months ago I mentioned I saw an unfamiliar bird while at work and the guide I have "Bird of the Midwest" did not show it, but looking at that Golden Crowned Kinglet Im positive that was the bird, the black stripes on the head are a dead ringer for what I saw. Not sure if they are common to us here
Pretty cool how you recall a time like that. I can imagine it's pretty nice to see them all on the river, beautiful. You mentioned seeing a Golden-crowned Kinglet. There are some location in the Midwest that have them year round. and they also spend winters in the rest of the Midwest. They are so tiny and pretty. I'm glad that you seemingly saw one. Thanks for checking the video and for your nice comment.
@@LesleytheBirdNerd : The Kinglet was a first for me, I felt lucky to be outside that day. While not an expert birder Im always on the lookout for things that dont quite look right, or typical. The yellowish body first drew my attention then I saw the two dark stripes on its head, I told myself "remember those stripes!" because I knew I was seeing something new to me. Kinda forgot about it until seeing it here in your vid so thanks for that.
Beautiful! Wild Animals r so resilient & tough survivors & they dont complain when times r tough we have much to learn from them on perseverance they dont give up easily 👍🏻 God bless u! 👍🏻
Loved this informative video and the beautiful images, Lesley! Thanks for posting it! I’ve only seen Golden Crowned Kinglets a few times over the years, and each time was a thrill…such sweet little birds!❤️
The G.C.K. must be a more fiercely raptorious (my own word) Raptor than ANY of the acknowledged, recognized "true" Raptors. Such a determined wee carnivore, forever stalking the flakes 'n frosts of Winter, slaughtering all the while insects(!) and their spawn. If these horrifying predators were but one pound in weight, they'd expand their range and we'd none of us never be safe outside.
Wonderful video, full of information. Nature always provides, and with bird lovers! My feeders are always filled for my feathered friends. Happy birding to all.
Thanks for another amazing video Lesley, would you mind checking out some of the bird quizzes i have been making recently, there on my channel, keep up the great work!
This was really fascinating! Thank you for sharing your vast knowledge of birds with us! That kinglet is something else; it is almost inconceivable that such a tiny bird barely has to change its regular habits to survive the winter. It is so sweet to think of them all snuggled together!! 🥰As for the rest of the birds you mentioned, their struggle to survive the winter is extremely touching. Your video inspired me to have a greater appreciation for the little feathered creatures. It was snowing this afternoon, and I watched the bird feeder to make sure all my birds got something to eat. I saw all the regulars including my most recent newcomers, the two White-breasted Nuthatches, Cinnamon and Raisin. :-) Stay warm!! The winter up north is utterly brutal!
Hi Lesley! I love the Ptarmigans, though I have never seen one. We had a week of extremely cold weather recently, far colder than normal in the Pacific Northwest. The tiny seed and suet eating birds, jays and woodpeckers weathered it, but my Anna's hummingbirds did not. Even though I replaced frozen hummer feeders more than twice a day, only about a third of the original 20 survived. But those few have recovered well and will breed this spring. They are really tropical birds, but they live here, 60 miles north of Seattle, all year long.
One bird I greatly admire for winter survival is the snowy owl. Just like the willow ptarmigan, every single inch of them is feathered. Where I live (northern New England), young owls come to visit our area for the winter to hang around large open places like airports and salt water marshes. They are a very beautiful, majestic sight.
Go chickadee! I noticed they don’t stay feeding at the feeder but pick up seed and fly off and then come back, etc. Probably hiding their seeds away in trees. Thanks for the info! I love the snowy grouse’s legs and feet, I’m envious 💚
You could mention Anna's hummingbird's wintering in the pacific north west. Seeing them fighting a blizzard and matching the chaotic swinging of the feeder is quite a sight.
curious why in the past few days I've been seeing fairly large flocks of both starlings and robins in my area(south central Pa.) normally the last of them are around in the end of November and don't usually return until the end of February at the earliest... know some birds winter over but had seen any for months.
I love your videos and birds! I'm always feeding them in winter. I've been getting 2 blue jays lately along with mr and mrs cardinal. And today I saw a hawk in the pine behind my house who had an unlucky dove in its claws, nature in action
I have learned so much from you. I love watching your videos. I have tons of birds and wild life because I am very close to the river. My Bluejays yell when they want peanuts and whoever is handy throws some out for them. I love the birds and squirrels and such. We occasionally get to watch an Eagle eat a fish which is wonderful. I hope to see many more of your videos. Thank you for all you do
The recent warm up then rain changing to snow and freeze-up has caused everything to be encased in ice, including all the seedheads my juncos usually bounce on to release seeds. I’ve got hanging suet and a feeder full of sunflower hearts and these were in high demand during the snow yesterday. Because their usual fare is iced over and covered by snow, I spread a bunch of dried echinacea and hyssop seedheads I had collected from spring cleanings in the past. This morning much ground hopping and feeding. 😊 Save the seedheads from cleaning up the garden in mid-spring, store them dry and feed in winter. And if they manage to sprout and grow somewhere in your garden, you’re now a nursery! Transplant to a different spot.
i don't live in the coldest environment, (chicago) but i'm always amazed when i see small birds out on a sunny or snowy day ... it always seems so hopeful to me to see them getting through another winter day
We haven't watched these videos for a while because we don't like chasing the cats away from the tv...today as soon as we turned it on, and Leslie's voice came (no birds on screen), the cat that was downstairs with us went on alert! He knows her voice means birds are coming!!!
Well, it would be hard to argue, based on this video, that the tiniest 6 gm golden-crowned kinglet it the toughest bird out there. I have never seen one in real life because they tend to hang around the tops of really tall evergreen trees in dense forest, but their song has been pointed out to me by knowledgeable birders. Fascinating video.
@@LesleytheBirdNerd any time!! Im the guy that put feathers in a cup of water and would pray and hope a bird would grow like a flower or something I was 3 or 4 years old all I wanted was to be a bird they're fascinating animals my connection to them is life long have had chickadees and golden crowned kinglets land on me before.... the brown creeper makes a very similar call like the golden crowned!!! Sorry my point is I'm learning more a lot more about birds by watching your channel 🙂
