Minus 30 Degrees C - A Different Perspective

It's cold! Everyone else is talking about it so I thought I'd add a different view about our latest weather experience. At the seemingly persistent -30 degC, dramatic feeding changes do occur. Deer foraging increases as they animals try to get more food for energy. They get desparate and will decimate cedar trees - standing on their hind legs to reach as high as they can. They will eat birdseed and in fact will attack birdfeeders, smashing them with their front hooves until the seed falls to the ground. One would think it's a good thing to feed the deer, but doing so changes their metabolism to the point that feeding them can do more harm than good - especially if feeding is curtailed. Birds are slightly different, they can survive in the bush if feeding is stopped. With this cold weather, bird feeding increases dramatically to the point that feeders require frequent topping up during the day, as larger numbers of birds feed almost constantly. Local birdseed suppliers have been selling so much of the favored "Black Oil Sunflower" seeds that they are sold out - and are hoping for more soon! We have several different flocks of birds that feed all day this winter - bluejays, chickadees, white-winged crossbills and hairy woodpeckers ! So far this winter, we have used six bags of seed at fifty pounds each for a total of three hundred pounds - that's a lot of birdseed!