Winter Birding in Utah

Birding, or the observation of birds in their natural habitats as a hobby, has a large following in Utah. But sometimes the birder needs to do things to encourage birds to come to a location that they can enjoy them when the weather is not ideal. Birding in Utah is a fun hobby, and can be continued into the winter months. All living things, need three things to survive. They need access to shelter, water, and food. If you want to attract birds to your backyard, or neighborhood, you can do so by giving them all three of these things. If you supply the correct items for the birds, you can enjoy them in your backyard for the entire year. All birds have different requirements for what they consider shelter, water and food. So you will need to research what each species you wish to attract needs. Here are some suggestions to get things started in making your backyard a place where bird would love to visit and say during the cold winter months. Shelter The most common shelter is that of bird houses. These are different than bird feeders. A bird house does not supply the bird with food, but supplies them with a place to retreat from the weather and in some cases a place for them to nest. There are several things you need to take into consideration. Birds like houses of different material, different door openings, and different heights from the ground. Research the type of bird you want to attract to find the correct bird house or shelter for them. Water Water is the hardest thing to provide birds in the harsh winter months in Utah. It is important to keep the water from freezing. Some suggestions are placing heated rocks, like the ones you can buy at pet stores, water wigglers that keep the water surface from freezing, and pumps to keep the water flowing. It is also suggested that maybe you have the water create a waterfall type sound, this may attract birds to the area because they hear the running water and know that water is available. Food Food is also needed to attract birds. Bird feeders are ideal for this. You can also spread the food on the ground in areas to attract the birds. Things you may also want to include are suet blocks, peanut butter rings, sunflowers seeds, and maybe whole peanuts. Try different things and see what the birds like. Like shelter, birds have a preference of location of the food. Some birds are ground feeders, some prefer to eat in the branches of trees. If you are really interested in attracting birds to your yard, the best advice would be to ask those who are already successful in attracting birds to their backyards. You will find that birders are friendly, and have a passion for their hobby. They will give you a lot of advice on ways to attract birds, and have experience on what works and what does not work. A great place to start is the Utah Birding Facebook page.

Additional Resources

Utah Birding FB Page