We had two brief episodes of sleet, which melted fast, then experienced the edge of the Sno-Pocalypse, which was relatively mild all the way to Maine. The snow melted from the roads and driveways as it fell, but accumulated on the ground and birdfeeders. Now we have a week of 60 to 70 degree days.
The starlings knew where to search for food under the snow, so we hosted most of the starlings in Springdale, almost like Hitchcock's The Birds. It did seem as if their relatives from Fayetteville joined the food line. They pecked through the snow and found corn and peanuts galore.
The shy male cardinal landed on the kitchen window sill, where food is always placed. Like the squirrels who know their rights, the cardinal looked into the kitchen to remind me of our long and affectionate relationship. I was only two feet away, the reward for having food there most days, extra food for extreme weather.
The blue jay stopped on the other window sill to scream at me. Yes, yes, you are hungry too. I removed a lot of snow from their feeding zones - garbage barrel lids, window sills, the hanging wire bun baskets, and the cinder block.
The single purchase of suet lasted all winter. I had it hanging from an extra birdfeeder (squirrel proof, hahahahaha) in the mild fall weather, and it was totally ignored. Suet eaters, like the chickadees and woodpeckers, want suet when it is very cold and when they feel secure about the source. So when the snow and sleet were falling I saw the bug eating birds use the suet to tide them over.
Mulch is the best bird feeder of all, but more awkward to enjoy at ground level. A layer of leaves and wood mulch is a choice zone for all the critters birds love to devour.
I leave the garden trashy into the spring, to let the beneficial insects thrive, which also feed the birds and even the squirrels.
