A fun and warm pastime in the winter is bird watching. You can sit by the fire and enjoy a warm cup of hot cocoa while watching them flit around adding a flash of color to an otherwise dull outdoor view. So now that we’ve given you your next favorite hobby, the question is how to attract the birds to your house especially when it’s so cold outside?

The simplest and most natural answer is food, water and shelter. During the winter food is scarce in the wild. Providing food for birds is the best way to attract them to your house no matter what time of year, but there are some special bird foods that you can buy specifically for the winter. In order to provide water that isn’t frozen, you can look into a heated birdbath. This method might be even more successful that putting out food! Everyone wants a warm place to escape the cold during the winter and birds are no different. Providing birds with shelter so that they can roost and escape the wind chill will help them stay comfortable no matter the weather.

With these tips in mind it’s also important to think about the placement of your feeders and shelter. You want for your birdhouses to be high enough off the ground that predators such as cats cannot reach them. Likewise for the feeders, if positioned too close to a window it could confuse the birds and potentially cause injury. Equipped with these tips, we hope you spot some interesting birds this winter!