The birds continue their southward movement for the winter. Some have already finished, others are passing through, and still others are yet to come.
Migration’s a tough slog filled with risks, including window strikes, cats, and starvation.
Window strikes are a bigger issue with high-rise office and apartment buildings. Most passerines migrate at night, using stars to help with navigation. Lit windows can confuse them and result in them hitting the window. Turning lights off, particularly on north-facing upper-floor rooms can help with this.
Cats eat birds. It’s that simple. You can help by keeping them indoors.
It takes so much energy for birds to make their thousands-of-kilometre-long journeys. You can help by keeping your feeders stocked with high-quality, high-energy foods. Consider seed mixes developed just for fall feeding and hulled seed to make it even easier for them to access that precious energy.
A couple of previous blog posts provide tips on fall bird feeding and suet.