Helping out birds in winter

By My Courier-Tribune

While the adage, “that’s for the birds” often means something trivial, we often find ourselves using it to describe unpleasant situations. For example, “winter is for the birds.” While there are some birds that migrate to Missouri for food in the winter, others may seem to have adapted, but they still need our help, states a release from the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Globally, birds eat an estimated 400 to 500 million tons of nuisance insects like mosquitoes every year. Birds also help spread the seeds of many different plant species, states the release.

Unfortunately, in the last 50 years 2.9 billion North American birds were lost due to food and habitat loss, caused by deforestation, urban sprawl and the widespread use of pesticides, reports the MDC.

The effects of these activities are amplified in winter when food and shelter are scarce.

“You can help. Setting out bird feeders is a great way to provide birds with essential food for winter. Landscaping your yard with native plants, trees and shrubs will make your property more inviting to birds, offer shelter that they need to avoid predators, and provide additional seeds and bugs to eat,” states the release.

Learn more at the Missouri Department Conservation website, mdc.mo.gov.