How Your Birds Survive a Freezing Night (Most People Never See This)

On a freezing night, the little birds in your yard have no nest, no heater and no blanket. And most of them are still alive in the morning. Most people think the cold is what kills a small bird in winter. It isn't. It's an empty tank. I've watched the birds in my own yard for more than fifty years. Today, I'll take you through one freezing night, from the last light to the first. You'll see the last big meal of the day, where your birds sleep, the coat full of air, the chickadee that turns its own heat down, four kinglets found huddled on one branch, and the birds that go to bed under the snow. You'll hear many of them in their own voices. And at the end, I'll show you the one hour of the day when your feeder matters most. Which trick amazed you most? Tell me in the comments. Want more birds at your feeder? Grab my free checklist: the 12 small changes that bring birds back to your yard. Bird facts checked with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (All About Birds) and Audubon. Chapters 0:00 Intro 1:07 Number 1: The last meal 3:11 Number 2: A room for the night 5:18 Number 3: A coat full of air 6:41 Number 4: Turning down the heat 8:30 Number 5: Four on a branch 10:40 Number 6: A bed under the snow 13:31 Number 7: The hour that matters Bird recordings White-breasted Nuthatch calls – National Park Service (Rocky Mountain National Park) – Public domain – https://www.nps.gov/romo/learn/photos... Black Capped Chickadee main calls 6am cottage 180724 – TRP – CC0 – Freesound – https://freesound.org/s/572718/ Downy Woodpecker calls – National Park Service (Rocky Mountain National Park) – Public domain – https://www.nps.gov/romo/learn/photos... Northern Cardinal teeooww 6am stereo amb NOTL 180809 – TRP – CC0 – Freesound – https://freesound.org/s/572737/ Blue Jay calls 9am 77mel A 180613 – TRP – CC0 – Freesound – https://freesound.org/s/572717/ Golden-crowned Kinglet (song), Gem Lake Trail, 05/25/2016 – J. Job, National Park Service (Rocky Mountain National Park) – Public domain – https://www.nps.gov/romo/learn/photos... Red-breasted Nuthatch calls – National Park Service (Rocky Mountain National Park) – Public domain – https://www.nps.gov/romo/learn/photos... 200324 Dark Eyed Junco trills – TRP – CC0 – Freesound – https://freesound.org/s/566419/ Photo credits Black-capped chickadee in the snow (52621175454).jpg – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region – Public domain – Wikimedia Commons Ruffed Grouse - Bonasa umbellus (23883619240).jpg – GlacierNPS – Public domain – Wikimedia Commons Golden-Crowned Kinglet at Billy Frank Jr Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge (53359209065).jpg – USFWS Pacific – Public domain – Wikimedia Commons Golden-crowned Kinglet (44717972285).jpg – ShenandoahNPS – Public domain – Wikimedia Commons Golden-crowned Kinglet (44717974595).jpg – ShenandoahNPS – Public domain – Wikimedia Commons Common redpoll (50829029682).jpg – USFWSAlaska – Public domain – Wikimedia Commons Common redpoll (50829037907).jpg – USFWSAlaska – Public domain – Wikimedia Commons Ruffed grouse (53480558466).jpg – USFWS Midwest Region from Midwest Region, United States – Public domain – Wikimedia Commons Black-capped Chickadee (53610330232).jpg – USFWSAlaska – Public domain – Wikimedia Commons White-breasted nuthatch (50679325031).jpg – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region – Public domain – Wikimedia Commons White-breasted nuthatch (53633706799).jpg – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region – Public domain – Wikimedia Commons Black-capped chickadee (50695649497).jpg – USFWSAlaska – Public domain – Wikimedia Commons White-breasted nuthatch (53831451172).jpg – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region – Public domain – Wikimedia Commons Black-capped chickadee (52533938364).jpg – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region – Public domain – Wikimedia Commons Downy Woodpecker (male) (44895343544).jpg – ShenandoahNPS – Public domain – Wikimedia Commons Northern Cardinal in winter snow - 40264576033.jpg – Wildreturn – CC BY 2.0 – Wikimedia Commons Blue jay (53702452922).jpg – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region – Public domain – Wikimedia Commons Dark-eyed Junco (44607079655).jpg – ShenandoahNPS – Public domain – Wikimedia Commons Male Northern Cardinal (42253318221).jpg – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region – Public domain – Wikimedia Commons Blue jay (52341975982).jpg – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region – Public domain – Wikimedia Commons Black-capped chickadee (51097954785).jpg – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region – Public domain – Wikimedia Commons Dark-eyed Junco (44795477064).jpg – ShenandoahNPS – Public domain – Wikimedia Commons Black-capped chickadee (54364997589).jpg – U.S. Fish and Wi