With the cold weather coming in our little feathered friends will need help finding food. I hope this will help those who would like to help our little friends out.

For winter feeding, depending on where you live, try to have feeders in place by early September.

As the food supply dwindles, birds such as the chickadees, cardinals, and woodpeckers, will appreciate a supplemental food source.

You will also help those that are migrating through. The number of birds that come to your feeder may, at first, be low. Be sure to continue.

As the temperatures drop, you should see your feeders get busy.

When the weather turns nasty, remember the birds will probably depend on your feeder, especially if ice or snow covers their natural food sources.

They will also depend on you more during late winter and onto early spring when less food is available.

Bird diets may also change with the seasons, depending on the foods available to them.

Some birds may eat insects during most of the year but switch to winter berries when insects are scarce.

You may occasionally provide grit, such as sand or fine pet bird grit.

It is helpful because it is retained in the gizzard where it helps in grinding seeds.

If a bird feels it needs sand or dirt to help digest its food and snow covers the ground, the birds may resort to using sand from roof shingles, which may be unhealthy.

You can also provide eggshells to serve as grit and may provide needed calcium during the egg-laying season.

Grit can be mixed with seeds or placed in a tray or on the ground.