Northern Indiana Winter Birds

Huntertown, Indiana, may be cold and gray in winter, but our yards are still full of life.

We see bright red cardinals, noisy blue jays, tiny chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, goldfinches, woodpeckers, juncos, and tree sparrows coming to visit from December through March.

When bugs disappear in the cold, these birds turn to seeds and old berries for food. At our place, they crowd the feeders for sunflower and millet seeds. Woodpeckers, nuthatches, and chickadees also tap on trees to find tiny insects hiding under the bark, and they love suet blocks for a big energy boost.

On harsh winter nights, birds have to fight to stay warm. They puff up their feathers like little round balls to hold in heat. Many tuck into our pine trees, brush piles, or thick bushes to get out of the wind. Some small birds, like chickadees, will even cuddle close together at night. They hide their heads under their wings and pull their feet into their belly feathers, so their bare skin does not freeze.

Winter is hard on them. Food can be buried under snow, water dishes freeze solid, and the long nights drain their strength. This is why I leave some “messy” spots in the yard. Old seed heads, dead flower stalks, and brush piles might not look pretty, but they give birds both food and shelter when there is snow on the ground.

If you have a homestead with chickens or other animals, not every bird is a good guest. Starlings, house sparrows, pigeons, and wild geese can bring germs, leave droppings in water pans, and eat a lot of feed. I use covered feeders, tight grain bins, and try to keep them from sleeping on barns and coops. That way, we can still help our wild songbirds and keep our flock safe at the same time.

Fun Facts About Our Winter Birds

• Chickadees hide hundreds of seeds each day and can remember where they put most of them, even after it snows. They stay up north all winter instead of flying south, even in very deep cold. At night, they slip into "regulated hypothermia," lowering their body temperature by up to about 20-22 degrees to save energy and fat. Their feet can cool down close to freezing without getting damaged, which cuts heat loss through their bare legs and toes. They usually roost in a small tree hole, cracks, and other snug spots at night to get out of the wind.  In a single day a chickadee may eat about 60 percent of its body weight to pack on extra fat late in the day as they burn most of it off overnight while shivering to stay warm, and to make it through the night. Even though a chickadee is only about the weight of a handful of paper clips, it has an amazing set of tricks-extra eating, clever hiding, fluffing up, and cooling itself down on purpose-that let it survive long, freezing Indiana night. 

A fluffed‑up bird on a cold day isn’t “fat” – it’s wearing a built‑in down coat made of air trapped in its feathers.

• Cardinals sometimes sing on bright winter mornings, even when it’s below freezing, as if they’re already calling in spring. It's a special feeling living in the north, seeing that bright red bird sitting in the snowy tree and hearing their beautiful melodies. You will see cardinals all year long with their bright red color, as these birds do not fly south for winter. They are able to lower their body temperature a few degrees to save energy to survive the bitter cold nights since they do not use bird houses. They often form small flocks and feed together to stay safer and find food more easily. Putting out sunflower seeds early in the morning or later in the evening helps our cardinals get through long, cold winters. 

• Blue Jays bright blue color is caused by the way light hits their feather structure, not by blue pigment, which is a fun science fact to share with kids.  These beauties are year-round birds across much of the easter and midwestern area, so many stay through the whole winter instead of flying far south.  Some may migrate, other may stay one winter and move the next, so their patterns can seem a bit random.  During storms to get out of the wind and blowing snow, they roost in thick evergreens, shrubs, or dense trees at night.  Blue jays hide extra food, especially acorns and peanuts in the ground, bark cracks, and leaf piles, then return to those hiding spots through the winter.  They love whole peanuts, sunflower seeds, suet, and will often grab a big piece, fly off to hide it, and come back for more.   These bold, bright visitors bring a splash of blue and a lot of noise to the quiet winter yard, stashing peanuts like tiny feathers squirrels while they ride out the cold. 

• Woodpeckers have tiny shock‑absorbers in their skulls, so they don’t get a headache from all that hammering on trees. They are often easier to see in winter because the leaves are off the trees, so their black and white patterns and red caps really stand out. Many common woodpeckers, like downy and red-bellied woodpeckers, stay in northern areas all year instead of flying south. They roost in holes they have carved, usually in dead or dying trees. These types of trees keep out wind and help hold in body heat on very cold nights.  They sometimes make holes in late fall just for sleeping, separate from their spring nesting cavities. Woodpeckers also eat seeds, nuts and berries when bugs are hard to find. They even store extra food in cracks in bark or tiny holes, tucking away seeds or nuts to come back to later.  These holes help other birds survive winter nights later on by being used by other small birds, like chickadees, nuthatches, wrens, and bluebirds, as cozy winter sleeping spots.  While the wind howls outside, our local woodpeckers tuck into tree holes they built themselves, then come out in   morning to knock on the trunks and visit the suet, reminding us that the woods are still very much alive in winter. 

In winter many bird mixes flock together to have more eyes on alert to watch for hawks, and to find food.  These birds are usually chickadees, titmice, and woodpeckers, nuthatches as well as several other small birds.

• Goldfinches in winter lose most of their bright yellow and black cap and turn a soft brown or olive color, so they blend in with tweeds and fields. Many move a bit south in winter, especially those from places where temps stay below 0 degrees for long periods, but some stay farther north if food is good. Goldfinches travel in flocks and roam widely between fields and feeders, sometimes moving miles in a day to follow seed food.  They eat mostly seeds all year, and in winter they focus on small seeds from weeds and flowers, plus thistle and sunflower at our feeders.   Before winter, goldfinches grow a new set of feathers that are denser and softer, giving extra insulation against the cold.  Sometimes on very cold nights they roost together in evergreens, shrubs, or even burrow into snow to form a little "cave" that traps warmer air.   These little gold birds that turn brown in winter, flocking to finch feeders and dried seed heads, (sometimes even upside down), quietly riding out the cold in thicker coats of feathers until spring color returns. 

• Nuthatches got their name from wedging a nut or large seed into bark and then hammer it open with their sharp bill to "hatch" the seed inside. These birds tuck single seeds into bark cracks, under flakes of bark, or in other tiny hiding spots, often covering them with bark, moss, or snow, then come back to eat them when it turns very cold. Many nuthatches, like the white breasted nuthatch, stay in the same woods and neighborhoods all year, so you see them at feeder even on the coldest day.   Red-breasted nuthatches are sometimes forced to move farther south in big numbers in some winters when cone crops fail up north, so you suddenly see more of them at our feeders. Nuthatches are known for their upside-down bark climbing, as they stash seen in every crack they can find, then spend winter racing around tree trunks and visiting suet and sunflower feeders to make it through long, freezing nights. 

• Tree sparrows are known to breed far north in the Arctic tundra and willow thickets of Alaska and Canada, then migrate south to open fields, marshes, and backyards in places like Northern Indiana from late fall through early spring.   These hardy sparrows forage right through blizzards, fluffing their feather to trap heat. They sometimes roost communally under snow cover, burrowing into drifts for insulation, or tuck into dense shrubs and weeds to block wind.  Tree sparrows are usually found to perch on the lower shrubs, fences, and ground.  Sometimes in late winter, while the ground is still covered with snow, the males start their sweet, warbling songs, signaling spring migration.  

Tree sparrows (American tree sparrows) and Juncos (dark eyed juncos) are both common winter ground feeder in Huntertown, Indiana. They do have clear differences to tell them apart. Tree sparrows have a rusty red cap and rusty stripe behind the eye, with gray cheeks and a bicolored bill. While the Juncos are solid slate grad hood, white bill and pale gray face without the rusty tones. 

• Juncos are often called “snowbirds” because they show up right when winter does and hop around under feeders like little gray mice. Many juncos return to the same winter yards year after year, so the flock you see this year might be "regulars."  Their gray-and-white colors help them blend into bare ground, leaves, and snow shadows, giving them camouflage from hawks and cats.  Juncos grow extra feathers for winter. It can sometimes be about one-third heavier in cold months than in summer. At night they roost in thick evergreens, shrubs, or brush piles to get out of the wind and hide from predators. Every winter, our little gray-and-white juncos drop in like seasonal guests, shuffling under the feeders, puffed up in tiny snow suits of feathers, riding out the cold on a steady diet of seeds and good hiding spots. 

• Titmice (tufted titmice) are tough little backyard birds that stick around northern Indiana all winter.  They are known to fluff up into round, puffy balls to trap warm air in their feathers during cold snaps.  They can be found to roost alone or in pairs in tree cavities, woodpecker holes, or snug bark cracks to block wind and stay cozy at night. They may add bits of fur or hair to make a roost cozier if reusing an old cavity, but it's not a main winter habit like food catching or flocking.  Like chickadees, titmice hoard food one seed at a time, shell it, and hide it in bark crevices or under moss for lean days.  Pairs often stick together through winter, sometimes with a group "helper" chick from last year tagging along. These gray crested cuties add cheerful noise to snowy yards-picture them darting upside down on branches, stashing seeds like tiny survivalists.