REGINA - Social media posts by the City of Regina, Bird Friendly Regina and Salthaven West Wildlife are spreading awareness that heated bird baths can be dangerous in the most frigid part of winter.
Bird Friendly Regina points out that if you love attracting birds to your yard or balcony in the winter and you use or have considered using a heated birdbath in winter, there are some things you need to know.
Each winter, Salthaven West Wildlife admits songbirds suffering from injuries caused by heated birdbaths. After bathing, birds may perch nearby to preen, and if temperatures are extremely cold, they can freeze their feet or feathers to metal and icy surfaces or suffer severe frostbite.
They also point out that birds are well-adapted to eating snow in winter, so if you use a heated birdbath, take extra precautions:
- Ensure no metal surfaces are nearby.
- Monitor it carefully and consider emptying or freezing it when temperatures drop below -15°C to avoid risks.
Regina is Canada’s fifth Bird Friendly city.
As one of the first four municipalities to become Bird Friendly Certified in 2022 and a Tree City of the World, Bird Friendly Regina and the City of Regina advance efforts to become more bird-friendly and biodiverse.
In the past two years, Bird Friendly Regina has grown and expanded their reach and engagement to community members and local decision-makers to carry out and advance a variety of bird friendly practices such as: launching and announcing Regina’s Official City Bird - the black-capped chickadee - with over 21,000 votes, keeping cats on private property, monitoring the city for bird-window collisions through Nature Regina’s Bird Safe Initiative and hosting bird-related events at Wascana Lake Migratory Bird Sanctuary.
