Pet Forums 2000

We have tons of birds now but I have looked for them at night but I never see any, where do they rest at night?

Courtesy of the West Virgina Department of Natural Resources:"Where do birds go at night?Birds tend to sleep in the same areas they inhabitduring the day. To protect against predation, manybirds will sleep in a way that enhances their securitywithin this habitat. Water birds will sleep sitting orstanding in the water or on predator-free islands. Manyother birds, such as horned larks, quail and sparrows,sleep on the ground in dense vegetation. Birds whichnest in cavities tend to sleep in their trees, chimneys, orin nest boxes far away from many predators. It is no ac-cident that the majority of bird species, including thosethat are not regular tree-dwellers, prefer to sleep in treesor dense shrubs. There they are out of reach of preda-tors which cannot climb and are warned by vibrationsof other carnivores long before they are a danger.Sleeping habits can also change with the seasons.For instance, territorial birds often sleep in their terri-tory (including on the nest) during the breeding seasonbut thereafter may sleep communally in large roosts.Woodpeckers often will excavate sleeping cavities inthe fall rather than sleep in the older breeding cavity.Ruffed grouse, which usually prefer dense conifer coverin the warmer seasons, will often burrow into snowin the winter to avoid predators such as the northerngoshawk."Reference: www.wvdnr.gov/wildlife/magazine/Current/AvianQuestions.pdfYou may also appreciate this brief article from the Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks discussing the discovery of a Chickadee's winter night living quarters. See: www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF16/1641.html