The cheerful arrival of a chickadee, a vibrant pop of red from cardinals and the distinctive dippy flight of woodpeckers can be the easiest to spot on a winter's day with bright snowy backdrops and bare branches.
The viewing can get even better for anyone willing to put up feeders that help wild birds get through what the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Prediction Center forecasts to be a wet and likely snowier-than-usual winter.
"Deeper snow is hard on a lot of species," said Lori Naumann of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' nongame wildlife program. It buries sheltering brush areas, seed pods on plants and carcasses that provide natural fat and protein.
This winter there also is a keener awareness of birds' vulnerability after the journal Science published a late-October report that estimates one in four birds have disappeared since 1970. Focusing on more than 500 species, the research concluded that nearly 3 billion birds — close to 29% — have disappeared from North America.
No single answer can explain the huge drop but diminishing habitat could play a role. There also aren't usually state-funded programs to support small nongame bird populations despite an estimated 45 million people who bird-watch at home or while traveling.
In Minnesota, some donations come in through the DNR's Eagle Cam livestream, in its seventh year, but most support comes from people investing in bird-friendly projects at home: planting evergreens for year-round shelter, native shrubs and trees with edible fruit and native plants with edible seeds such as coreopsis and coneflowers.
If you haven't fully cleaned up fall leaves and brush, there's a good excuse to let the rest stay put.
"It's helpful to leave a brush pile," Naumann said. "Those are perfect places for little birds to hide within 15 to 20 feet of the feeder."