Winter in the yard ~

We are blessed to have a beautiful pond in our backyard with turtles, goldfish, koi, and lots of mosquito fish.  In the winter, when the water temperature falls below 55 degrees, we stop feeding and provide some type of shelter (e.g. PVC pipe, hollow log, clay pots) for them to hide from predators.  The turtles are hibernating in the rocks or plants.  The fish are cold blooded and their metabolism slows down so they don't digest the food.  They will also swim more closely and slowly.  {Note: If your pond is above ground and/or shallow you should bring the fish indoors.}

The tortoise has also gone into hibernation.  This is Fred.

As for the birds, we have several feeders we keep full once the weather starts to cool off and food is harder to find.  I like a mixture of safflower, black oil sunflower seeds, and smaller songbird food. 

I also provide dried mealworms for the bluebirds.