12/17/2025
Our CEO does more than tech and AI, she combines a zoology degree with a lifelong love of animals, so we get a lot of winter wildlife questions. If winter feels harsh to you, imagine living outside 24/7 🙂
Here’s one we hear often:
Why do birds bathe in winter—don’t they freeze?
It looks uncomfortable to us, but winter bathing is normal, necessary, and safe for healthy birds.
Short answer:
Birds bathe in winter to survive. Clean feathers are essential for insulation, waterproofing, and flight—especially in cold weather.
Here’s why it works:
🪶 Feathers are a bird’s winter coat
Feathers trap warm air close to the body. Dirt, oil buildup, droppings, or parasites collapse those air pockets, making birds colder, not warmer. Bathing restores insulation.
💧 Birds don’t stay wet like mammals
After bathing, birds shake off water, preen to realign feathers, and spread natural oils from the preen gland. This quickly re-waterproofs feathers, even in cold air.
❄️ Cold water ≠ freezing risk (for healthy birds)
Birds maintain body temperatures around 104–108°F. Brief contact with liquid water does not drop their core temperature to dangerous levels.
Risk increases only when birds are already sick, injured, malnourished, heavily soiled, or exposed to prolonged icy conditions—situations wildlife rehabilitators monitor closely.
🌨 Snow bathing is intentional
Some species use dry, powdery snow to groom, remove parasites, and absorb excess oils when liquid water isn’t available.
How you can help safely:
• Shallow water (1–2 inches)
• Heated bird baths or refreshed water during daylight
• Textured footing
• Never add salt, glycerin, or antifreeze
If water freezes solid, birds simply won’t use it.
When to call a rehabilitator (like North Country Wild Care – NCWC):
A bird fluffed and immobile, ice on feathers, trouble flying, or visible injury.
💚 Learn how to help wildlife year-round at northcountrywildcare.org
Every call. Every rescue. Every release—your support makes it possible.
Sources: Cornell Lab of Ornithology, National Audubon Society, RSPB, Gill (Ornithology), NWRA.
Image: From amazon, search for the heated bath that fits needs yours & the birds
