I still wonder where the bird who refused to fly a whole day could be today. I walked around, didn't see anybody. Of course there is a possibility that while I wasn't home yesterday night for basically 40 minutes, a predator could come by and take her but this possibility is slim I think (a cardinal was eating on the ground when I came back). This area is rather safe. I don't even see any cats, and I constantly monitor the situation because of my rabbits.
I also wonder if I took pictures of the same bird or not. The behavior of the one on Saturday and the one on Monday was the same (sitting on my porch and not reacting on me much) so I am assuming it was the same bird. But if it's the same bird, then she had changes with her feathers over the course of 2 days. The feathers looked differently on Monday and the bird looked more grown up.

I bought suet cake for outdoor birds who live around here and hung it in the standard green metal suet cage for them. They accepted it very quickly, the only problem that I have is that they finish a cake within 2 days LOL I didn't expect I would need a new cake every 2-3 days. I have mostly sparrows, but I start thinking that maybe they are finches, not sparrows (or I have both). Some of them are really small.
Anyway, we have been having a really bad weather but it's expected to get even worse. It started with 60F today and rain, and the temperatures dropped quickly to 30s, the problem is that the rain poured really bad during evening hours (it was hard to drive). Now it's supposed to turn into freezing rain, and tomorrow we are promised ice pellets. Birds were very lively first part of the day (when it was warmer), eating on the ground a lot and from suet basket, they often hide under my car that is parked on the driveway. It's becoming very windy right now with temperature a little below water freezing temperature, the rain/freezing rain almost stopped but the wind is killing. I am seriously concerned about this birds during night hours. Poor little creatures!
I am thinking to organize for them a perch made out of tree branch that I want to place under the awning of the house (or whatever you call a part of the roof that extends wider than house walls levels? It's not exactly awning but I have no clue what you call it) . Do you think they would use it for night hours during inclement weather? Or is instinct calling to spend a night on the tree no matter what weather it is?
Basically it would be a long stick from a natural tree that I want to allow to sit" on a water pipe, it would be right under the awning , rather high from the ground and next to the house wall that faces East

HI all, I've got A few questions:
should I stop feeding wild birds on my front when spring comes (it's already here) or do people feed them all year long ?
I have seen a small size predator bird who was hunting this little birds that I am feeding. Not sure what bird it is but it's definitely not a full size hawk or an eagle. Can this bird be a threat to my rabbits who are rather big bunnies (8-10 lbs)? I just thought, is it in general a bad idea to feed wild birds where my rabbits are? I feed them on the front, and rabbits are mostly at the back, but they have access to the front too (some area on the front is fenced for the bunnies) . they have some protection over head, but certainly there is enough space where they sit unprotected (If they want). They do go in for the night. it's been like this for years, should I assume that the large bird I seen a few times is not a problem for my rabbits? When I say large I mean that it's definitely larger than the birds I see around but significantly smaller than predators we see flying in a wild park.

I can't say whether it's a threat to the rabbits without knowing what kind of bird it is. Hawks come in different sizes and some are tiny, like the kestrel which is about the size of a mourning dove. I can't link directly to the picture, but this site has a picture of someone holding a kestrel in their hand so you can see how small it is. https://www.beautyofbirds.com/americankestrels.html A hawk that small probably wouldn't be a threat to the bunnies, but there are medium-sized hawks that might be more of a problem.

I feed the wild birds all year long and I do get hawks in the yard. Birds of prey are always a risk.

thanks Carolyn

I am adding some overhead protection for the bunnies at the front (some crates they can get under) . Our predator is larger than a dove... Are they only dangerous when they rapidly drop from the sky to grab someone? can such a bird land, walk around, and then mess with a bunny? or are they only powerful when they suddenly land?

It would probably be very difficult for a hawk to kill a rabbit without doing the power dive, because there wouldn't be much force behind the strike. But the beak and talons are still sharp so obviously it's better to not have hawks trying to take your rabbits.

Once in a while I see a young Cooper's hawk walking around on the ground in my yard, peering into the bushes looking for small birds. But I've never seen one find anything this way, so I don't know if this can be a successful hunting technique. I don't know whether a hawk would dare to try this with a rabbit - bunnies are pretty big and they do have some ability to fight back so it could be dangerous for the hawk. But it's always best to be safe and try to prevent the problem from happening in the first place, so it's good that you're providing protected areas for the bunnies.

A stupid question.
today outdoor temperature is below freezing. I have bird bath outside where water froze.
I replaced water during warmest part of the day. To keep it a little longer from freezing, I used cold tap water that I diluted with hot just boiled water. I didn't make it hot, no way, but it would probably feel slightly warm to touch. Just a little bit warm.
As soon as I put it out, some small birds flew to drink (finches or sparrows). Is it OK for them to consume water that is slightly warm, when outdoor temperature is below freezing? Is it not damaging?
I should probably stick with just cold tap water in the future

It will be OK as long as the water isn't any hotter than what they would drink in the summertime. If it's too hot it could burn them, but nature has equipped them to deal with the summer temperatures. Slightly warm water is probably beneficial in the winter - drinking cold water would chill the inside of their throat and they would have to warm it up again, but warm water wouldn't have this effect.

thank you,
I just remember that their heat exchange was somewhat complicated.
Once I picked up baby bird that fell out and parents were nowhere near, a night was approaching, I attempted to feed the baby with turkey baby food, I warmed it up but I think it cooled down while I was trying to deliver it to the babe's beak. She died that night, and I still think that the reason was baby food that was probably colder that it should have been

drinking water is probably a different situation for adult birds, but still.. who knows

The temperature is critical with babies that are fed by regurgitation. They're used to all their food being warmed up to match the parents' body temperature, and it's very hard for them to deal with food that isn't warm enough. But the adults have to be able to tolerate a wider variety of temperatures since their food is usually about the same temperature as the air.