More snow and cold for SE Colo

Boy, what a winter this is--though it snows in the mountainous areas throughout the winter, the lower elevations of SE Colo generally don't get that much snow and certainly not week after week of it. Today Canon City and this area is getting several inches of snow. Tomorrow night an arctic front marches down bringing more snow and awfully cold temps. This photo is one I took recently of the Arkansas River near here.

We are now concerned that many bird species are suffering big loses from the continued snow cover in the lower Arkansas Valley. Though uncomfortable in my area, the snow cover is not deep. However I continue feeding black-oil sunflower seed in a feeder and white proso-milet on the ground as well as keeping my bird water heater plugged in for the juncos, sparrows, House Finches and Mourning Doves in my neighborhood.

Yesterday a small flock of Blue Jays were squawking in a neighbors yard. In winter they usually are eating the food they have cached in the fall so I was surprised at their visit (they usually come in the fall to get seed and nuts to cache). I found some nuts and put out some sunflower seeds on the top of a tree trunk (they have trouble accessing seed in feeders) for them. Though I am trying to add more native plants to provide food and shelter for birds instead of feeding, I just feel that in really cold and snowy weather it might be helpful to provide supplemental feed especially since some folks who feed birds stop doing so when the weather makes it uncomfortable to them.
SeEtta