If you’re anything like me, winter probably feels like the season when your garden goes quiet. The flowers are gone, the beds are sleeping, and most of the activity seems to disappear under frost. But look closer — winter is one of the hardest, most unforgiving months for the wildlife that depend on our yards more than we realize.
And this year, I discovered something almost embarrassingly simple that can make a meaningful difference for them.
A tennis ball.
Yes, that bright green thing rolling around your garage can actually help both birds and hedgehogs survive winter — not in a symbolic, “isn’t that nice” kind of way, but in a very real, very practical, science-backed way. When someone first told me this, I honestly thought it sounded like a joke. But the more I dug into it, the more I realized it makes perfect sense.
Let me walk you through why this odd little trick works, and why your yard — and the wildlife that visit it — might genuinely benefit if you try it.
Winter Is Tough on Wildlife, No Matter How Peaceful It Looks
We tend to think birds and hedgehogs just “handle” winter on their own, but the truth is: the season pushes them right to the edge.
Small birds can lose up to 10% of their body weight in a single night just trying to stay warm. That means when dawn hits, they’re desperate for food, water, and safe places to land. Hedgehogs, on the other hand, are tucked into hibernation — or trying to. They rely on very delicate energy reserves. One bad cold spell, one stretch without water, one poorly timed wake-up, and they’re suddenly at risk.
So here’s where you and your tennis ball enter the story.
Winter flattens everything: the snow, the grass, the ice, the puddles. It hides food, seals off water, and takes away the textures and landing spots wildlife rely on. A tennis ball is such a tiny thing, but it pushes back against that flattening in several surprisingly important ways.
How a Tennis Ball Helps Birds When They Need It the Most
Picture a robin or a blackbird hopping across your frosty lawn early in the morning. That ground is slick. Birds absolutely do slip — and when they do, injuries often mean they lose their ability to forage quickly enough to survive the day.
A tennis ball, with its fuzzy grip, becomes a stable little perch in a world full of ice. Birds will land on it, pause on it, and use it like a tiny island in a frozen sea.
And then there’s the snow. When a tennis ball sits on fresh snow, it creates little dips and pockets where the snow settles unevenly. Birds notice these tiny cracks instantly. They check them for exposed seeds or insects — small wins that save a lot of energy in a difficult season.
Another thing you may not have thought about: visibility. Winter lawns are basically white or gray canvases with no contrast. Birds see color well, and that bright tennis ball becomes a visual anchor — a “safe spot” they can locate even in low morning light.
But the biggest surprise? The tennis ball’s role in water.
If you drop one into your bird bath, its gentle rocking in the wind slows the formation of ice. It keeps a section of the surface open longer — sometimes hours longer — simply by disrupting the stillness that ice needs to form. That gives birds access to water at a time when water is harder to find than food.
And water access isn’t just about drinking; it’s about insulation. A bird with dirty, matted feathers can’t trap heat properly. Bathing is survival.
Hedgehogs Benefit Too — Even If You Rarely See Them
Now let’s talk about hedgehogs, because their needs are just as urgent, even if they’re not as visible.
Depending on where you live, hedgehogs may wake up briefly during mild winter spells. When they do, they look for water first. Dehydration during hibernation is extremely dangerous — it forces their bodies to burn through fat faster than they should.
A tennis ball in a shallow dish helps keep water accessible the same way it does for birds: by delaying ice formation.
There’s also a navigation benefit. Snow creates a completely unfamiliar environment for hedgehogs. They rely on ground texture and scent markers to move around safely. Wide, uninterrupted snowfields can confuse them, hide dips, or lead them into icy traps. A tennis ball breaks up that blank landscape, giving them something recognizable on the ground — a subtle cue that can guide them around obstacles.
It’s not dramatic, but for an animal moving slowly through harsh conditions, those tiny landscape “interruptions” matter.
Where Tennis Balls Make the Biggest Difference in Your Yard
If you want this trick to work, placement matters. You don’t need to toss dozens of tennis balls around — just a few put in the right places make the biggest difference.
A good approach is to take a handful of old tennis balls and walk your yard at wildlife height. Look at the ground the way a hedgehog or a ground-feeding bird would: smooth patches, icy corners, long stretches with no texture.
Set a tennis ball near your bird feeders to give birds a safe landing point when they swoop in quickly. Put another at the edge of a patio or step, where ice tends to form and birds often slip. And place a couple along the routes hedgehogs naturally follow — along fences, beside sheds, or near compost piles.
With just a few balls positioned like this, you break up the flat, slippery winter landscape and create small, reliable markers that make it easier for animals to move around safely.
A Tiny Action That Actually Changes Something
What I love most about this tennis ball trick is how it reframes winter wildlife care. It proves you don’t need high-end heated bird baths, expensive feeders, or elaborate setups to make a difference. Sometimes the small, almost silly-sounding ideas turn out to be the most effective.
A tennis ball adds grip where ice removes it.
It adds movement where water freezes.
It adds texture where snow erases patterns.
It adds guidance in a season that hides everything under a white sheet.
You’re not “saving the world” with a tennis ball — but you are helping the creatures that share your backyard survive the hardest months of their year. And the truth is, winter survival often comes down to exactly these small, energy-saving advantages.
If you’ve got a couple of old tennis balls lying around, try placing them outside this winter. You might be surprised how quickly the birds — and maybe even a hedgehog — start benefiting from something you once thought was just a toy.
Written By
Amber Noyes
Amber Noyes was born and raised in a suburban California town, San Mateo. She holds a master’s degree in horticulture from the University of California as well as a BS in Biology from the University of San Francisco. With experience working on an organic farm, water conservation research, farmers’ markets, and plant nursery, she understands what makes plants thrive and how we can better understand the connection between microclimate and plant health. When she’s not on the land, Amber loves informing people of new ideas/things related to gardening, especially organic gardening, houseplants, and growing plants in a small space.