You may have noticed that it's unseasonably cold?
This is the point where we traditionally urge everyone to put out extra food and fresh water for birds. I'm not one to break traditions so I'll urge you to do just that.
I would also like to invite you to drink in the spectacle of winter wildlife from the classy new interior of the Butt Hide (pictured right) at our Rainham Marshes nature reserve. Sadly, the weather that has painted the scene a picture-postcard frosty white has also forced us to close the reserve to the public on Health & Safety grounds. Oh. It's called the Butt Hide by the way, not because it's got some comfy seats, but because it's built on the site of the old shooting butts when the MoD used Rainham as a firing range. Thankfully, the only shots there these days are fired by cameras.
Ice and snow lock away frood and water, leaving wildlife, including birds, with little or nothing to eat or drink. Birds have a higher body temperature than us humans, so need to eat a lot to survive the cold winter nights. Dried fruit, cake crumbs, nuts or seeds (un-salted) and some cheese are all good kitchen scraps to share with the critters in your garden or nearby park. Yes, bread can be used but remember it generally doesn't have much nutritional value for birds compared with other scraps. Bread will fill birds stomachs, but not give much back by way of energy. So, give peas a chance to fill the gap in a birds stomach when clearing your plates. Rice, couscous and beans are good too.
The other thing to consider that will benefit wildlife right now, is what you can grow. Plan spring plantings of nectar and seed rich plants, which will be great for the birds and bees, along with any fruit or berry bearing plants. Dense shrubs such as holly or wall clinging ivy both support a whole range of bugs and birds. Why not give a native shrub as a present to someone special this year? One of our bird feed trial kits makes a great pressie too and will get someone ready for January's Big Garden Birdwatch.. enticing a few more birds in to view ready for the survey. The Rolls Royce of gifts, would be RSPB Membership, when you give the lucky recipient twelve months of access to the natural world with great customer care and hours of awe-inspiring moments to cherish forever. You could also include a satsuma in a sock to make it more traditional.