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Feed Your Garden Birds this Autumn/ Winter by Morwenna Alldis

 

Food Glorious Food                                                                                                            
As temperatures start to drop our garden birds will need a helping hand when it comes to finding food, water and shelter. During the colder months birds need a lot of energy just to maintain their body temperature, so it’s important to feed them foods that are high in fat, such as black sunflower seeds (they have a higher fat content than the stripped ones), peanuts or fat-based food bars. If these fatty foods come in a mesh sacking, be sure to remove them from the netting and place them into a feeder or directly onto a bird table - birds can become trapped and injured by getting caught on the mesh.

Photo 1: Six port feeder with black and white sunflower hearts (Nigel Blake (rspb-images.com)

  • Monitor how much food your garden birds eat and adjust the amount you put out according to their appetites – a build-up of uneaten food in or around feeders and tables can quickly turn rancid. So regularly discard any leftovers.

  • During cold weather it’s a good idea to feed twice a day (if demand calls for it), once in the morning and again early afternoon.

  • Make sure that you also provide daily fresh water for your garden birds either in a birdbath, pond or even an old container such as an ice cream tub - birds need this not only to drink, but to bathe too. And during the winter your garden water becomes even more vital as natural sources could freeze. Ensure that you regularly check your bird baths during the colder weather, in case a sudden frost causes the surface of your water to freeze, making it inaccessible for birds. If your garden water has frozen over, pour hot water over the surface to melt it – but be careful when doing this, we don’t want you scorching your own wings!

Photo 2: Blue tit bathing in garden bird bath by Ray Kennedy (rspb-images.com)

A handy tip to ensure access to your water source for birds – a light ball floating on the surface of your pond or bird bath will be moved by even a gentle breeze, and will keep a small amount of water ice-free!

Cosy Shelter
Autumn/winter is also the perfect time to install a nestbox into your garden. It will allow your garden birds to investigate the box before nesting season begins in the spring. And you may even find that some birds use the box now to roost in, again valuable shelter from blustery weather. For more info on nestboxes and the best place to position them, visit: http://bit.ly/RSPBnestboxes

Photo 3: Nestbox by Eleanor Bentall (rspb-images.com)

 

 

 

Birds very quickly get used to a regular food supply, so by starting to feed your garden birds now, you should encourage regular visits from your local bird population all year round – just in time for our Big Garden Birdwatch Survey which runs from Sat 28 – Mon 30 January, 2017.

Photo 4: Mother and son taking part in Big Garden Birdwatch Rahul Thanki (rspb-images.com)

 

To find out more about how you can give nature a home in your local patch, visit: www.rspb.org.uk/givenatureahome