Following on from Gavin’s seasonal blog of last week, I thought I give some hints and tips on feeding the birds in your garden this winter. Putting out food for the birds at this time of year provides a lot of extra help in times of food shortages and in cold weather. Feeding birds – not just in winter but all year round - is also an ideal way to learn more about our feathered friends and to enthuse and teach children about the nature and wildlife around them. The most likely visitors to your garden are house sparrows, blackbirds, blue, coal and great tits, robins, siskins, goldfinches and collared doves. In many gardens, dunnocks, song thrushes and chaffinches will hop around on the ground below the bird table. In wooded areas you may be lucky enough to see great spotted woodpeckers, nuthatches and long-tailed tits.
Robin in the snow
At this time of year, many birds need to consume several times their body weight to survive the cold weather. They require high energy (high fat) foods to maintain their fat reserves to survive the frosty nights. Fat balls and suet bars or nibbles are ideal calorie providers, while robins and blackbirds love mealworms, live or dried. Seed mixes attract most garden birds and can be put in feeders or on bird tables. Sunflower hearts and black or striped sunflower seeds are highly nutritious, while peanuts are a high energy food best provided in mesh feeders.
A selection of bird feeders available in the RSPB shop
In severe weather, feed twice daily if you can, in the morning and in the afternoon. Try and set your feeders and tables near bushes, hedges or trees to provide a cover from cats and other predators. Don’t forget to put out clean water too as, like us, birds get thirsty when eating rich food.
A selection of bird food available in the RSPB shop
Our reserve shop at Lake Vyrnwy stocks a wide range of feeders and high quality food, and our knowledgeable and friendly staff are always on hand to help you choose the feeder and food most suitable for the birds in your garden. If you’re looking for a Christmas gift that helps nature too, we have Christmas shopping and crafts days on 10th & 17th of December, where kids and adults too can make some nature related Festive items. So come along and stock up before the current cold snap turns to snow!
Kate Sullivan, Visitor Experience Manager
Previous Blog: Cold Snap