As cold weather and terrible snow puns sweep across the UK, your garden birds need your help!
During cold snaps, birds become vulnerable and are more likely to come into our gardens to seek refuge. When temperatures drop below freezing, the insects, berries and seeds that garden birds usually feast on will become off limits thanks to frost and snow. Taking the time to provide some nutritious food and water for them is essential to their survival.
To help your birds survive, you can provide food such as meal worms, fat-balls, crushed peanuts, dried fruit, seeds and grain. Leftovers, including grated cheese, porridge oats, soft fruit, unsalted bacon, cooked rice, pasta and the insides of cooked potatoes are also good sources of energy for garden birds, and water for both drinking and bathing is vital.
It’s not all doom and gloom, though. The chilly conditions may also mean that you get to see some birds you don’t often see until later on in winter. They will use gardens as a safe haven. Look out for fieldfares as well as colourful species such as siskins and waxwings that will add a bit of cheer to the bleak mid-winter.
Here are six top tips for helping your garden birds:
1. Put out feed regularly, especially in severe weather. Set up a bird table and use high calorie seed mixes. This can also be used to put out kitchen scraps such as grated cheese, pastry and porridge oats.
2. Put out hanging feeders with black sunflower seeds, sunflower hearts, sunflower-rich mixes or unsalted peanuts.
3. Ensure a supply of fresh water every day. If it is very cold use tepid water but DO NOT use any antifreeze products.
4. Put out fruit, such as apples and pears, for blackbirds, song thrushes and other members of the thrush family.
5. Birdfood bars or fat hung up or rubbed into the bark of trees is a great help for treecreepers, goldcrests and many other species.
6. Put up nest boxes to provide roost sites for the smaller birds. They will then be used for breeding later in the year.When the weather conditions take a turn for the worse, you might notice that your birds start behaving differently. They will be very active first thing in the morning after a long, cold night and last thing in the afternoon as they try to build up energy to get them through another night.
During winter, birds feed often, but they have to take plenty of rest to conserve energy. Many become more sociable, flocking together to improve their chances of locating food, and huddling together during the critical night-time period to help conserve body heat.
Other birds fly to milder regions in search of areas less affected by the weather where food is still readily available. This can create a sudden and dramatic change to the birdlife in your area.
So, leave some food out for your birds and keep your eyes peeled – you might be lucky enough to spot some unusual garden visitors. Let us know who’s eating at your garden restaurant!
It's the robins that concern me too, Rosie.
Back in the Spring, I was feeding them with suet and dried mealy worms but got fed up with the pigeons making pigs of themselves so I brought the food in and placed it on a table just inside my back door.
No sooner had I done so than the robin flew indoors after me, through the open door, and helped himself off the table.
After that, I always left it just inside and the robins AND their babies came in every day to feed.
However, I refuse to leave the back door open in this weather so I need to devise a way of leaving food outside which the robins can access but the pigeons and magpies can't.
I'm most worried about the robins - it's a battle of wits to feed the small birds amongs the pheasant and squirrels both of which hide in the bushes until I think they've gone!
Although the hanging feeders are of little use as they're frozen at -6C, I've reintroduced the small feeding tray which has pleased the nuthatches and tit families; at the same time, I've put feed down on the grass where I've scraped away the snow thus keeping the larger creatures at bay. Still, the robins look on all puffed up and hungry. Oh - joy! I've just taken another look and a robin's found the feeding tray. Excellent - thought he'd find his courage eventually - job done!!
How lucky I am being out in the still of this large, rural garden having put out the food, sorting out the birdbath, hearing the flutter of wings and being joined by bird after bird only feet away while they have their breakfast. Quite magical!
Just a quick idea that i wanted to share. I do not have a bird table in my garden, just hanging feeders at the moment and was very concerened yesterday when i ran out of the various different seeds/feeds that i fill them with.
This morning i have made a makeshift table from plastic take away containers to put water and scraps in and secured it to the pole my washing line is attatched to.
It seems to have worked well and the tits are loving it!
Just wanted to share that idea for anyone in a similar predicament.
Does anyone know how I can keep the big birds (pigeons & magpies mostly) off the food to give the small birds a chance?
This morning I've put out suet, sultanas, breadcrumbs, a specky apple and dried meal worms. I don't mind the large birds having some but they're all so greedy and demolish the lot in no time.
There are small birds around because I heard them when I de-iced the birbath this morning.
I do have squirrel-proof peanut feeders in the trees.
We also have a Jay but it's not been for a while. It's snowing really hard here and the birds are going frantic for food so I'm keeping an eye on the feeders as they are soon getting clogged up with the snow, especially the nyjer feeder. About 30 mins ago I also put out a shallow tray with a mixture on it and it's already covered. It's going to be a busy day looking after our feathered friends!
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