As winter is upon us, I cannot stress enough the importance of feeding the birds in your garden,
regularly.
They need to build up fat reserves to get them through these frosty nights. Once birds have found a food source they will continue to return to it. Flying in the cold takes up a huge amount of energy, if they reach their source and nothing is available they will have to start their search all over again, no food, no energy!
Please ensure that the food that you put out is easily available for various species to reach. Hang some in the tree, pot some on a tray on perhaps on a garden table, and remember many birds such as blackbirds and
dunnocks are also ground feeding, so remember to scatter some on the ground.
If possible keep your bird bath topped up with fresh
water everyday in order to enable them to bathe, despite the cold, bathing is still an important factor for the everyday life of birds in order to keep their feathers in tip top condition.
(Never add salt to bird baths to keep them from freezing).
As you are aware there are plenty of seeds/nut mixtures available on the high street, ideally black sunflower and
nyjer seeds have a high oil content, but if you are unable to reach the shops try putting out kitchen scraps or left overs.
The list below,
might give you an idea about the type of foods you can put out. These will provide various species with the nutrition required and help them survive this cold winter:
Fat (Not polyunsaturated)
Cheese-grated
Potatoes - roasted or baked, (ensure they are cold and opened up)
Raisins
Sultanas
Currants
Apples
Pears
Bruised fruit- not mouldy
Pastry
Bacon (unsalted)
Cooked rice(unsalted)
Bread- Although it is not harmful to birds, it has very little nutritional value as it does not contain the protein and fats needed to supply energy.
A word of caution-Avoid mouldy/stale food and anything salted.The comforting thought is, you will be assisting in the conservation of many of our favourite birds and you will be rewarded. How? When the weather takes a turn for the worst, new species
will take the opportunity to visit your garden in their search for food.
So take a few minutes to sit with a cuppa, relax and watch your feeding station. A local birder in Bloxwich this week, was fortunate to have a visit from an elusive lesser spotted woodpecker in his garden, so keep your eyes peeled. You may be surprised!
Papillion
All photographs by L. Warren
