Birds

Birds are of great benefit to gardeners. There are a few exceptions of course, but generally, they contribute well to the garden environment by eating aphids, caterpillars and other pests. Besides which, they are a great asset visually. They brighten up any garden in winter with their antics on bird feeders!

You might be thinking that you have no birds in your garden so what's the point? Well, There are no birds in your garden because there is nothing for them to eat there, that's all. You don't need to be a member of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds to enjoy them from your window.

So, what can you do in Winter to help them? It's not rocket science, but you do need to follow a few simple guidelines to keep them alive and safe.

Food

Birds need high energy content to increase their fat reserves so forget that bread at the back of the bread bin. Could you survive on a diet of stale bread outside all winter? Sunflower hearts, peanuts or high energy seed mixes are great.

Fat balls or home made fat cakes made with seeds. Make sure you remove the plastic netting as birds can and do get tangled in them and die. To increase the number of species, crumble fat cakes on the ground for ground feeders like Dunnock and Blackbird. You can also rub the fat into the bark of trees which other birds will enjoy.

Re-fill the feeder during daylight hours or night time. Dawn and dusk are the really important times for birds to feed to fill up after a cold night or to prepare for the coming night.

Stuffed after Christmas lunch and couldn't eat a thing more? Think of the birds when you have all that Christmas pudding and cake left as both are high in energy, perfect for birds, and they won't even want rum sauce!

Water

It's really important to make sure birds have a regular supply of fresh water sited away from any places where cats can lay in wait. They sometimes drink from salted water on the road side which can be lethal.

Birds tend to drink more in winter as generally their diet consists of dried food rather than juicy insects. If possible, keep it away from the bird feeders so there is less chance of contamination by rogue food and bird poo! Don't be tempted to add anything to the water to stop it freezing as it will kill them!

Cleanliness

Bird feeders get dirty from wet birds and can carry disease from one bird to the next. They need cleaning to reduce the risks of transferring disease every couple of weeks or so. It might be an idea to move the feeder around now and again if you have space to give the area a 'rest'.

You might be surprised to hear that bird boxes are used in winter by birds to roost. They need cleaning out to provide disease free spaces for the birds to use on cold nights. Make lots of noise before pulling one off the wall during the day to make sure any that maybe inside are not scared off for good!