Feeding Wild Birds in Winter

With the long cold autumn & winter days approaching it is more important than ever to keep our feathered friends happy and healthy by supplying them with a nice selection of bird food. It’s easy to forget how tough it is for birds to feed when temperatures fall below zero and there is snow and ice covering the ground.
The simple fact is that even a small layer of snow covering their usual food sources is enough of a problem for birds to struggle to get access to it.
Then there is the obvious problem of the ground being too hard so birds like thrushes can’t get through to where they often feed from.
October is the ideal time to start putting food out in your garden because by the time the really cold weeks approach in a month’s time or so, birds will already know that they can come to your garden and receive a fresh, healthy supply of food
It is not an exaggeration to say that the food that we put in our gardens during the coldest weeks may well be the difference between life and death for thousands of birds!
For those that are reading this and never thought about feeding birds, then the tips and advice below will help you do this both effectively and without spending too much in the process.

What Shall I put in my Garden?

Of course there are many species of birds, so it is ideal to have a wide range of food to suit all types.
Fatballs, meal worms, peanuts and a nice mix of seeds are some of the more common and most favoured types of food supplies to have in your garden.
Water is also an important thing to remember, not just for birds to drink but also to help keep themselves clean. To avoid the water freezing over when the temperatures are really low it may be a good idea to float small objects in there, such as small twigs, as this will help avoid this problem.
Finally, a good feeding station or bird table is needed. It is always worth getting good quality feeding stations as this does not only provide a good place to feed from for the birds, but you can also choose a nice, attractive set to compliment your garden.
Hanging feeders are great as well as they can hold a wide variety of foods and are very easily visible and accessible for birds. Sunflower Hearts, peanuts and seeds can all be used in hanging feeders.

Extra Tips:

• Try and put the food out early in the day. Birds will lose a lot of energy during the cold nights so will need to reenergise as quickly as possible. Also, putting food out late at night is more likely to attract unwanted visitors to your garden, such as rats and mice.
• Give your feeding stations and bird tables a wash once a week and don’t leave any leftover foods lying around for too long. Think of the area like the birds equivalent of your kitchen, so for general hygiene and to avoid the spread of any potential diseases this is an important thing to remember.
• Wash the bowl/bath you are using to supply the birds with water on a daily basis. It is important they are receiving fresh water and as they use the water to bathe in as well, it can become much less healthy if it is not cleaned and refilled on a regular basis.
• Dried fruit is a nice treat for birds if you have some spare in the house to offer them, with the exception of desiccated coconut, this can be very harmful to birds!

For a large selection of low cost, high quality wild bird food, please visit our website at www.wildbirdfood.uk.com