IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR FEEDING BIRDS IN THE EXTREME WINTER WEATHER.
During winter weather such as we are experiencing this year, out wildlife is really up against it finding enough food during daylight hours to stay alive. Birds probably suffer most and, in our gardens, we can make a big difference by providing important foods for them, while having the opportunity of seeing many types of birds we don’t often see, for example, redwings and fieldfares, both Scandinavian thrush – like birds, which benefit hugely from shrubs in the garden which have berries, eg cotoneaster / holly etc. You can help them by putting out apples, cut in half, on the snow.
We put out 8 apples (in half) twice a day and benefit from many blackbirds, song thrushes, redwings, fieldfares and starlings.
All the finches, sparrows, blue, great and coal tits love sunflower hearts.
Collared doves, wood pigeons and many smaller birds love a good seed mixture, preferably containing flaked maize.
In fact, the more types of food YOU can provide, the more birds will flock to your garden.
At home we have wire containers holding peanut kernels which greater spotted woodpeckers and all the tits are attracted to. Plastic containers containing sunflower hearts and niger (specially for the goldfinches) attract hoards of greenfinches and chaffinches as well, and our ground bird table is covered with my own wild bird mix and attracts wood pigeons, collared doves, stock doves, carrion crows and many smaller garden birds.
One of my favourite foods which is very important for robins, dunnocks, thrushes, blackbirds, starlings and even wrens and goldcrests is called Universal Bogena and is a special insectivorous food mix.
To feed birds with all this is quite costly but, during this EXTREME weather, it is so important and I urge everyone to make a difference for our birds in their time of need and keep it up until the spring arrives!
Winter water is almost as important as food in this bitter weather and I must stress, you must NEVER put anything into water for the birds to stop it freezing. I by-pass all my bird baths in favour of stainless steel dog bowls during freezing weather. These can be banged to remove ice and re-filled. Do this regularly, twice a day, and the birds will soon learn when to expect a drink. Put these water bowls in the sheltered, sunniest parts of the garden or under a hedge or shrub where it often remains liquid for longer.
Shopping list for wild birds
•A good wild bird seed mix
•Flaked maize
•Peanut kernels
•Meal worms
•Apples (eating), raisins and sultanas
•Cheese
•Fat balls / suet blocks
•Pinhead oatmeal
•Bogena Universal insectivorous food
•Sunflower hearts
We may be able to supply some of the above.
Foxes, squirrels, badgers and field mice will benefit from many of the above foods listed and for the bigger mammals dog or cat food or bits of chicken etc can be put out after dark.
Don’t forget, feeding the birds on these quality foods is always best, but if all you have is bread it is better than nothing.
