Feeding
There is no mystery about feeding birds - all sorts of kitchen scraps make a welcome meal - Bread (moistened), Cake, Cheese, Cooked Potato in any form, Currants, Fruit, Mealworms, Nuts (unsalted), Pastry, Porridge oats (dry), Raisins, Suet, Sultanas, Sunflower seeds.
There are a few simple rules.
- Never put out desiccated coconut as this may swell up inside the bird's stomach: fresh coconut is fine.
- Moisten dry bread.
You will discover the food preverences of different birds that visit your garden - but here are a few ideas.
- Acrobatic members of the tit family like hanging feeders filled with peanuts.
- Greenfinches are fond of sunflower seeds and peanuts.
- Goldfinches come in for nyjer (sometimes spelt niger) seed and some new foods are now available, giving variety to attract more kinds of birds.
Water - Birds need water - even in winter - for drinking and for bathing. They need water to keep their feathers in good condition, as insulation during cols winter nights. Seed eaters need to drink plenty of water as they have such a dry diet. Other birds, such as blue tits may drink more in winter because winter diet of dry nuts does not provide them with as much water as their summer fare of juicy caterpillars. You should use a shallow dish or tray, or a larger container such as an inverted dustbin lid, which are all suitable for putting water out water. You could make a more permanent water hole by digging a shallow scrape in a flower bed and lining with with plastic held down with stones. Ideally, a pond will provide water for drinking and bathing all year round and will attract many interesting kinds of wildlife to your garden.
When to feed. It is really up to you when you feed the birds - but there are one or two guidelines that it makes sense to follow:
Spring and Summer - you can feed birds during spring and summer. Use peanuts only if they are in a mesh container, from which only the smallest peices can be taken. During a drought you can help blackbirds and thrushes by putting out soft food such as fruit and grated cheese.
Autumn and Winter - Once you start feeding, continue through the winter. The food you put out becomes steadily more important as the winter progresses as seeds, fruit and insects become hards to find. Many birds are creatures of habit and will make a special visit to your birdtable once they learn there is food there. When the weather is really bad, a wasted journey to your empty birdtable will make life even harder for them. Birds use up their stores of food very quickly, turning it into energy to keep warm. In winter there are two critical times of day for them. Last thing at night they need to eat enough food to keep them going until dawn. First thing in the morning they must find food quickly, as their reserves have been used up during the long night. Try to ensure that there is food available at these two important times, but if this is difficult, then feeding early in the morning is best. Experiment with different foods. Blackbirds, thrushes and robins benefit from apples and pears cut in half particularly when the ground is hard.
