How To Help Garden Birds Survive The Winter Months>

Home

It’s -5⁰C outside and its been a tough night in the 200 yr old Starling roost on Runcorn bridge; the lights have provided a little comfort but I’m now feeling a little peckish, if fact the scales says I’ve lost 10% of my body weight ..quick where’s the fat!!

Starlings Feeding in Garden

As you sit snugly by the fire this winter, spare a thought for our feathered friends. Their survival skills are tested to the limit when winter tightens its grip and food becomes hard to find.

Severe winters can be a major hazard for survival. A bird can use up to 10% of its body weight during one cold winters night, and unless able to feed well every day to replenish its reserves, a prolonged cold spell can be catastrophic. In normal circumstances the fat reserves built up by the bird will keep it going for a few days, but mortality tends to increase rapidly if a cold spell continues onto a second week.

You may well witness a flurry of bird activity first thing in the morning - as they replenish energy lost overnight - and last thing in the afternoon - to prepare for the long night ahead.

Busy Finch Feeder in Winter Robin on snowy branch Song Thrush Feeding

Robin with Hat & Scarf Cartoon RSPB SURVIVAL PLAN

Freezing weather is a potential death sentence for many birds, but with just a little water, food and shelter, gardens can become a vital haven for birds and other wildlife.

*	Put out food regularly, specially in severe weather.
*	Feed twice daily if possible in the morning ad early afternoon before it get dark
*	Introduce a bird table and high calorie seed mixes .this can also be used to put out kitchen scraps such as fat and suet, mild grated cheese, cooked potatoes , pastry and soaked fruit.
*	Put out hanging feeders for black sunflower seeds, sunflower hearts, sunflower-rich mixes or unsalted high fat peanuts.
*	Ensure a supply of fresh water every day. If it is very cold use tepid water, but it is vital NOT to use any antifreeze products, which can be poisonous
*	Put out unwanted apples and pears for blackbirds, song thrushes and other members of the thrush family.
*	Bird cake and food bars are very good because of their high-fat content. are also high in oils. You can also feed kitchen scraps, such as fat and suet, mild grated cheese, cooked potatoes, pastry and dried fruit. Food bars of fat hung up or rubbed into the bark of trees is a great help for treecreepers, goldcrests and many other species.
*	Put up nest boxes to provide roost sites for smaller birds. They will then be used for breeding later in the year.

A LongTailed Tit A Song Thrush Blue Tit eating Peanuts

You can make your own bird cake by pouring melted fat (Dripping, suet or lard) onto a mixture of ingredients such as birdseed, chopped nuts, dried fruit (soak first ideally), porridge/ oatmeal, hard cheese scraps and leftover cake. Use about one-third fat to two-thirds mixture. Stir well in a bowl and allow it to set in a container of your choice. A strung empty coconut shell, plastic cup, or an old pine cone makes an ideal bird cake 'feeder'. Alternatively, you can turn it out onto the birdtable when solid.

Where is the best place to put a bird table in my garden?

Bird tables should be placed where the birds are safe and will be able to feed undisturbed. Avoid putting them near fences or dense hedges, where cats can easily get to them. If there is a small bush nearby, birds can use this as a look-out point to make sure it is safe.

Where cats are a problem, avoid putting food on the ground, but use a bird table where cats cannot reach it.

Place feeders high off the ground but away from surfaces from which a cat could jump.

Place spiny plants (such as holly) or an uncomfortable surface around the base of the feeding station to prevent cats sitting underneath it.

Place an upturned tin or cone underneath the table to prevent cats from climbing the post (squirrel baffles are already commercially available).

Make the table-stand slippery using a metal post, or plastic bottles around non-metal posts.

Plant wildlife-friendly vegetation, such as prickly bushes and thick climbers in the garden to provide secure cover for birds. These should be close enough to where birds feed to provide cover, but not so close that cats can use it to stalk birds. This kind of planting may also provide food and nesting sites.

Position nest boxes where cats cannot reach them or sit close to them (preventing the parent birds from getting to the box).

Hygiene - vital precautions from RSPB HQ

When a large number of birds are attracted into an area to feed, the danger of disease increases.

Prevention is always better than a cure, and is the best thing you can do to help the birds.

Most diseases are transmitted by droppings. If contaminated droppings mix with food, the birds will run a risk of picking up the infection. Since the contamination can originate either from other birds or from animals such as rats, it is important to guard against infection from both sources.

Good hygiene is particularly important during the summer months. The warmer weather can make food go off quicker, and can provide ideal conditions for harmful bacteria to proliferate.

	Monitor your food supply carefully. If the food takes days to clear either from containers or the ground, reduce the amount of food offered.
	Use a birdtable or hanging feeders. A ground feeding tray is preferable to putting food directly on the ground, since it is easier to keep clean. Food on the ground should all be eaten before nightfall. Rats are attracted to leftover food and often carry diseases, which can affect birds or humans.
	Keep birdtables and surrounding areas clean and free from droppings or mouldy food, which can form reservoirs of infection by providing breeding grounds for parasites and bacteria. If large amounts of droppings have accumulated, they should be cleared and burnt and the ground cleansed with a disinfectant.
	Clean and wash the bird table and hanging feeders regularly using 5% disinfectant solution, and move feeding stations to a new area every month to prevent droppings accumulating underneath.
	Water containers should be rinsed out daily, especially during the warmer months, and allowed to dry out before fresh water is added. Droppings can accumulate in bird baths.
	Personal hygiene is also important. Do not bring the feeders into the house to clean them, but do it outside, using separate utensils. Wear gloves when cleaning feeders and bird tables, and particularly if you need to handle a sick or a dead bird in the garden. Always wash your hands when finished.

Cartoon of a bird a cold bird with a muffler and snow on it's back.