Feed the Birds

Feeding the birds in Winter is really important.
Birds will not suffer from the cold as much as they suffer from lack of food.

In a study it was found that in Winter a typical bird would spend up to 90% of its time searching for food. At this time of year many of the insects have hidden away, making is less easy for insect eating birds such as the Dunnock to find food. The fruits that Autumn had to offer are long gone, rotting away on the ground. Seed eating birds such as the House Sparrow, which is endangered, are also suffering.

The bottom line is, in Winter birds need food more than ever.

For many years now I have made it my job to do my best to feed them in the cold months.

You can do this by buying or making a bird table. You can also buy nut feeders and fat balls to go with it.
Feeding the birds seed will be great, but they will also take alot of house hold scraps. Bread, biscuits and other such like foods are OK, but do not give salted peanuts.
If you are worried about Pigeons taking all the food, it is best not to give cereal foods. They will go mad at food like that.

You can also collect badges for £1. The badges are made by the RSPB, which is where the money goes to. There are lots of different badges to collect, birds as well as mammals. I bought three more for my collection today.

Hope you feed the birds!

If anyone wants any more information, just ask!

Bethany.

We make sure there is always food out, and also that the birdbath is unfrozen.

That's great to hear!

I love birds, they are amazing. I have 2 bird tables, 1 in the front garden and 1 in the back. Both gather lots of different bird species. The most common being (not in order):

Jackdaws,
Common Starling,
House Sparrow (endangered),
Dunnock,
Robin,
Chafinch,
Blue Tit,
Blackbird,
Song Thrush,
Greenfinch,
Collard Dove,
Wood Pigeon.

We have had many others, but they are the main birds we get at the bird table.
One of my best sightings was seing a Red Legged Partridge on the bird table last March.

I have 6 bird books to indentify them in

Bethany.

I feed the birds too, is especially important in Winter.

We sometimes feed the birds bread, but those Jackdaws will not leave the other little birds any. Oh well.

Some bird species can take more than others, like the Wood Pigeon. But I would not agree with culling them or chasing them away when they come to feed, they are still a bird after all.

Bethany.