Gardening Tips, Informative
Looking After Birds During Winter
To prepare for the cold winter, most wildlife will forage in the warmer months of the year to gain enough energy to survive this harsh season. Birds however will forage all year round, living day-to-day, meal-to-meal. This results in many much loved small birds not surviving through the winter, when most of their natural food sources are not available due to frozen water sources and solid ground.
Birds must maintain their weight in order to stay alive, and as well as food being scarce in the winter they will use a lot of their energy to keep warm. This is why it is vital to keep bird tables, feeders and bird boxes constantly stocked up to allow the birds easy access to food and shelter, to get them through the otherwise devastating winter.
Try using no mess seed mixes on your feeders. These seed blends have the seed husks already removed to help birds reserve the energy they would use trying to break open the husks. This seed also has the benefit of preventing unwanted discarded pieces of husk on the floor around you feeders.
Also try feeding the birds Fat Energy Balls. Filled with suet, seed and mealworms this complete food will give the birds every thing they need to survive. Mealworms contain a lot of protein which is very important for retaining their weight as well as being almost irresistible to small birds such as Robins, Tits and Thrushes.
Another way to help the birds is by keeping a nesting box in the garden. A safe and warm place to nest really helps to further birds survive through the winter. Make sure you nesting box is comfortable for your feathered friends by putting dry leaves and thick twigs in the top for them to perch on.
If you are considering bird feeding this winter you can find a large range of products available on our website. Products shown in this blog are available for purchase in our Bird Care & Wildlife section. To view the items featured in this article click on the images.
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