Taylors Garden Buildings winter survival tips for our feathered friends.
Taylors Garden Buildings winter survival tips for our feathered friends.
Snow and ice cover the ground and it becomes impossible for the birds to get to natures food. The ground is so hard that birds that probe for food, like thrushes and lapwings, go without. As for other natural foods like berries, acorns and seeds they become buried.
Birds will visit our gardens more during the cold snaps to seek sanctuary. We can help the bird’s survival in these cold periods by feeding them foods such as worms, fatballs, crushed peanuts, dried fruit and seeds and grain.
Never throw those leftovers away they are needed by our birds. Things like grated cheese, porridge oats, soft fruit, unsalted bacon, cooked rice and pasta and the insides of cooked potatoes are a great winters feed for our feathered friends.
Water is still vital for drinking and bathing. To help prevent your bird bath from freezing over leave twigs or light floating items in the water.
Freezing weather is a potential death sentence for many birds but by feeding the birds in your garden, we can help them survive the winter. Just a thought to provide a little water, food and shelter can be the difference of life or death during the cold months.
Here are some Taylors Garden Buildings wild bird winter survival tips to help our sweet singing, flying friends during the harshest weather.
Taylors Garden Buildings winter survival tips for our feathered friends.[/caption]
- Regular feeding, especially in severe weather is essential. if you have a bird table set up, use high calorie seed mixes. Kitchen scraps such as animal fats, grated cheese and porridge oats are great.
- Use black sunflower seeds, sunflower hearts, sunflower-rich mixes or unsalted peanuts in your hanging feeders.
- Fresh water every day is as vital as food. If it is very cold use tepid water but DO NOT use any antifreeze products.
- Fruit, such as apples and pears, are loved by blackbirds, song thrushes as well as others of the thrush family.
- Help your treecreepers, goldcrests and many other species by rubbing fat in to the bark, alternatively it can be hung like your food bars.
- Provide roost sites for the smaller birds with nest boxes, they use them for breeding next year.
Garden birds benefit significantly from the increased variety and quality of food. We can help you with a selection of these at our Woodmeadow garden centre.
You can speak to John on 01604 781899 for some friendly, helpful advice.