Helping your Garden Birds through the Winter
We seem to have hit another cold snap across the UK, so we thought we would explore some of the easy ways you can help your garden birds through the chilliest months of the year.
Calories, calories, calories!
We can all be guilty of overindulging at Christmas, but for your garden birds, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Being cold burns more calories as the body tries to heat itself back up, so a great way to give the garden visitors a helping hand, is by providing energy boosting foods that they can fill up on. Of course, birds have different digestive systems to us as we must ensure the food we give them is safe for consumption.
Some examples of what you can give them are:
- Dry porridge oats
- Grated cheese
- Cooked rice
- Bits of hard, unsalted fat left over from your cooking
- Roast potatoes as long as they’re unsalted
- Cotswold Granary Wild Bird Seed
Why not have a go at making your own high energy bird food? With the Dan Rouse Birdy Bistro, the whole family can get involved with! Watch this video to find out how:
So fresh, so clean
Just like you and I, birds require sources of safe water to drink and bathe in. The cheapest way you can do this is to provide shallow dishes from around your home in your garden or balcony, making sure they are defrosted if the temperature drops to freezing!
If you’re after something a bit more decorative for your birds, The Wildlife Community online has a collection of bird baths that will provide a bit of luxury at the avian pool parties!
Check them out here:
Gimme Shelter
That’s your ear worm for the day (Stone’s fans), but it’s true, one thing birds need, like us, is a place to shelter from high wind and cold temperatures. Planting thick hedges is the most natural way to provide shelter, but that’s not a quick or cheap fix! For something more immediate, how about installing some nest boxes or roosting pockets? Some bird species like to snuggle up together for warmth and safety in numbers. The most amount of wrens found in a nest box amounted to over 60! The Wildlife Community roosting pockets make a great decorative addition to your outside space as well as the perfect place for birds to spend chilly days and nights! Some of our wonderful customers have been quite inventive in creating some communal roosting spaces in their gardens. Nichola Luna created this sheltered area for the roosting pockets!
Why not tag us on social media with your creative ideas for keeping birds warm, fed and watered this winter?