Create a bird café
Many wild birds rely on our gardens for their winter survival. Here’s a definitive guide to what to feed them, and how
Here in Britain we have a long and honourable history of feeding the birds in our gardens, but never has there been so many different feeding devices to choose from or alternative foods to try. In fact, it can all be a bit bewildering. Yet providing supplementary food can increase birds’ chances of surviving the winter, and there’s also evidence that they then go on to breed in larger numbers. And don’t discount the joy you’ll feel as a result – seeing wild birds respond to your kindness makes you feel good, too.
Helping garden birds has become even more pressing in recent years. Gardens were once viewed as second-rate habitats, but, for many birds, they’ve become the winter retreat of choice. Despite the dangers of cats, windows, cars and people, the hunger in their bellies drives them here and it’s worth the risk. One only has to look at the results of the annual RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch (when around eight million birds get counted) to realise that gardens are incredibly rich in birdlife.
Deciding on the menu
When you’re dithering between putting out a ‘softbill seed blend with added vitamins’ or ‘high energy buggy nibbles with berry extract’ it can seem like you need a gastronomic degree in bird nutrition. The bottom line is, birds need proteins, fats and carbohydrates, just as we do, but equally important is that the food is easy to ‘handle’. They don’t want to labour over extracting seeds from tough shells; they want foods they can just pop in their mouths and swallow. When bird feeding, there are five main points to bear in mind. 1. Mix it up. You’ll benefit more species if you feed a mix of seeds, fat-based foods, fruit and protein-rich mealworms. 2. Avoid wheat. Cheaper seedmixes are often bulked out with cereal grains such as wheat that are only good for pigeons. So, avoid mixes that contain lots of pale brown grains with a furrow along one side. 3. Go husk-free. Birdseed is far more likely to be eaten if it has been ‘de-husked’ (shells removed) or ‘kibbled’ (broken up into little pieces), or when fatty foods are in small pieces (or ‘nibbles’). 4. Serve hearts. Sunflower hearts deliver 600 calories of energy per 100g, and leave no messy husks on the ground. Many birds prefer them. 5. Be site-specific. Buy food that’s designed for your birdfeeding stations, whether it’s a flat open bird table or a hanging feeder.
Uninvited guests
Rats, town pigeons, magpies, grey squirrels – birdfood can attract all sorts of visitors that might be less welcome. The good news is that most are larger than finches, sparrows and tits, so you can exclude them with ‘guardian cages’, which either slot over a hanging feeder or are designed like a birdcage to sit on the lawn. Squirrels will do their best to gnaw their way through, and cheaper ones aren’t up to the challenge of rodent teeth, so it pays to get a robust one. Another option is to use a special sprung feeder where the weight of a larger bird or mammal closes the feeding ports, but lighter birds can feed at will. You might also consider using squirrel baffles, which are perspex domes that prevent access to feeders from above and below. And if you only put out high quality foods, it will limit the amount that birds reject, meaning no spillage for pests to hoover up.