Birds need proper food – not stale bread
SINCE the Covid lockdown began it is said that people have been taking a greater interest in nature and in the many wild creatures visiting their gardens.
While this is to be welcomed, in some cases the interest appears to be casual, or even careless. With a wealth of information now freely and easily available, it is sad to see people, who wish to encourage wild birds, still not feeding them correctly. For some reason the habit of throwing stale bread into the garden is common and this shows a lack of awareness. Food thrown onto the ground encourages birds to feed in a manner helpful to attack by cats and it also has the potential to attract rats for an easy meal.
In addition to the above, the nutritional worth of such food should also be considered. ‘It’s the best thing since sliced bread’ is hardly an accolade. Cheap sliced white bread is not very nutritious and as well as not being nutritious for us, it is not nutritious for birds.
In the depths of winter bread can help temporarily, but it is far from desirable. In spring and summer it is positively undesirable.
Adult breeding birds need a good diet and eating bread, because it’s easy and time saving, will not help to maintain peak condition. Chicks, once they have fledged, will soon have to make their own way in the world and it is comforting for a young bird to have a full crop. If, however, that comforting feeling results from eating easy to find cheap bread, the bird’s growth and development can be affected.
Wild bird food is readily available and it should be the first item for consideration and that, plus a means of keeping it up and out of the reach of cats, is the ideal.
Unfortunately, this approach can be costly because some feed is quite expensive. Nevertheless, in spring and summer I believe it is still preferable to feed nothing rather than bread.
And finally, a plea for hedgehogs. If you have garden fencing, please, please, please leave at least a one hedgehog sized gap beneath the fence to allow these delightful little creatures free access to your garden. This will enable them to forage over as large an area as possible, plus, it is a kind thing to do and they will return the favour by helping to keep down garden pests.
John Glover
Bristol