Feather bedded
Birds need all the help they can get from gardeners at this time of year, writes David Overend.
Winter can take a heavy toll on man and beast, with months of ice and snow, biting north-easterly winds, and water and earth frozen hard turning everyday life into a battle. Most people can wrap up warm or turn up the thermostat, but for animals and birds when the going gets tough they have to sit it out and hope for an early spring.
But a couple of severe winters can have a devastating effect on wildlife, with some species of garden birds facing the threat of being all but wiped out.
This is where we, the gardeners of Britain, can help by putting out food regularly – mealworms, seed, proprietary bird food, even bread if you must – and making sure there is always an unfrozen supply of fresh water available.
If possible, make your patch an even more welcoming port in the storm by leaving some seed heads standing and growing plants to provide shelter for the insects, animals and birds for whom winter is often a battle for survival.
For instance, holly (Ilex aquifolium) not only provides berries for food but also offers protection from the weather.
And the berries of mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia) are an important food source for blackbirds, starlings, redwings and even rooks and crows. The trees also attract insects, including aphids and sawflies, another great source of nutrition.
Climbing roses, ivy and honeysuckle; grasses and plants whose seed heads remain intact throughout winter – all go to make a garden a place of beauty and a sanctuary for living things.
Every winter, hundreds of thousands of the nation’s birds die. Just how hard their numbers have been affected in recent years is difficult to tell, but while some birds (blackbirds, for instance, seem to be doing quite well) others such as greenfinches are having a hard time.
My own garden was, until recently, visited regularly by greenfinches but for the last two years they have been noticeable by their absence.
Britain’s birds need our help so make your garden bird-friendly because you could be the difference between life and death.