Birds bring a garden to life all year round. Here, we advise you on how to attract birds to your garden this winter.
Many gardeners miss the familiar sight of birds in their garden when the cold weather hits and friendly faces migrate south or simply change their daily patterns.
Snow can be fun and exciting for the children, but sadly for birds it means lack of food, water, shelter and becoming continuously vulnerable. Snow and frost makes it incredibly challenging for birds to get to natural food sources.
However you can help out. Learn how to attract birds to your garden this winter and save a few feathered lives along the way.
How to attract birds to your garden this winter
1. Switch to providing more nutritious food sources
In such cold weather birds will appreciate anything they can get their beaks on but high-energy, fatty foods are essential.
- Set up a bird table and use it to put out foods including mealworms, soft fruit, seeds, porridge oats, pasta and cooked rice.
- Kitchen scraps are always good too, for example chopped fat from unsalted meat, pastry and dried fruit.
- Remember that stale bread is not very nutritious.
An additional idea is to use bird feeders. Popular contents for bird feeders are sunflower hearts, black sunflower seeds, sunflower-rich mixes or unsalted nuts. Bird feeders are easily accessible and once you establish a feeding routine, birds will become winter regulars to your garden.
2. Float a ping pong ball in their water supply
Water is vital for birds to use for drinking and washing as some foods do not contain much moisture. Their usual ways of getting water is through natural supplies, but when that freezes over it becomes a difficult challenge.
- Help by supplying water and make sure to change it daily and remove any ice that forms!
- If the water isn’t changed often it will likely freeze.
To prevent water from freezing over, float a small ball, such as a ping pong ball, on the surface of the water. It will stop it freezing because even a slight breeze will keep it moving around.
3. Provide shelter
Overnight, many birds huddle together in tree roosts or nesting boxes and smaller birds need somewhere to stay and keep warm.
- If you put a small box outside, maybe in a tree or on your roof, they will make the most of it and most likely use it for future breeding later in the year – this way you can have beautiful birds not only in winter, but all year round.
- Another way to provide homes for birds is to plant dense hedges or allow ivy to grow – these are a great cover for them to roost in. Because they break the wind, they’re often a little warmer, too.
Know which winter birds to look out for with our handy guide.
Helping animals in winter is a rewarding and enjoyable hobby, especially when it’s in your own garden. Winter conditions can be very dangerous for birds as they cannot restore lost energy but by using these simple tips you can help them survive these cold months ahead.