Help your Garden Birds
Redwing
Last winter was one of the harshest for many years, and many of our wild birds really felt the pinch. Prolonged freezing temperatures make life very difficult indeed for our smaller birds in particular, and BirdWatch Ireland survey work has shown that some of our tiniest garden visitors, such as Wrens, Goldcrests and Long-tailed Tits, suffered significant declines nationally. Desperation also drove huge numbers of thrushes, especially migratory Redwings and Fieldfares, to seek refuge in gardens.
During the worst of the cold weather BirdWatch Ireland was inundated with phone calls and emails from people wondering what they could do to help their garden birds. Garden bird feeding is an extremely popular pastime in Ireland, and it goes a long way towards helping our feathered friends to survive freezing conditions, when natural food is harder to come by and night-time temperature drops prove fatal to any bird that has not built up sufficient fat reserves during the day.
Feeding birds is something that all of us can do, whether we live in houses or apartments. The most popular garden bird food of all in Ireland is peanuts, and for good reason: they are extremely nutritious and are high in oil, meaning that the birds that feed on them can replenish their essential fat reserves more rapidly. It is important, however, always to feed peanuts from a wire mesh peanut feeder and never to leave them out loose on a bird table or the ground. Peanuts contain a chemical that causes birds’ throats to constrict, so if they try to swallow one whole they may choke. These feeders are available very cheaply and some can even be affixed to windows using suction cups: no garden necessary.
Sunflower seed is another highly nutritious food for birds and is especially popular with tits and finches. Commercial wild bird seed mixes are also available, but while these prove popular with pigeons and doves they are less successful for smaller birds, which may discard many of the seeds as they find them hard to digest. Fruit is also an ideal food for many birds and may attract species that you would not normally find in your garden. Bruised apples and pears that you may not wish to eat yourself can be cut in half and placed on the lawn, something that your local Blackbirds and thrushes will certainly appreciate. Spearing cut apples onto the ends of branches will also attract Blackcaps, a striking member of the warbler family that used always to migrate to Africa in the autumn but which is now choosing to overwinter in Irish gardens in ever-increasing numbers. Other fruits, such as grapes and chunks of banana can also be fed to birds in this way.
Stale bread has long been a bird feeding staple, but it is actually not all that beneficial for them as it has low nutritional value and can be hard to digest. Grated wholemeal and wholegrain bread is certainly better than white bread, but better still is stale cake: high in sugar and fat, it can provide the energy boost that birds need to survive cold winter nights. Dry food such as bread and cake should be moistened with a little water before being left out on the bird table, as this makes it easier to swallow. Oat flakes and even puppy meal, again slightly moistened, are another excellent food source, and Robins in particular love grated cheese (high in fat, protein and calcium) and even cold mashed potato.
Solid fats, such as bacon rind and trimmings from beef and pork, are also eagerly accepted by many garden birds, though avoid poultry fat as it tends to remain liquid and can quickly go rancid or foul birds’ feathers. Suet (the fat surrounding an animal’s kidneys) is perhaps the best option of all. Commercially-produced suet balls and cakes are now widely available, many fortified with seeds, nuts and even dried insects, but these are also quite easy to make yourself at home. Most other foods that we humans eat are also suitable for birds if cut into small enough pieces, but avoid anything that has salt, which is quite toxic to birds, added to it or which is very dry, such as desiccated coconut or uncooked rice.
It is also important to ensure that your garden birds have access to a reliable, ice-free source of water, be it a pond, a bird bath or even just a dog bowl or upturned dustbin lid. All birds need water to drink and to bathe in, and regular bathing keeps their feathers free of dirt and parasites, keeping them properly insulated during cold weather.
While feeding birds in your garden can mean the difference between life and death for many of them, remember that it only benefits a comparatively small number of bird species. Most of Ireland’s wild birds, from ducks to waders and eagles to Kingfishers, won’t visit gardens to feed and instead rely on the wider countryside.
PANEL AT END
One way to help these birds is to join BirdWatch Ireland, the largest wildlife charity in the country, which is dedicated to protecting birds and the habitats upon which they depend. BirdWatch Ireland manages a network of nature reserves, conducts survey work into bird populations and conserves a whole range of threatened and endangered species, and their work benefits not just birds but also a vast range of Ireland’s native flora and fauna. All new members receive a special garden bird information pack, a special free gift and four issues of Wings magazine each year. You can join online at www.birdwatchireland.ie, by calling 01-2819878 or by writing to BirdWatch Ireland, P.O. Box 12, Greystones, Co. Wicklow.
Niall Hatch
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Blue Tit Song Thrush
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