Feeding the birds                                               

Birds are finding it increasingly harder to survive in the modern world. With the changes in farming and the climate, they are becoming more reliant on food put out in gardens. Once it was thought that feeding the birds in winter when natural food is scarce was enough to keep the bird populations in good order. Now there are just as many deaths from starvation in the summer as in the winter. The answer is to provide supplementary foods all year round, not just in winter but also during the breeding and moulting season.

The next question is what to feed? All birds need protein and fat or oil, and the foods that supply this in abundance are sunflower hearts, sunflower seeds (especially the black variety) and peanuts. At the moment there is a problem with peanuts because of the possibility of Aflatoxin poisoning  so if you buy peanuts ensure that they are from a reputable source. Many wild bird food mixes contain mainly wheat, barley or oats, which is fine for pigeons, doves and other large birds but not really suitable for the smaller birds. 

Recently it has come to light that some humans can also be poisoned by birdfoods, especially those people that have peanut allergies. If you have such a problem then be very careful around birdfoods, even those that are just seeds. The same processing machinery may have been used for packaging peanuts.

Fatballs are always popular, especially when seeds or insects are incorporated into them, and fruit such as chopped apples and sultanas are popular with Blackbirds and other thrushes. If you want to make friends with your local Robin then put out mealworms for him or her. They also like grated cheese, as do Dunnocks. Just scatter it under bushes where they forage. Foods not to feed to birds include dessicated or ground coconut (fresh coconut is fine), salted peanuts or uncooked rice.

Making your own bird-cake is a good way of using all the kitchen scraps. Simply put peanuts, seeds, bacon rind, cheese, oatmeal and anything else that will tempt the birds, into a container and pour over some melted fat or suet. When it's set, turn it out onto the bird-table or hang it up. The mixture could also be pressed into pine cones or the bark of a tree.

The other requirement for all birds is water. Not only do they drink it, but they also bathe in it. So it has to be changed regularly (would you like to drink your bath water?) and kept clean. Also make sure that it's kept free of ice during the winter. There are several water baths on sale that purport to do this using night lights or constantly dripping water to keep it moving. Alternatively, you could change the water regularly. Never add anti-freeze to the water! Remember the furore when anti-freeze was added to wine a few years ago? We didn't like it and it's fatal to birds.

Where to feed the birds is also important. Some birds will only feed on the ground, others from a bird-table or from hanging feeders. Wherever you feed the birds ensure that the ground feeding station is away from any cover that could hide a stalking cat And try to site the bird-table and feeders as high as possible so that a cat can't jump up, but near cover so that the birds have an escape route if a Sparrowhawk should come calling. If possible move the bird-table and the feeders around the garden to avoid a build up of faeces under them.

Once you've started to feed the birds regularly then you must continue. The birds will soon come to rely on the food that you put out, and will come more often to a site that is a guaranteed feeding place.

Hygiene

It's very important to keep feeders and bird-tables clean to avoid the spread of diseases through your avian guests.

Once a fortnight give the table and feeders a good scrub with a dilute solution of washing-up liquid. Do this outside, not in the kitchen! And don't use your washing-up bowl. Some of the diseases carried by birds are transmittable to humans. There are special disinfectants available from most of the bird food retailers. Rinse well, preferably with a kettle of boiling water. Don't forget the bird-bath. To get into all the nooks and crannies of the feeders invest in a special feeder cleaner brush. Also keep the area under the feeders clean. A lot of birds are ground feeders and they don't want their food contaminated with the droppings of the other birds. Move the feeders and bird-table around the garden if possible to reduce this risk. If it isn't possible, then ensure that the ground under the feeders is always clean.

During the winter months clean and disinfect the nest-boxes, unless there are birds roosting in them. Used nest-boxes contain parasites which will infect future residents.

When you've finished wash your hands and cleaning equipment thoroughly. After all, if you're ill, who's going to feed the birds?