Cold weather and birds
Just a little reminder to help out our feathered friends in this icy cold snap. They still need water, so putting out something unfrozen a couple of times a day will help out. We use warm (not boiling) water poured into our bird bath a couple of times a day.
Comments
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Good point TDA. If you start doing it you must keep doing it until the big thaw. We break the ice on the pond a couple of times a day and the birds seem to enjoy it.
By the same token, if you do feed the birds you must continue to do so, if you stop it could induce starvation.
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Don't matter how you do it, whatever works for you and the birdies! We put out a lot of those nest pockets as well, often have wrens and tits sheltering in them. Anything that helps
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We always provide plenty of food but neglect the frozen water TDA.
I will have to keep an eye on the water, thanks for the reminder.
PS
We have a woodpecker on the feeder at this moment.
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Lucky you Nevers. It sometimes fetches more unusual birds to feed at tables. We are hoping our little Nuthatch puts in a visit!
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Had some Redwings visit this afternoon on some apples that we cut in quarters and put out. Don't like doing that so often as it can bring them to the attention of the local Sparrowhawk. But even they have to eat.
It's important to try to clean the birdbath or watering hole as well as unfortunately some of the feathered ones do not have the best toilet training!
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Timely reminder ttda, I have been out every morning topping up the feeders and making sure unfrozen water available. Don't get many unusual birds but at least I can keep the few that come well fed.
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I have found some old nuts in a plastic container in our pantry, not bad, but not as fresh as we like them, so I shall be chopping these up tomorrow, perhaps with some dried fruit, and treating our (almost pet) blackbirds. They sit and chunter at us if we don't move along quick enough!
I love birds, such lovely little creatures.
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Hang the feeders, and apples, and anything else inside a hedge. It allows lots of small birds to eat under cover, the sparrow hawk won't see them around the feeder and will go elsewhere. I often think our old-style - in the open - feeders were like a take-away for birds of prey! After finding more than one pile of feathers in the garden we started hanging everything inside our beech hedge - and feeding the ground feeders at the base of the hedge. Now we don't have anything other than a red kite drifting over, and they're not interested in the feeding birds.
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The Blackbirds in our garden do not normally bother much with the feeders as they find enough grubs, berries, plus apples we put out to satisfy there needs. However, as this winter has been so much harder than recent years, natures supply must have run out. They have been regular visitors particularly going for the mealworms embedded in the fat block and even the peanuts.
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My father in law used to have a regular stream of blackbirds, thrushes , pheasants and robins come to his back door for a morning feed the robins in particular would hop onto the end of a kitchen table for hand feeding. Usually repeated at lunch time and there was always food by the door as well as hanging feeders by the kitchen window.
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The cold is certainly providing a lot to look at. We rarely see a Starling in the garden, let alone on the feeders. A few minutes ago it was covered by a whole flock. Amazing sight. Unfortunately they did not stop long enough for me to get a picture. I think it might need restocking.
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} but still liable to freeze the bird baths and bring customers to the tables.