9:50am Tuesday
15th January 2013 in News
Garden
birds will need all the help they can get to survive, says charity With sub
zero temperatures suddenly upon us, the RSPB is advising people to make sure
their bird feeders and tables are full of high energy foods.
Richard James,
one of the RSPB’s wildlife advisors, said: “The sudden drop in temperatures
across the UK will have been a big shock to birds’ systems after spending the
past couple of months with few worries in terms of food availability. Thanks to
the recent mild weather, many natural food sources have been readily available
and water has been easy to come by. Now the snow and ice are here birds will
need all the help they can get to survive the winter.”
The RSPB
suggests calorie-rich foods like mixed seed, nyjer seed, fatballs, suet sprinkles,
sunflower seed and good quality peanuts, as well as kitchen scraps, like mild
grated cheese, rice and porridge oats.
A supply of
water is also essential for bathing and preening. In freezing conditions birds
become more dependent on water provided in gardens, since many natural sources
are frozen over. The most effective way to keep the water in your garden from
freezing is to pop in a light ball that will be moved by even a gentle breeze
and keep a small amount of water ice free – a ping-pong ball is ideal.
Alternatively, pour on hot water to melt the ice to make sure the birds can get
to it.
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