Help our feathered friends
Simon Darby | 27.01.2004 01:14
Help our feathered friends
Cllr Simon Darby asks our members to look out for our native wildlife.
With Britain about to be plunged into sub-zero temperatures, we can all do our bit to help our bird life. Over the last few years many of our once common birds have seen frightening falls in numbers. Debates rage over various factors - intensive agriculture, magpies and raptors, GM crops and domestic cats, but there is no doubt that extreme cold takes a terrible toll on our wild birds. This is especially so amongst smaller birds, whose large surface area to volume ratio means that in freezing conditions they sometimes have to daily consume food equivalent to their own body weight just to survive.
Thankfully, it's very easy to give nature a helping hand, and there's no reason why each and every one of the 100,000+ visitors a month to this website can't make a significant difference and help save hundreds of birds in the next few days.
Most importantly of all, birds need water, for those without a bird bath in the garden, a bowl or even an upturned dustbin lid will suffice. Make an effort to keep the water ice-free and position your bird bath well away from where cats might ambush it.
A bird feeder should be located so cats cannot get at the feeding birds.
When it comes to food there is much nonsense talked about what you should and should not give to wild birds, but try not to give food with too much salt and additives.
When you are shopping you can often pick up reduced-priced bread and apples for instance (starving birds aren't too fussy about sell-by dates). Blackbirds and other thrushes are particularly fond of apples sliced in half and left on the ground or bird table for them to peck at. For those with bird feeders, make sure they are cleaned out and reloaded with seeds and nuts and remember too that birds are also very fond of grated cheese and lard. However polyunsaturated fats do not contain the high levels of energy birds need in extreme cold.
Moreover, raisins, cooked rice and cooked potatoes will all be gratefully accepted along of course with the specialised bird seed mixtures you can buy in many shops.
It's very simple, just two minutes of kindness could very well mean the
difference between life and death to the birds in your garden.
Cllr Simon Darby asks our members to look out for our native wildlife.
With Britain about to be plunged into sub-zero temperatures, we can all do our bit to help our bird life. Over the last few years many of our once common birds have seen frightening falls in numbers. Debates rage over various factors - intensive agriculture, magpies and raptors, GM crops and domestic cats, but there is no doubt that extreme cold takes a terrible toll on our wild birds. This is especially so amongst smaller birds, whose large surface area to volume ratio means that in freezing conditions they sometimes have to daily consume food equivalent to their own body weight just to survive.
Thankfully, it's very easy to give nature a helping hand, and there's no reason why each and every one of the 100,000+ visitors a month to this website can't make a significant difference and help save hundreds of birds in the next few days.
Most importantly of all, birds need water, for those without a bird bath in the garden, a bowl or even an upturned dustbin lid will suffice. Make an effort to keep the water ice-free and position your bird bath well away from where cats might ambush it.
A bird feeder should be located so cats cannot get at the feeding birds.
When it comes to food there is much nonsense talked about what you should and should not give to wild birds, but try not to give food with too much salt and additives.
When you are shopping you can often pick up reduced-priced bread and apples for instance (starving birds aren't too fussy about sell-by dates). Blackbirds and other thrushes are particularly fond of apples sliced in half and left on the ground or bird table for them to peck at. For those with bird feeders, make sure they are cleaned out and reloaded with seeds and nuts and remember too that birds are also very fond of grated cheese and lard. However polyunsaturated fats do not contain the high levels of energy birds need in extreme cold.
Moreover, raisins, cooked rice and cooked potatoes will all be gratefully accepted along of course with the specialised bird seed mixtures you can buy in many shops.
It's very simple, just two minutes of kindness could very well mean the
difference between life and death to the birds in your garden.
Simon Darby
