Garden birds face a tough winter, but there is a lot you can do to help them through, finds STEPHEN LEWIS.

IT LOOKS set to be a tough winter for garden birds. The mild autumn has given way to raw, blustery weather. In January, forecasters are predicting, it might turn even colder than usual for the time of year.

If this happens, garden birds will struggle to survive. In very cold weather, many smaller birds such as wrens, goldcrests and long-tailed tits freeze to death, says the RSPB's northern England spokesman Chris Collett.

Small birds are particularly vulnerable because they lose body heat so quickly. "They need to eat almost constantly, so as to get the energy to keep warm," Chris says.

There are three ways you can help the garden birds over winter, Chris says: provide food, a source of unfrozen water and shelter.

Food

Different types of bird prefer different foods, so put out a range of foods. In the cold weather, Chris says, fatty foods give birds the energy to keep warm.

"For example, fat balls, or homemade bird cakes made with lard and packed with seeds, fruit or dried mealworms are great treats to put out in your garden," he says. "Kitchen scraps will work well, and a recipe for successfully feeding birds over winter might include chopped fat from unsalted meat, cheese, dried fruit, and pastry.

"You shouldn’t put out fat from a roasting tin, however – such as turkey fat on Christmas Day – as this runny fat can coat birds’ feathers, making it difficult for them to move or fly.”

Try not to put too much of the bird food on the ground as this makes birds vulnerable to cats, and can also attract rats. Instead, use bird feeders hung from trees, or put food on bird tables that have good visibility all around, so birds can look out for cats. Smearing Vaseline on the pole which supports the bird table will stop cats being able to climb up, Chris says.

Cats do kill millions of birds every year. A good way to keep them out of your garden – or at least away from areas where you have put bird food – is to put out lots of orange and lemon peel, Chris says. "They hate the smell of citrus."

Water

Birds need a supply of fresh, unfrozen water for drinking and bathing to survive the winter. Unfrozen water can be hard for them to find when temperatures drop below freezing – even if you have put out a bird bath – because the water will turn to ice.

"But with a simple trick you can help to keep a patch of water ice-free," Chris says. "The RSPB recommends floating a small ball, such as a ping-pong ball, on the surface of the water. Even the lightest breeze will keep it moving and stop an area of the water freezing."

Shelter

Birds don't nest over winter – they roost. "That basically means sitting in a sheltered tree," Chris says. Most will spend much of their time roosting in woods, fields or hedgerows. But when they come to your garden to feed, they will also need somewhere to roost or simply to shelter.

"You can provide shelter by planting dense hedges such as privet or hawthorn, or allowing ivy or holly to grow: these all provide great cover for birds to roost in," Chris says. Nest boxes can be good roosting sites. "Roofs are also a popular spot for birds trying to keep warm. If birds are getting into a hole in your roof and you need to get the hole fixed, consider putting up a nest box to replace the gap."

Follow all this simple advice, Chris says, and you should be guaranteed a good winter of birdwatching.

“People can make a real difference to garden birds and improve their chances of surviving the winter," he says. "Birds don’t need much and by providing a supply of food, a patch of unfrozen water and somewhere to shelter from the elements, you will be rewarded with great views of wildlife in your back garden.”


Birdwatch

THE RSPB’s annual Big Garden Birdwatch – the world’s biggest wildlife survey – returns on the weekend of January 24 and 25: and you can be part of it.

To take part, people are asked to spend one hour at any time over Big Garden Birdwatch weekend noting the highest number of each bird species seen in their gardens or local park at any one time.

They then have three weeks to submit their results to the RSPB, either online at rspb.org.uk/birdwatch or in the post to Big Garden Birdwatch Results, RSPB, Potton Road, Sandy, Bedfordshire SG19 2DL.

The Big Garden Birdwatch in 2014 revealed that house sparrows were the most recorded birds despite their falling numbers, and for the first time great spotted woodpeckers appeared in the top twenty.

The top ten were:

House sparrow

Blue tit

Starling

Blackbird

Wood pigeon

Chaffinch

Goldfinch

Great tit

Collared dove

Robin