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Attracting wild birds to your feeders is a great source of enjoyment for nature lovers in the UK. While helping the birds get all the nutritious food they might need, you’ll also be rewarded with seeing all the beautiful winged friends that visit your garden.
Bird spotting doesn’t have to be a difficult hobby and the rise in popularity of it over recent years has highlighted this. Inviting all sorts of wild bird species to your garden…
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Not all bird food is the same and it can become quite difficult to understand why there are so many different types and which one is best for you and the wild birds you want to attract.
Now, the title of this post is a little misleading as there is no real top 5 best bird food that you can buy. It all depends on the season and the type of birds that visit your feeders or…
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It is coming up to the time of year when fledglings are encouraged to make their own way out of the nest. You may see the remains of an egg shell or even come across a juvenile bird making its first attempt at flight. But what should you do if you come across a baby bird in apparent trouble on the ground?
It’s a natural instinct to want to help the baby bird as they are very…
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With a change of season on its way, we often get asked the question: should I feed wild birds in the summer?
The answer is widely thought to be that it’s not the correct thing to do as it is likely to make the birds lazy and unwilling to search for natural foods themselves. However, research has shown that birds only receive a small proportion of their daily food from feeders which means they are not reliant…
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Current advice from the RSPB states that:
“We receive numerous enquiries about what and how to feed garden birds. Many of them relate to the best type of food to provide, or whether particular foods are suitable for birds or not.
There are different mixes for feeders and for bird tables and ground feeding. The better mixtures contain plenty of flaked maize, sunflower seeds, and peanut granules.
Small seeds, such as millet, attract mostly house sparrows, dunnocks, finches, reed…
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Seeds and grains should always be stored in dry conditions. Airtight containers are recommended. Fungus and moulds can have a serious impact birds, for example Aflatoxins are carcinogenic and toxic to birds.
It is important to keep your bird feeders and bird baths clean. It is a good idea to clean them each time they are refilled and regularly replace the water in your bird bath.
Garden birds can be particularly susceptible to some diseases such as:
Salmonellosis, Colibacillosis,…
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It is safe to put out bird food all year round, however consumption will fall significantly during the summer months. There are two main reasons for this. The first is that most birds change their diet during the summer months, consuming a higher proportion of insects during this time. Secondly, birds or more widely dispersed during the summer months establishing breeding territories. For example, both Great Tits and Robins feed their young almost exclusively on live…
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It is possible to create a garden environment to attract a wide variety of birds. The addition of certain features and maximising certain areas that are already accessible to birds will support the arrival of a broad range of birds. Some suggestions for attracting birds are;
Bird Tables:
Ground level tables and elevated tables are suitable for breeds such as Robins, Dunnock. Buntings and Finches prefer to be on the ground so feeding trays work well for them. Wooden trays or tables should be treated with a preservative that is not harmful to wildlife. Metal and plastic tables are easy to keep clean and are more difficult for rats and squirrels to climb. Many birds also prefer an open feeding tray and will…
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