MORE ON FEEDING OUR GARDEN BIRDS THE RIGHT WAY! (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

MORE ON FEEDING OUR GARDEN BIRDS THE RIGHT WAY!

11:14am Sunday 16th January 2011

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Birds are wonderful visitors to our gardens and repay our care by eating huge quantities of pests in the summer months. A few days ago I talked about a really informative leaflet I had found issued by the RSPB called ‘Food fit for birds?’ Quite apart from general information on the importance of keeping bird feeding stations etc really clean and not putting out stale or mouldy food it went into some detail on different foods. Many fats are suitable for bird feeding but on the whole should be only used in winter. These can include hard fats from unsalted, uncured cuts of meat put out in large pieces. Makes sure they are anchored down as larger birds may fly off with the whole piece. Polyunsaturated margarines and vegetable oils are not suitable as they provide much less energy and can smear on the birds’ feathers. Peanuts are a rich in fats and a valuable food source in cold weather but never, never put out loose nuts, especially during the breeding season. Always use a rigid container where the birds have to peck out small portions or chop them up finely. Salted peanuts are a definite no. Aflatoxin is a poison produced by a fungus sometimes found on peanuts and can be harmful to people and birds. Always buy your supplies from a credited dealer who can guarantee the product is free from aflatoxin.

It is fine to put out any type of bread but it doesn’t contain the necessary nutrients that the birds need so can only act as an empty filler, use it alongside more nutritious foodstuffs. Only put out as much as the birds visiting your garden will eat in a day, as a rule of thumb moist is better than dry and brown is better than white. Milk should never be given to birds but they can digest fermented dairy products such as cheese which is particularly popular with robins, wrens and dunnocks. Desiccated coconut is another no but birds will enjoy fresh coconut in the shell. First rinse out the sweet coconut water as this can cause a build-up of black mildew.

If you are planning on putting out any meat products only put out really small amounts which should be eaten within a couple of hours before it has had time to dry out or go bad. Salted, cured or smoked products should never be used although finely chopped fresh unsalted bacon can be given. Salt can be extremely dangerous to garden birds so never put out salted foods and don’t be tempted to add salt to bird baths to keep water ice-free in winter.

After all this you might be wondering what foods are safe and beneficial, the RSPB recommends: wild bird seed mixes that do not contain peanuts bigger than granule size, sunflower seeds, sunflower hearts, mild grated cheese, dried fruit soaked overnight, pinhead oatmeal, apples, pears, plums, grapes and other soft fruit, mealworms and waxworms.

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