Difficult time for birds
Look at all this snow! Or, in case we’ve had a much-needed thaw by the time this article gets printed, remember all that snow!
It was one thing to get a white Christmas for me this year, cold weather and frozen rain is to be expected in the far-flung North. But down here, in the balmy climate of Devon, such a gripping frost came as something of a surprise.
The headlines, and BBC dedicated an entire hour of prime time to broadcast a news special on frozen precipitation, are full of school closures; children sledging; cars stuck on ice; milk shortages; and the general disruption to our automotive-focussed infrastructure. But, on the flip side to this, one of the most fabulous things about a thick snow flurry is how it changes our world.
Firstly, the quality of light in snowy conditions is magnificent. Just the simple addition of uplighting from reflected sunshine is enough to transform the landscape into a clean, bright and uplifting scene.
Then, there is the quality of sound. There are fewer cars on the roads, so things are quieter outside anyway. But an insulating layer of snow seems to mute artificial sounds, whilst simultaneously increasing the volume of natural sounds like bird calls and children’s laughter, as another snowball explodes with a direct hit.
Of course, we are all concerned with our own provisions, with many local shops imposing milk rationing and bread limits to ensure people can’t single-handedly clear the premises with a urgent bout of basket filling. Once these essentials are in place, we can all relax a little and turn our attention to the wildlife which is really at the sharp end of freaky weather like this.
Birds, in particular, bear the brunt of cold, snowy weather. While most mammals can snuggle down and sleep through short cold spells, birds are forced to continue to forage and find even more food than normal to keep their fat stores up. At times like this, the concept of a ‘fat store’ is a misconception, with most birds living a ‘hand-to-beak’ existence. Every calorie consumed through the day gets used just getting through the night; every morsel counts.
The double-whammy, of course, is that foraging is particularly difficult for most terrestrial birds, as the snow cover makes finding food that much harder.
There is plenty we can do to assist, and in return for setting up a backyard feeding station, the chances are that you will be rewarded with a spectacular display of avian gratitude. My little city-centre yard has recently added grey wagtail and chiffchaff to its truncated bird list. We’ve also recently seen lapwing, but they were merely passing overhead, so only count as being seen from the garden, rather than in the garden!
If you can, put out fat-rich food. Seeds and fat balls are preferable, rather than bread which is of little value to birds and should only be offered as part of a wider choice of food. Food scraps can be offered, but only use bacon rind if you can be sure the bacon has not been salted, as salt is harmful to birds. If you’ve got a feeding table, then use this, placed close to hedges or tree cover, if possible, but even if you don’t have feeding equipment, scattered seed on snow-free flat roofs or a patio will work. The essential thing is that the newly put down seed is visible to birds because, unless you regularly feed and your garden is known to the local bird populations, you are going to need to attract a prospecting bird as it passes through your property. A few old apples which are beyond the fruitbowl, but still not mouldy, will attract species like blackbirds and, perhaps, even redwings and fieldfares, if they spot them. However, other food items need a bit more of a practical touch.
Making fat balls is dead easy. Melt some lard gently in a pan and add generous quantities of seeds. Prepare a pot with length of string trailing from the bottom, which will allow you to hang the food. Take the lard mix off the heat and as it re-sets, pour it into the cleaned out yoghurt pot or similar to allow it to form a hangable shape. Once cold, take the filled pots outside and hang them from a tree or wall bracket, visible from a warm window, sit back and wait for the gang to arrive. It might take a couple of days for the food to be found, indeed, the newly proffered morsels might not be found at all, but as soon as the first bird finds the source, ‘word’ will quickly spread and your garden will fill with hungry birds.
Of course, once you have managed to attract this hungry audience, you will be hard-pushed to put an end to the feasting. In which case, there are all sorts of home made alternatives to the expensive bird feeding equipment one can buy in various shops. One thing I would advise, however, is not to skimp on seed quality. While a bluetit will not pass comment on a feeding table consisting of a tea tray nailed to a post, it will suffer if the seeds you put out are contaminated with fungal infections, or bulked out with inedible dried beans or dog biscuits - the only way to ensure against this is to buy approved seed from a trusted source.
If you do get into the habit of putting out bird food, keep it up as birds quickly come to rely on these feeding stations as regular sources of sustenance.
After you’ve gone to all that trouble to attract them in the first place, its easier just to keep on feeding than attract their attention all over again next time the snow falls.