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Want to watch the birdies?

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
Published date15 January 2022
Publication titleBirmingham Mail (England)
It's a time of year for those liking neatness, but it also means a reduction in food for garden birds - insects that feed on leaves are fed on by birds and when one goes, so does the other

There cannot be many folk who are unaware of the need to feed birds in cold weather, and also to give them water.

But there are still some who imagine that half a loaf of stale bread pulled to bits and dumped on a bird table is enough.

It isn't.

Birds need proper food and fresh water. Refill the bird bath every couple of days and put out bird food in the morning, just enough to be eaten by the end of the day.

Lavish supplies tend to be eaten by grey squirrels, and even adventurous rats, and neither deserves encouragement.

Alternatively, invest in squirrel-proof bird feeders, with an outer cylinder made of mesh through which the birds can fit but not the squirrels.

Scatter some bird food on the lawn for ground feeders such as blackbirds, but make sure it is in the centre of the lawn so they can spot approaching cats.

Cylindrical wire feeders can contain peanuts (plain, not salted) for acrobats such as tits and greenfinches, and mixed seed for birds such as robins.

Balls of fat are good, too. Take off the outer plastic netting and drop several of them into a wire cylinder - the birds do not then become entangled in the netting and can get at the fat more easily.

Suspend feeders from tree branches or...

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