Looking out onto our gardens from a warm house, wrapped in blankets with cupboards stocked with festive treats, it can be easy to forget how harsh the season can be on the wildlife that calls the outdoors home.

Birds are no exception to this, and as changing climates continue to impact nesting patterns and food supplies, it’s so important that we help our feathered friends through their toughest season.

The garden wildlife experts at Green Feathers have put together a list of quick and easy things absolutely anyone can do to keep garden birds thriving this winter.

A late Christmas dinner
Unsurprisingly, one of the main ways that you can go about helping garden birds is by keeping them fed. With food sources being scarce, fatty and energy-rich options are going to be your go-to – much like our own Christmas meals. One of the best foods to put out over winter is fat balls or blocks, providing many of the nutrients needed to help fill their bellies and keep them warm. It’s best to put these out in a wire hanging feeder rather than the plastic netting that they often come with, as these can quite easily cause injuries when birds get stuck in them.

For some energy-rich food choices, leave out ripe apple or pear (with the seeds removed) for a sugary treat. Ripe berries are also an excellent option for the same reason, along with these fruits containing a high water content to prevent them from becoming dehydrated. In fact birds will love most fruits that are left out for them, but make sure that all seeds and pits have been taken out as they can be a major choking hazard or cause digestive blockages.

Much like us, birds also need to have a varied and balanced diet, so you should also leave out the usual birdseed mix alongside whichever Christmas treats you decide to offer. Dietary requirements can also differ massively from species to species, so leaving out a variety of foods helps you feed as many birds as possible.

A warm bed
As many birds choose to rest in trees and bushes with plenty of foliage to protect them from the weather, predators, and the cold, as the leaves disappear, so do their shelters. Giving birds places to take refuge in your garden is incredibly important, and there’s a few ways you can do this. For those with a green finger, planting evergreen hedges that will keep their leaves even in the harshest conditions means that they’ll always have a place to call home. Alternatively, for a more immediate solution you can install birdhouses and nesting boxes throughout your garden for any visitors to huddle up inside. You don’t need to worry about putting down some kind of bedding, they only need somewhere to stay out of the cold and stick close together!

Time for a drink
A lot of the water sources that birds would usually go for (especially in suburban areas) become frozen in winter, such as puddles and ponds, and so providing them with clean drinking water can be a huge help. Fill up a bird bath with clean water each day, enough so that even smaller birds can still stand in the centre without wetting their feathers, and you’ll have provided them with a much appreciated resource. If it’s particularly cold, top up with a bit of hot – but not boiling – water now and again to prevent it from freezing over, and give it a good scrub once a week to stop algae forming, and remove any harmful bacteria and diseases that may be lingering from one of the visitors.

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