yvonne gordon

One of the nicest additions to any garden is a population of singing birds. Gardens with good bird feeding facilities can attract many species – the birds take advantage of the food to supplement their diet and bolster their fat reserves for the winter. Now is the time to start thinking about your feeding plans, as during winter, natural food for birds is scarcest.

"One of the advantages of feeding birds is it is a great way to get to know birds and develop an interest," says Niall Hatch of BirdWatch Ireland. "A very small amount of species regularly visit gardens, just 25 to 30 out of a total of about 450 species that have ever been recorded in Ireland." BirdWatch Ireland has over 10,000 members and its projects include conservation, education and research.

Hatch says that despite habitat losses for birds associated with farmland, such as the corncrake, due to more intensive agriculture methods, most garden and park birds are doing well. Last year was the tenth year of BirdWatch Ireland’s ‘Garden Bird Survey’, a nationwide survey that shows the wide range of birds that visit our gardens over the winter months. The blackbird, robin and blue tit are the most common visitors while rare species like snow bunting and little egret have also been recorded. Last year, 101 species were recorded in total, 42 in one large garden in Wicklow alone. The survey shows that species like the blackcap and goldcrest are increasing in numbers every year, perhaps due to our recent milder winters.

The main problem for Irish birds is that due to construction and development, there are less hedgerows and woodlands around the country, which is causing bird numbers to decline. "Hedgerows act as corridors between woodlands," says Hatch. "They provide places of rest and shelter for the birds." Some birds are reluctant to fly across open spaces because they become vulnerable to predators like hawks.

Garden birds visit most in winter. Hatch says that there’s a higher turnover of birds in gardens that people expect. For example, someone might think they see the same blue tit visiting their garden every year for ten years, but it might be a different one each time! Garden birds can be quite territorial and if there is a pair of blue tits in a garden with chicks, they won’t tolerate any others around. Similarly, robins are very territorial and won’t tolerate others. But they only live about two years and when one dies, another moves in. Birds can fight one another for territory – usually by singing, a way of assessing each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Finches are less territorial.

The survey also shows that urban and suburban gardens often get more birds than rural, countryside gardens. One reason may be that urban gardens are often a couple of degrees warmer in winter. They can also offer more coverage – nooks and crannies – for birds, rather than the wide-open spaces of the countryside.

Feeding
Birds burn a huge amount of energy in winter and need lots of calories to keep them war. Migratory birds also need lots of calories for their journeys. "The most important time to feed birds is in winter when there is very little food available", says Hatch. "One cold spell in an area can wipe out the majority of birds."

There’s a range of different foods you can give to garden birds and it’s important to have variety. There are lots of different bird feeders on the market – peanut feeders and seed feeders, and you can also buy or make a bird table, with or without a roof. You need to make sure that bird feeders and tables are in a reasonably open area which is easy for you to observe and which is away from cats and other predators. A tree branch or post is ideal. Be careful of fences that cats can climb. If you don’t have a garden, feeding trays can also attract birds to windowsills of apartment blocks.

Peanuts are the most popular food for garden birds and attract many species. They are high in energy and easy to digest. It’s better to put them in mesh feeders rather than on a bird table, so the birds don’t choke. It’s also nicer to watch the birds at a feeder – if you put the nuts on a table, the birds might take them away.

Sunflower seeds are another nutritious bird food – finches in particular love them. There are two varieties, black-shell and striped-shell, and the birds prefer the black ones, perhaps because they are higher in energy.

Hatch recommends avoiding wildbird seed mixes – a lot of them contain filler seeds that birds find hard to digest. They will pick out what they want and dump the rest on the ground. However these leftovers can be popular with pigeons, a less agile species that finds it hard to grab onto bird feeders.

Fat, in particular suet, is another popular bird food. Hang out meat trimmings and bacon rinds or buy special fat balls in pet shops. You can buy mesh wire baskets for suet, or make your own.

Fruit and vegetables are also good, and can attract different species. An apple cut in half and speared onto branches will be popular and might attract the blackcap with its beautiful song. Blackcaps also like left-over mashed potato! Oranges, grapes and windfall apples can be used, or cut a coconut in half and hang it on the bird table with string. Fruit must be fresh – never use dried fruit or desssicated coconut – it can expand so much that it can be fatal for birds. Niall Hatch says it is better to avoid giving bread to birds – or if you do, try wholegrain as there is more nutrition in it. Sliced white pans can expand and make the bird feel full. Birds also love stale cake and it’s higher in fat than bread.

BirdWatch Ireland also recommends maize flakes, oat flakes and puppy meal as valuable food sources for garden birds. In cold weather, scatter cheese on the ground beneath bushes to attract wrens.

One of the most common questions is, should you feed birds all year round? People worry that young chicks may become too dependent on the food or choke on peanuts, however Hatch says that the parent birds will be careful about what their chicks eat. The parents can use nuts and seeds to supplement their own diet so that they can give the insects they hunt to the chicks, which need a high protein diet. Feathers are pure protein and the chicks need to grow a lot of them very quickly. If you’re feeding during the summer, keep peanuts in mesh containers and avoid fats completely.

It’s also important to give birds water. It can be a birdbath or bowl which they can drink from and bathe in. Birds have to keep their feathers spotlessly clean – to fly and for insulation. During hot weather, water also keeps them cool.

You can also attract birds to your garden with certain berry-bearing plants and fruiting shrubs, which offer food sources and nesting sites. BirdWatch Ireland promotes the planting of native tree species, such as oak, which hold lots of insects.

Good shrubs include cotoneasters, holly, hawthorn, rowan/mountain ash and crab apples. Herbaceous plants include artichoke, cornflower and sunflowers. Trees can provide seed in winter and insects in summer – alder, birch and beech are all good. If you’d like to provide cover for birds, evergreens are great. Good climbers are honeysuckle, ivy and wisteria and birds love mown lawns for worm hunting. "The more diverse habitat and different kinds of plants you have, the more birds you will have," says Hatch.

Hazards for garden birds
Cats are one of the main bird killers. Cat bells are a good deterrent - put two bells on the cat as they can develop ways to silence a bell, such as walking in a certain way. Bigger bells are best. You can get special collars for the cat that will break if they become snagged in a tree. It’s best to keep cats indoors early in the morning and late at night during the breeding season from May to August when birds are busy getting food.

Put bird tables in an area where the bird can see all around, not near a bush where a cat could jump out.

For wild cats, you can buy scent deterrents or ultrasonic sound cat sensors, though Hatch says these don’t always work. Rats will also kill birds and steal nests, eating eggs and chicks. If poison must be used, place it in a length of drainpipe to allow rats access it without risk to larger animals and pets. Grey squirrels can also be a problem but there is not much people can do to prevent them.

Windows can be hazards for birds who might not see them and fly into them, or might see their reflection in them and think it is a rival and continually attack to the point of exhaustion. Putting an outline of a bird of prey is a good way to avoid this – birds will instinctively avoid it. If the problem is serious, try to break the reflection by putting crumpled up cling film on the outside of the window for a couple of weeks. Drawing the curtains is not a good solution as it might only make the reflection clearer.

Ideally, do not to cut hedges from March to September, as birds need plenty of cover, and at least check for nests. Also, be careful with slug pellets and insecticides in your garden, which may harm birds. Song thrushes love snails and blue tits love eating greenfly and caterpillars.

For information and instructions on building bird tables, nest boxes and bird feeders, contact BirdWatch Ireland. They also sell birdfood, feeders and books through branches and on-line. To order leaflets and sales catalogues, call (01) 281 9878 or see www.birdwatchireland.ie

Top 20 Garden Birds
Top 20 most frequently occurring (not to be confused with most abundant) bird species in our gardens in winter 2003/2004

Source: Garden Bird Survey 2003/2004, BirdWatch Ireland