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Garden Birds
Here comes Peter, here comes Paul
Feeding garden birds is rewarding and great fun. No one can deny they make a beautiful addition to your garden and give hours of enjoyment.
Offering them a variety of different seeds and foods will help you attract more unusual species and provides a lifeline over the harsh winter months. It ensures a vital source of energy for many birds, helping to keep your feathered friends happy all year round.
There’s really nothing better than waking up to birdsong!
Come dine with me - every day of the year
Disappearing habitats and climate changes mean feeding birds is more important than ever.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) both recommend the year-round feeding of garden birds to maintain a healthy and viable flock of native species.
Some species like the swift and swallow feed on the wing from airborne insects and will never visit your table or bird feeder. To most others it represents a single source for fuelling their busy lives. They need energy to keep them warm through the long cold winter, during the busy nesting season and while raising their young families. Though winters may not be as long or severe now, the shift in seasonal patterns is encouraging many species to raise more than a single brood per year. This prolonged breeding period only serves to heighten the need for a continuous food supply.
The feeding preferences of most popular native species fall into two basic categories:
- Birds that prefer softer foods and feed from the ground, like the thrush, blackbird, robin and wren.
- Others who predominantly feed on seeds.
They all have their particular favourite foods just as we do.
At Scampers we recommend feeding Walter Harrison’s Garden Friends range of premium quality foods and mixes. They give you a choice depending on which birds you want to attract. Some mixes attract a variety of species, while others are specially formulated for the more discerning pallet.
The range also includes tasty Energy Boost treats to supplement the basic diet and encourage even more visitors to your garden. There’s also a wide selection of quality feeders and accessories. In fact there’s everything you need to create your very own nature reserve in your back garden.
Here are some handy hints to get you started...
- The BTO and RSPB recommend you feed wild birds all year round.
- Feed more in late autumn and winter when natural resources are in shorter supply.
- Also feed more during spring when birds are busy breeding and raising young.
- Birds lose energy maintaining body temperature overnight, so a good breakfast is essential to set them up for the day.
- Once you establish a feeding regime don’t disappoint them, they will depend on you.
- Establish several feeding areas and move them regularly to avoid bacterial build up.
- Consider predators when selecting suitable feeding sites, set table and feeder heights accordingly and make sure birds feeding on the ground have a good line of sight.
- Store all foods in a cool, dry place.
- Be aware that ground feeding stations can attract rodents.
Hygiene Tips
- Feed little and often.
- Replace old or wet food to prevent build up of bacteria or mould, particularly on table and ground feeding stations.
- Clean feeding stations regularly with a safe disinfectant.
- Always wash your hands after handling bird products.
Variety is the spice of life
If you’re looking for variety of colour, song and habit in your garden visitors, these tempting foods should be at the top of your list.
We have a range of feeds specifically designed to attract a variety of species. It’s a comprehensive range of unique mixtures and wholesome single foods and it’s perfect for year-round feeding. You’ll find it will appeal to the widest range of feeder and table-feeding garden birds.
Rocking robin - or four and twenty blackbirds?
We all have our favourite birds - but they all have their own dietary needs that we need to cater for if we want to enjoy their company. Which is why we stock several high quality mixtures and specialist whole foods for year-round feeding, specifically created to attract a variety of species.
High Energy Treats
Suet and fats provide instant energy for wild birds, particularly necessary when they are busy building nests and raising young. Extra energy also helps them keep warm and healthy during the long cold winter. In fact there isn’t a season when it’s not beneficial to general health! The Garden Friends range of Energy Boost treats caters for all tastes with a wide variety of flavours to make them even more attractive.
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