Tips for feeding birdsWhat to consider when feeding birds
Whether with a feeding station at the house, in the garden or on the balcony: many people want to help blackbirds, tits and other native bird species find food. We give you tips on when and how you can feed birds.
In autumn and winter in particular, many animal lovers ask themselves whether they can help the birds that spend the winter in this country to find food during the cold season. As the environmental and living conditions of our native bird species have been deteriorating for decades, it may be important to protect each individual animal. With the right feeding, you can help birds through frosty winters.
Birds find less food
Our actions make it more difficult for animals to find food: intensive farming, the increased use of pesticides and the decline in biodiversity mean that native bird species are finding less and less food. In addition, changing temperatures and weather conditions caused by man-made climate change can affect the ripening process of nuts and fruit. As a result, food is no longer available to birds in abundance at the usual time of year. Feeding our native birds correctly promotes biodiversity and healthy bird populations.
Winter or year-round feeding?
In winter, the food supply for birds is often particularly scarce, and they can make good use of human help at this time. In areas where agriculture is already particularly intensive, year-round feeding can also be useful. There are some critics who fear that this would interfere with the ecological balance and deprive birds of their natural foraging behavior. On the other hand, due to the influence of humans, the animals have long ceased to live in a healthy and diverse ecosystem that regulates itself naturally.
The right food for grain and soft food eaters
Our native songbirds can be divided into two groups based on their diet: Grain eaters and soft feeders.
- Graineaters such as sparrows and finches prefer seeds and grains. Their diet includes sunflower seeds, cereals such as wheat and oatmeal, peanuts and seeds such as hemp and linseed. The food should be untreated - i.e. not roasted, salted or seasoned.
- Blackbirds, robins and the little wren are soft feed eaters. These birds particularly like to eat fruit, berries and insect larvae. They are happy to eat dried berries, apples and pears. Some soft feeders such as nuthatches, woodpeckers and siskins also eat grains such as oatmeal and bran.
- Ideally, you should offer grains and soft food separately at different feeders.
HOW TO OFFER BIRD FOOD
Grain dispensers or feeding bells suit their natural behavior. You should remove the netting from fat balls, as the animals can get tangled up in it.
If you opt for a bird house, it must be swept out daily and cleaned weekly with hot water, otherwise the food inside will quickly become contaminated.
Grain mixtures, food dumplings and dried berries are available in specialist stores. The food should always be stored in a cool and dry place, otherwise it can spoil quickly.
Leftovers and bread are completely unsuitable as bird food and should not be fed under any circumstances.
Design your garden to be insect-friendly with lots of different seed-rich plants.
