The Best Ways To Help Garden Birds During Sudden Weather Change

It’s no secret Irish weather can be unpredictable, with sunny skies one minute and a downpour of rain and thunder the next. During the winter you’d often see all seasons in one day, with a blanket of white snow sometimes thrown into the mix. This chaotic weather can sometimes wreak havoc on our garden birds, especially during the colder months when foraging food becomes more difficult.

In this blog post, we’ll go through the best ways you can help your garden birds during weather changes and how to take care of them.

Helping Garden Birds in the Winter

1. Ensure all seeds you leave out for your birds are clean and dry. Wet seeds can make garden birds very ill, so it is important that they are protected from the elements. Tube feeders are good at protecting seed from rain, and so are hanging feeders like TRIXIE Natura Hanging Bird Feeder.
2. Provide plenty of high energy and high calorie foods, like fatballs, suet blocks, peanuts and sunflower seeds. Make sure the feeders are spread across different locations, including the ground for species that don’t like hanging from feeders.
3. Icy conditions might mean natural water is frozen over so it is essential you provide your garden birds with some clean, fresh water for them to drink and bathe in. Keep an eye on the bird bath throughout the day as you don’t want your water frozen over. Always top it up with fresh water each day.
4. If you own a bird house, one of the best ways to help garden birds during the winter is by providing some cosy furnishings for them. Why not leave some dried grass or dry wood shavings in the bottom of the house for the birds to snuggle into?

Helping Garden Birds in Bad Weather

1. Use extra feeders during bad weather. It not only gives the birds another place to eat, which allows for more birds to conjugate at the feeding station, but it also cuts down on trips outside for refilling the feeders.
2. Invest in some feeders with roofs. Some feeders have a covering canopy included such as PECKISH Acorn Treat Feeder or the TRIXIE Natura Hanging Bird Feeder which will stop the rain in its track.
3. Try some feeding alternatives, such as nuts, fruits & mealworms. They are less likely to soak up the water and will stay naturally fresh for longer.
4. Sprinkle seed in sheltered areas. Not all birds will visit your feeder, as there are some species like the song thrushes who will prefer to feed from the ground. For these species, consider scattering some seed under your deck, or around your hedges and bushes.
5. Make sure all your feeders are dry before refilling. This is essential! As mentioned above, birds can get sick from mouldy, wet seeds, so always give them a quick wipe down to keep moisture to a minimum inside your feeders.

Any more questions?

Got any more questions about caring for garden birds? Be sure to ask one of expert Pet Care Advisors at your local Petmania store today.