as ground is so hard ,should we feed birds?

seefin

Only hit me last night that birds might be struggling to find food because of dry weather? Apart from worms, what do they eat this time of year?

honeybear

seefin wrote: »

Only hit me last night that birds might be struggling to find food because of dry weather? Apart from worms, what do they eat this time of year?

They ate all our juicy strawberries in the garden! They are also loving the water my parents are leaving out for them.

CeilingFly

honeybear wrote: »

They ate all our juicy strawberries in the garden! They are also loving the water my parents are leaving out for them.

I expected a bumper crop pf strawberries and blackcurrants - even put mesh over them, but the clever buggers still got to them

Mickeroo

It's no harm to feed them all year round regardless of the weather anyway.

Hitman3000

My family and I feed them all year round. It has come to the stage now that if anyone goes out the back door, they start to gather.

Ulmus

I cut a large apple in half and leave it under the hedge. The blackbirds turn up every morning for it. A shallow tray of water on the wall away from cats, changed daily, for drinking and bathing. I have one sunflower seed feeder for chaffinches, linnets, goldfinches, robins, etc.

OpenYourEyes

Some advice from BirdWatch Ireland in the papers this week - water is very important, and then stuff like halved-apples, mealworms, grated cheese etc will help out birds like Blackbirds and Robins that might otherwise be trying to feed on inverterbrates on the ground at this time of year. As others have said, it's ok to feed birds all year round - just avoid things like fatballs and suet products at this time of year, and make sure any peanuts are in a wire-mesh feeder!

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/shadow-of-a-drought-how-to-help-birds-and-plants-survive-1.3554099

https://www.independent.ie/life/three-simple-things-you-can-leave-out-for-birds-and-bees-during-the-heatwave-37070872.html

Birdnuts

I'd say the likes of Thrushes are having a hard time:(

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

They are facing a field day on snails under my hedges.

Birdnuts wrote: »

I'd say the likes of Thrushes are having a hard time:(

erica74

OpenYourEyes wrote: »

Some advice from BirdWatch Ireland in the papers this week - water is very important, and then stuff like halved-apples, mealworms, grated cheese etc will help out birds like Blackbirds and Robins that might otherwise be trying to feed on inverterbrates on the ground at this time of year. As others have said, it's ok to feed birds all year round - just avoid things like fatballs and suet products at this time of year, and make sure any peanuts are in a wire-mesh feeder!

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/shadow-of-a-drought-how-to-help-birds-and-plants-survive-1.3554099

https://www.independent.ie/life/three-simple-things-you-can-leave-out-for-birds-and-bees-during-the-heatwave-37070872.html

Oh no, why? I have around 20 different types of feeders in my garden and every type of food, I also feed on the ground. I didn't realise fatballs and suet products should be avoided. I feel terrible now. Has me feeding them fatballs and suet products had a negative effect on them?

I have 2 bird baths in the garden and it's actually mad how much water is used each day. They're both nearly empty at the end of each day.

New Home

They're ok in winter when they need lots of calories, but in summer it's like feeding them junk food, and there's a big chance they'd feed their offsprings with them (feeding babies with chips and cheeseburgers isn't the best! ). Plus, with this heat, the fat would go bad very quickly and could be bad for them.

They do drink and splash about a lot, but a lot is due to evaporation, too.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

erica74 wrote: »

Oh no, why? I have around 20 different types of feeders in my garden and every type of food, I also feed on the ground. I didn't realise fatballs and suet products should be avoided. I feel terrible now. Has me feeding them fatballs and suet products had a negative effect on them?

I have 2 bird baths in the garden and it's actually mad how much water is used each day. They're both nearly empty at the end of each day.

As New Home says, fats are empty calories and actually bad for birds. They really should only be fed during extremely cold conditions. One of the most overhyped of the foods for birds.

erica74

Ah no I didn't even know that:( I always just buy a variety of all the types of food you can get for them, thinking variety is good, some birds might like x and some birds might like y.
I've emptied out the last of the fatballs and suet products and wrapped them up.
So peanuts in a mesh feeder are good? Seeds are good? Mealworms are good?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

erica74 wrote: »

Ah no I didn't even know that:( I always just buy a variety of all the types of food you can get for them, thinking variety is good, some birds might like x and some birds might like y.
I've emptied out the last of the fatballs and suet products and wrapped them up.
So peanuts in a mesh feeder are good? Seeds are good? Mealworms are good?

All good, yes.

magicbastarder

mealworms are good, but they're expensive and won't last more than a few minutes, in my experience.
it was the starlings which mobbed that feeder on us.