Brits have been urged to leave a common kitchen staple on the ground for garden birds in December. Birds are an important presence in any garden, helping green-fingered Britons by going after pests that can damage and cause disease in your plants.
However, with bitterly cold autumnal conditions upon us, and the winter to come, your feathered friends may need a bit of extra attention. Colder times of year are always challenging for them due to the dearth of their favourite foods around, and the need to stay well-fed to keep warm.
Though birds love seeds and grains, they actually enjoy quite a wide variety of other foods, including things you may not have thought of.
Richard Jones, gardener at Garden Organic shared some common and cheap food items to help keep winged visitors coming back even when the mercury plummets.
These included apples, which can be cut up and simply be left on the ground.
Speaking to Express.co.uk, Richard advised using your “own stored apples and pears, or buy organic so you know they’ve not been sprayed with pesticides”, as well as taking steps to make sure they’re safe for birds to eat.
He advised coring them and removing the pips, as they’re toxic to birds, before chopping the fruit into quarters.
“These are useful because they provide a source of valuable winter vitamins and water. Scattered on the ground, they can be good for blackbirds and thrushes.”
And while getting organic is generally more expensive, there are plenty of affordable options if you get multipacks.
For example, ASDA is currently selling a pack of six Organic Apples for £2.34, which works out to 39p each. Organic pears are also sold at a similar price point at UK supermarkets.
Garden Organic also shared a number of other alternative options you could try to make your garden a haven for bird life.
Among them are uncooked rolled oats, which “offer slow-release carbs (just as they would for humans) alongside protein and vitamins”.
“But the key to this food is the ‘uncooked’ part,” Richard said. “They must be placed somewhere dry. If they absorb water, they may get stuck in the birds’ beaks, acting like glue”.
You can find out more tips for keeping garden birds happy and well-fed here.
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