More (bird) food for thought

It is great to be back again, writing about the wonderful wildlife of the Spalding area.

If you saw my last column you will remember that I was talking about feeding birds in your garden.

I signed off by promising a few more hints to encourage more birds into your garden.

So with no further ado, let’s get started!

Now, if you were having friends around for dinner, you wouldn’t serve it on dirty plates, would you?

The same principle applies to feeding birds.

Pretty though they can be, often their table manners aren’t up to much.

Bits of food get dropped everywhere and they do sometimes, er, perform other natural activities shall we say?

Which means bird feeders and tables can get pretty mucky, a potent breeding ground for all sorts of nasty diseases.

Not good for you or the birds!

So every week or two, give everything a jolly good scrub with mild disinfectant.

That way, no upset tummies for anyone.

Talking of dropping food, sometimes the birds drop whole seeds, which then start growing in the spring.

Not always what you want in your neat garden.

To stop this happening, before you put it out, put the seed in a microwave and zap it for 30 seconds or so. It sterilises the seed, so no chance of it growing.

Finally, one reason people don’t feed birds is because they are worried of attracting other visitors.

Rats, mice and squirrels will eat birdfood.

But if you only put out enough to last the day, the first two shouldn’t bother you as they prefer the cover of darkness.

Or, to deter all three, mix some chilli powder in with the food.

They will hate the taste, but birds don’t mind it.

So there you go, some quick tips to encourage birds to feed in your garden this winter.

Give it a go, and let me know what you get!

by Dr Chris Andrews
RSPB Frampton Marsh