Winter is a very difficult time for garden birds. Indeed, during this cold season food becomes scarce: most insects enter a kind of hibernation called "diapause" and fruits are no longer common. Winter frost and snow do not improve the situation, quite the opposite! So if you want to help our feathered friends through this difficult period, nothing beats helping them to feed. Discover our illustrated tutorial to make step by step a pretty hanging seed treat for garden birds.
When to feed garden birds?
Start feeding wild birds at first signs of cold, around mid-November, and continue throughout winter until spring returns and insects reappear. Do not stop feeding abruptly during severe cold spells as you could disturb birds and harm their chances of survival. It is unnecessary to feed our feathered friends outside winter and early spring. They will then feed naturally on insects and help regulate those populations during the warmer season.
Some tips and rules to follow
- Choose as varied a seed mix for birds as possible to satisfy the largest number of species. You can add some sunflower seeds and peanuts.
- You can also pick in this season berries much appreciated by birds: Hips, Berberis, Holly and Hawthorn.
- Do not place your fat balls in filaments to avoid birds getting their feet trapped inside.
- Use only unsalted vegetable fat, such as margarine. Avoid animal fats, like lard, which are harmful to bird health.
- Remember to provide a water source. Tip: place a floating ball in the water to limit ice forming during frosts.
- Check seeds regularly to avoid any risk of mould.
- Do not use dry bread, rusks or pastry leftovers which can swell in poor animals’ stomachs and may cause death.
- Do not give salted seeds such as salted snack peanuts.
How to make a hanging seed treat for birds?
Required materials :
- Unsalted vegetable margarine
- A container to melt margarine in
- A seed mix for birds and some small berries
- Cups to hang
- Small wooden sticks
- A teaspoon for mixing
- Facultative: ribbon or string
Tip: If you do not have cups available or if Aunt Adélaïde’s best china is too precious for the garden, you can use silicone moulds, a small tin can, empty yoghurt pots, cookie cutters, a camembert box, a bowl — use your imagination!
Steps to make it :
1- Fill cups to three quarters with seed mixes;
2- In another container, melt the vegetable fat;
3- Pour liquid vegetable fat over the small seeds in the cups;
4- Mix the preparation well to distribute fat evenly around seeds;
5- Put the stick in the lower part of the cup. It will serve as perch for birds;
6- Place cups in fridge for at least 12 hours;
7- Facultative: hang a pretty ribbon on cup handle to suspend them or simply decorate.
Where to place hanging treats in garden?
- Certain bird species, such as starlings, sparrows, robins and thrushes like to peck food on ground. Others prefer height in trees and will appreciate suspended food, such as tits and finches. Place cups of seed both on ground and on branches of bushes.
- Place feeders in visible spots to attract small birds.
- Prefer multiple feeding points to avoid fights and to allow shy birds to feed.
- Keep seeds out of reach of predators or in an open spot.
- You can also place a feeder on a windowsill to watch wild birds with family.
For further reading :
- Find more ideas to feed garden birds in winter in Virginie’s article.
- Also discover our tutorial to make an orange bird feeder.
- What do garden birds eat? Discover our tips and advice to help them feed.
- If like Patrick you want to attract little feathered creatures, discover his tips in Olivier’s video: Birds in my garden
- Discover Olivier’s advice in this video on how to feed birds properly :
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