A hard frost is a matter of life and death for small birds, which can lose a tenth of their body weight on a single freezing night. A well-stocked feeder turns the garden into a lifeline, and brings it to life on the dreariest mornings.
What to put out
High-energy foods help birds through the long cold nights. A varied menu draws a wider range of visitors than one type alone.
- Sunflower hearts and peanuts for tits and finches.
- Fat balls and suet for wrens, robins and woodpeckers.
- Windfall apples and mealworms for blackbirds and thrushes.
Don't forget water
Birds need to drink and bathe even in freezing weather, and natural sources freeze over. A shallow dish of water, broken free of ice each morning, can matter as much as the food. A floating cork or ball helps keep a patch ice-free.
Keep feeders clean
Dirty feeders spread disease quickly when birds gather in numbers. Wash them every couple of weeks, move feeding stations around the garden now and then, and clear up spilt seed that can attract rats.
Be reliable
Once birds come to rely on your garden, they build it into their daily round, so keep the feeders topped up through the worst of the weather rather than starting and stopping. A little kept up every day is worth more than a feast once a week.