Although winter is seen as the most critical time for feeding birds, they do benefit from being fed all year round. In an ideal world your local environment would contain lots of natural bird food in the form of insects and seed heads, but birds can experience episodes of food shortage at any time of year, and often appreciate any supplementary food that is put out for them.
For our feeder we used our Rustic Willow Ball. It’s perfect for the birds to hold on to, is totally bio-degradable, and can be hung up high in a tree well away from our prowling cat and other predators.
Another great way to feed garden birds if you don’t have a conventional feeder, and want to feed the birds in the trees, is to fill the bark holes in tree trunks with softened suet or lard containing insects, meal worms and peanut granules. This method is appreciated by birds such as tree-creepers and woodpeckers.
If you want to bring the birds in closer to your house, why not try a window bird feeder. We made ours from an old cake pan and the birds love it!
32 comments
What could I use…????plastic bowl??…in the summer to just use seed to feed?
You could certainly use a bowl inside Pamela, as long as you leave some holes in the weave big enough for the birds to access it. If you try it send us a pic – I’d love to see how it works out 🙂