{"id":113278,"date":"2022-02-09T08:22:14","date_gmt":"2022-02-09T08:22:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/?p=113278"},"modified":"2022-02-17T13:06:49","modified_gmt":"2022-02-17T13:06:49","slug":"5-things-you-can-do-to-keep-native-birds-happy-in-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/garden\/michael-perry\/5-things-you-can-do-to-keep-native-birds-happy-in-winter\/","title":{"rendered":"5 things you can do to keep native birds happy in winter"},"content":{"rendered":"

We as humans like to complain about the cold in winter. However, while most of us have a warm home to return to at the end of the day and food readily available in the fridge, birds have a much harder time of it.<\/p>\n

The reality of UK bird life is that if there isn\u2019t enough food, and the freezing weather rages on for days at a time, deaths can occur, affecting local populations. However, it\u2019s actually possible to make a difference with small actions that will help birds survive these harsh conditions.<\/p>\n

So, how about making your garden a super bird-friendly place this winter? Doing a good deed for local wildlife can be a joy, as can spotting beautiful native species as they pop up in your garden throughout the season and beyond. Here are five tips for keeping birds happy in the winter.<\/p>\n

Put out high-energy bird food<\/strong><\/p>\n

Birds need lots of energy in winter to keep warm during the cold weather and fuel their search for more food. High energy bird food might include lard or suet, peanut butter, fruit, dried mealworms, and nuts such as sunflower seeds and chopped up peanuts. Grumpy Gardener<\/a> know a thing or two about quality feed!<\/p>\n\"\"\n

Created by a family of gardeners spanning three generations, the Grumpy Gardener range puts high-quality craftsmanship at the heart of every innovation. They know what they\u2019re doing when it comes to creating a bird-friendly garden, and they\u2019ve created an easy solution for gardeners and wildlife lovers who maybe don\u2019t have the time to make their own bird food.<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

This huge box of fat balls<\/a> has been specifically formulated to help provide nutrients for feathered friends. Give wild birds in your garden or outdoor space a real treat with this impressive Grumpy Gardener selection!<\/p>\n

Keep drinking and bathing water from freezing<\/strong><\/p>\n

It is easy to create reserves of drinking and bathing water for birds in your garden \u2013 you don\u2019t even need a bird bath! You can even turn a garden bin lid upside down, and either fill it with water or wait for the rain to collect.<\/p>\n

Keeping the water from freezing requires a little more creativity, but one easy tip is to place a lightweight ball (like a ping pong ball) in the water. The wind will blow it around on the surface, and the movement will help stop the water freezing.<\/p>\n

Create winter shelter\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Birds will often nest in dense hedges and bushes, such as hawthorn, to acquire shelter and food (in the form of berries and insects). Planting these in your garden will allow birds to use the plants as shelter in winter, but if you can\u2019t plant these, you could instead install a bird box, as long as it is placed in a location that is sheltered from wind, rain and harsh sun.<\/p>\n

Don’t tidy your garden too much\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, though a tidy garden may look nice, it doesn\u2019t offer much for wildlife. In a slightly messy garden, birds can find sticks, leaves and other debris to use for their nests, and there is more chance of finding insects to snack on.<\/p>\n

As proud gardeners, we like to have a presentable outdoor space. However, a little chaos isn\u2019t a bad thing and is beneficial for our feathered friends!<\/p>\n\"\"\n

Avoid feeding birds large chunks of bread<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bread should only be put out in your garden sparingly, as it doesn’t offer much nutrition to birds and can be difficult to digest in large quantities. If you have bread spare and you don\u2019t want to waste it, tear it up into very small chunks, and only use it if you are also putting out high-energy bird food.<\/p>\n

Don’t forget, you can care for your garden wildlife all year round with QVC\u2019s curated selection<\/a> of products.<\/p>\n

Until next time,<\/p>\n

Michael Perry X<\/p>\n

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We as humans like to complain about the cold in winter. However, while most of us have a warm home to return to at the end of the day and food readily available in the fridge, birds have a much harder time of it. The reality of UK bird life is that if there isn\u2019t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":113281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[286,289],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113278"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113278"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113278\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":113297,"href":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113278\/revisions\/113297"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}