Feeding the Birds - Advice from Bill

Winter Feeding

I suppose you could say that winter is the traditional time to feed the birds.  The habit was no doubt first born way back when we had "proper winters". I have visions of frozen rivers and deep snow, and Victorian ladies in mufflers, holding out handfuls of seed to the hungry Robins and Sparrows. I guess things have changed a bit since then. We rarely have the hard weather of yesteryear, and whilst the Robins seem to be doing o.k , the House Sparrows have certainly declined. So too have many other species. Why? Well, whatever the truth about the "usual suspects" - modern farming, air pollution, habitat loss etc etc - one thing is for certain, it is ’not“ because we no longer feed the birds.

I truly regard the increase in bird feeding as a genuine and very important ray of hope on what is too often a gloomy horizen. Gardens, back yards, even window boxes are undoubtedly of increasing importance to birds. They constitute one of the few habitats that is is generally improving and providing a home for some of the many threatened species that are finding the countryside less than hospitable.

This winter may not be harsh (or maybe it will be!) but it will still be the time that bird feeding seems to come to some sort of climax. It is the time when the greatest variety of species visit the feeders. The time when something really unusual may turn up on a bird table. And the time when the birds become just that little bit tamer and more confiding.

They need us, and I'd venture to say that we need them.