Caring for birds this time of year
As autumn starts and temperatures drop and the leaves on the trees change we know autumn is here. Autumn is a great time to wrap up warm and get outdoors, before the weather gets really cold! It’s a time where you can really enjoy wildlife and see the change in season. This time of year is when most types of bird’s struggle, as temperatures drop they need more care from us. Feeding and water are essential for a bird’s survival and also an appropriate nesting place. It’s all about food, water and shelter gardens tend to have all three which makes them the ideal place for birds. But in the cold weather gardens can still become a challenging environment for birds. As water sources freeze over in the winter it takes birds more energy searching for places to have a drink. In the colder months a lot of birds die through starvation.
We encourage people to manage their gardens to provide a source of natural food, through well managed lawns, shrubs and flowerbeds. To help birds stay healthy at this time of year they may need a little help from us so it is important to put bird feed out regularly either in pinecones or log feeders. People can also buy bird boxes to give birds a warm dry place to rest. People can also make their own. Over the next few months here at WWT Martin Mere we will be showing people how to make pinecones and log feeders to provide birds with food during the winter periods. And also make bird boxes that they can take home with them for their garden. Here at Martin Mere we put more feed out for our birds during cold periods. Helping birds survive the struggle at this time of year will bring you a lot closer to wildlife.
