Status: 18.12.2023, 19:14 PM
By: Denise Dörries
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Winter is here – now it's time to set up birdseed in your home gardens. We give tips on what to look out for when feeding in winter.
Kassel – A special natural spectacle takes place in the gardens at home in winter. This is when bird species that stay in Germany during the cold season go in search of food. The Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) has now published tips on how to attract birds to your home garden.
Bird feeding at the house is controversial because, according to experts from Geo magazine, it would attract only about 15 species. These include, thrushes, robins and finches. Since their population is not threatened, winter feeding in the home garden does not help endangered species. Nevertheless, the songbirds that do not migrate south need a sufficient layer of fat to survive the winter temperatures.
Songbirds do not fly south in winter. For this reason, the birds in the home garden should be fed with fatty food. © IMAGO / HOFER
Feeding birds the right way – here's how it works
Typically, feeding is done in winter from November to the end of February. Especially in frost or snow, it is common for many birds to accept the food offer and the chance to observe birds in the home garden is greater. However, there are a few things to consider when feeding. On the one hand, it makes sense to use feeders, as then the birds cannot walk around in their own food and diseases are avoided. In the case of feed silos, care must also be taken to ensure that the feed does not get wet in the rain or snow, otherwise it can spoil quickly.
If conventional bird feeders are used, they should be cleaned regularly with hot water. In order to attract as many birds as possible to the garden, the bird seed should be placed in a clear place. Ideally, trees or bushes should be nearby so that the songbirds can quickly find shelter from possible attackers, such as cats.
Why do birds need high-fat food?
Especially in the cold months, fatty food is very important for the birds. In order to get through the winter, the animals eat a layer of fat. The feed mixtures, which contain high-fat ingredients, are mainly used for this purpose. The songbirds mainly eat a layer of fat in order not to freeze to death in the cold winter months and to have enough energy to produce sufficient heat. They need to maintain their body temperature of around 40 degrees Celsius.
It has to be high in fat: Which food attracts the birds
Sunflower seeds are eaten by almost all bird species, so they are best suited as basic food. According to NABU, the most common birds at the feeder in the home garden are, finches and sparrows. These are grain eaters, but soft food eaters also stay in Germany during the winter. These include, for example, robins, blackbirds, juniper thrushes and wrens. Raisins, oatmeal and bran are suitable for them. Another tip: For the songbirds that prefer soft food, the feeder should be set up close to the ground.
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dumplings, a mixture of seeds and fat, are particularly popular with their namesakes, the. These can also be homemade. In the case of purchased dumplings, care should be taken not to hang them in the plastic net, otherwise the small passerines can get tangled and injured.
In order to avoid the plastic nets around dumplings, which are dangerous for the animals, they can easily be made by yourself. This is especially helpful for feeding birds in the home garden in winter. © imagebroker/Imago
Wheat grains and bacon: what to look out for in winter feeding
When buying bird seed, care should be taken to ensure that the food does not consist of large amounts of wheat grains. The wheat grains are only eaten by the songbirds when they can no longer find any other grains. They usually sort out the grains, which leads to bird food on the ground. In addition, the animals do not have the same eating habits as humans, for this reason food leftovers should not be fed, including bacon and boiled potatoes. Birds also do not tolerate bread, as it swells in the stomach.
In addition, care should be taken to ensure that no bird seed falls on the ground. Grains lying on the ground in the home garden can attract uninvited guests, such as rats. To avoid this, the food should be placed in places where rats cannot reach and food scraps that have fallen down should be removed daily.
A blue eats from a homemade birdseed bomb. For this purpose, half a coconut shell was filled with a fat-seed mixture and hung on a branch. © Roland Weihrauch/dpa/dpa-tmn
Birdseed in the garden: what happens when winter is over?
As soon as the icy temperatures subside, bird feeding in the garden should also be interrupted. A rule of thumb among bird experts is that feeding can be done until the end of February. NABU also strongly recommends that feeding be stopped in the period from April to July. Then the young feeding season begins and the usual winter food can be harmful to the young animals, as they can, for example, choke on large pieces or not digest the fatty food properly. The chicks are fed protein-rich insects by their parents. (Denise Dörries)