Feeding Birds in Autumn

Give your birds a helping hand by feeding them, especially in autumn and winter. As the days get shorter, colder and wetter they need a steady source of food to keep them healthy and have a better chance of making it through winter.

Attracting birds to your backyard buffet and regular feeding will help attract a wide range of autumn birds and keep them happily fed throughout the hard days of winter when their natural food stocks are low.

Information and Activities

About Feeding Birds

The RSPB know loads about how to feed birds, what and when to feed them.

Have a look at their Ways To Feed Birds and When To Feed Garden birds information.

You may also find this information used,

• What To Feed Birds
• Make A Recycled Bird Feeder
• Produce A Pine Cone Feeder

Reminder - About Keeping Bird Tables and Feeders Clean

Just like us birds can be prone to diseases, so it’s really important to keep your feeders and tables clean. Clean them regularly so birds with diseases don't pass them on to others, or so poop doesn’t mix with food, yeuch!

Autumn is a good time to clean your bird table and make sure it’s still in good order, with no sticky out nails etc.

Learn more by watching this video and reading Keep Your Bird Table Healthy and Hygiene and Maintenance on the RSPB web site.

Don’t bring feeders into the house to clean them, do it outside using separate utensils and wear gloves. Always wash your hands afterwards.

Should I supply drinking water for my garden birds?

It’s good to provide a regular supply of clean water for birds to drink and bathe in.

Water is particularly important during the winter when natural supplies may be frozen, and in dry weather. Shallow containers, like dustbin lids or plant saucers, work well, but make sure you clean them regularly to prevent diseases from spreading.

You can build your own by following the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Build a birdbath instructions.

What do wild birds eat and how their beaks tell you what they eat?

The shape of a bird's beak tells you what it eats. A sparrow crushes seeds with its short thick beak; a robin catches insects with its short thin beak; a snipe probes for worms with its long straight beak; and a sparrowhawk tears meat with its sharp hooked beak.

In autumn some birds like robins, song thrushes and blackbirds have to change what they eat. As most insects will have died off, they eat berries and seeds.

To find out more about how beaks really fit the bill, and learn a new skill, watch this short video.

Read more about the low down on beaks in Food, Glorious Food

Also See

Also see our Summer Programme, Spring Programme, Winter Programme and Autumn Programme

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