Don’t stop feeding this spring” say birding experts as critical need revealed
Leading pet food industry association, UK Pet Food has partnered with experts to urge Brits not to stop feeding birds this spring, as new findings reveal that bird feeding in UK gardens drops in the spring and summer.
The plea comes after a recent survey revealed that not only do nearly half (46%) of Brits not partake in any form of bird feeding, but that whilst 60% of bird feeders do this most during the winter, this drops off in the spring and summer to 52% and 50% respectively.
Leading ornithologist, environmental activist, and birding expert Dr Mya-Rose Craig has joined UK Pet Food to encourage Brits to keep up with bird feeding throughout spring, stressing the importance of supporting birds as they enter their critical breeding, nesting, and hatching period.
Dr Mya-Rose, best-selling author of ''Bird Gitl' and resident expert on the podcast ‘Get Birding’, said: “Our much beloved bird populations in the UK are in decline, and a lot of this is because they are losing their habitats and food sources.
“Bird feeding is a way to help our garden birds. They are naturally very good at predicting the changing of the seasons and the weather in order to perfectly time things such as migration, nest building, moulting, and breeding. However, it is becoming more difficult for birds to understand the increasingly unreliable seasons, and bird feeding is a way to support them through this.”
UK Pet Food’s survey of over 2000* Brits also uncovered a variety of motivators for the 52% of people that do partake in bird feeding as 70% said they do so because they enjoy seeing the birds in their outdoor space.
What’s more, 57% feel it’s important to play their part in supporting local wildlife and 46% said they feed to help birds due to less natural food and resources being available to wild birds in the UK. 13% said they do it because its tradition and their family always have done.
Michael Bellingham, CEO of UK Pet Food said: “Whilst it’s brilliant to see so many people engaging in garden bird feeding – a staple of British culture – we’d love to see even higher figures and more importantly, less drop off as the weather gets warmer.
“Of course, supporting our wild birds during the winter, when the weather is colder and food sources are in a lesser supply, is crucial. However, it’s just as important to support local wildlife during critical stages of their life cycle – breeding, nesting, and hatching.
“This campaign is all about raising awareness of this year-round need and encouraging bird feeding throughout the warmer months of the year.”
Dr Mya-Rose added: “The cold weather, short days, and lack of food we experience in winter mean that more people understand the need to feed birds, and when we reach spring, it is easy to think that life has gotten easier for birds.
“In reality, spring and summer are also really hard work for our birds: they need endless amounts of energy during breeding season as they build their nest and feed their young, and then when that is all over, they go through a moult and regrow all of their feathers which also uses massive amounts of energy.”
How can we encourage more birds in our gardens this spring and summer? Dr Mya-Rose’s top tip:
“Having lots of small classic bird feeders hanging around different parts of the garden, along with a very small amount of food scattered on the ground is a great start.
High energy food is always good for birds, but remember different birds eat different foods. Consider a range of foods; seeds, peanuts, fats, and mealworms, remembering that this doesn’t replace their natural diet, but supplements it in order to help them.
Meat-based products such as suet and insects such as mealworms and calciworms are excellent for female breeding birds, so it is recommended that these continue to be fed in summer."
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Whilst UK Pet Food is calling for an uptake in bird feeding throughout spring, the association is also urging Brits to practice this responsibly to mitigate the risk of disease and safely support our local wildlife. This includes:
- Keeping bird feeders clean and washing them regularly, ideally once a week
- Use clean chlorinated tap water to fill your bird bath daily and aiming to clean this daily
- Having more feeders helps spread out the birds in your garden, avoiding competition between birds for food and the disease risk if too many birds try and feed in a small area
- Try to avoid flat surface feeders as there’s a higher risk of disease spreading on flat surfaces, where contaminated food can collect for other birds to eat
- Locate feeders several meters from cover and move location regularly to ensure good hygiene
- Keeping food dry is one on the most important ways to avoid the risks at feeder so use well-designed feeders and ideally only put out enough food for a few days to ensure it remains dry and healthy
- Leaving out the right amount of food and sweeping the ground as often as possible
- Considering the location of your feeders in outdoor spaces
- Trying to avoid putting large amounts of food directly on the ground as although good for birds it can attract pests
- Remembering your own personal hygiene is important too, always wash your hands after handling feeder or food
Dr Mya-Rose Craig added: “The most important thing when feeding birds is to make sure that your feeders are clean! Disease can spread easily when dirty feeders are out because you have a stream of birds perching in one another's poo while accessing the food. Washing your feeders regularly and moving them around your garden will make it safer and healthier for the birds to feed in your garden.
“You must also be careful with what foods you are putting out. Larger foods such as peanuts cannot be left out for the birds once breeding season begins as there is a risk that an adult will take it back to the nest, creating a risk of choking for their chick. To avoid this, these products should be fed through a mesh feeder. And there are many other options that don't pose the same risk such as sunflower hearts, suet pellets, fat balls or mealworms.”
As part of its plea to keep Britain feeding, UK Pet Food has also partnered with Dr Stuart Whomsley, Clinical Psychologist and member of the British Psychological Society, to reveal the mental health and wellbeing benefits associated with garden bird feeding. Dr Stuart said: “Birds in the garden can help in reducing stress, by directing a person’s thoughts away from their own worries. They can develop a person’s sense of curiosity as they try and make sense in what the birds are doing and what they will do next.
“Watching and listening to birds in the garden brings a connection to Nature which has been shown repeatedly to be beneficial for physical and mental health. The aesthetics of the song of some garden birds can also create positive emotions in a similar way to pleasurable music.”
Dr Mya-Rose shared her own experience: “Feeding birds can be as rewarding for you as it is for them. For me, I feel that birds are my connection point to nature, even when living in urban areas, and to feed them helps me to stay grounded. To see birds flying around outside my home is wonderful and has a great impact on my mental health.”
Findings from the survey also revealed that whilst garden birds are clearly beneficial to our mental health, just under one in 10 people (8%) don’t have any outdoor space and are limited in the ability to engage in bird feeding.
Dr Mya-rose Craig shared her tips on how to support local wildlife without access to a garden: “Even if you don't have a garden, there are always ways to support the nature around you with window feeders and water stations.
“If you have plant boxes outside your window then you could take the opportunity to plant native species. A blank wall is a blank slate: you can put up bird boxes, if you're high up then swift bricks or Martin nest boxes would work, bat boxes, or even an insect hotel can all help to feed our wild birds.”
To find out more about UK Pet Food, head to: Find out more about feeding wild birds