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Without birds, a garden is not complete – why it is important to feed them in winter 

1. Octo­ber 2022 

Win­ter brings many challen­ges for natu­re. Ani­mals have to cope with a lack of food and drin­king water in the most dif­ficult mon­ths. If you are inte­res­ted in natu­re and want to do some­thing use­ful, one of the best things you can do is feed the birds in the gar­den. Fee­ding birds in your gar­den in win­ter has many bene­fits, inclu­ding hel­ping birds sur­vi­ve throu­gh the dif­ficult win­ter mon­ths, pro­mo­ting bio­di­ver­si­ty and impro­ving your relati­on­ship with natu­re. Fee­ding birds can also be a fun and cal­ming acti­vi­ty for the who­le family.

Providing food in times of shortage

The win­ter peri­od itself can be challen­ging for birds, espe­ci­ally if natu­ral food sour­ces are cove­red with snow or fro­zen. As a result, many birds expe­ri­en­ce food shor­tages, which can lead to seri­ous pro­blems such as wei­ght loss, wea­ke­ned immu­ni­ty and, in extre­me cases, death.

Fee­ding birds in the gar­den in win­ter can be a cru­cial help in such cases. When we offer birds food, we impro­ve the­ir access to suf­fi­ci­ent nutri­ti­on, the­re­by hel­ping to stren­gthen the­ir bodies and impro­ve the­ir immu­ni­ty. Espe­ci­ally for spe­cies that do not migra­te sou­th, the amount of food avai­la­ble in win­ter is cri­ti­cal to the­ir survival.

Fee­ding birds can also help birds suc­ce­ed in com­pe­ti­ti­on for limi­ted food resour­ces. When we pro­vi­de enou­gh food in the gar­den, birds can avo­id com­pe­ti­ti­on for other food sour­ces, such as seeds in natu­re, and can thus have a bet­ter chan­ce of survival.

In addi­ti­on, when birds get in good sha­pe during the win­ter sea­son thanks to enou­gh food, they can be in bet­ter sha­pe to sur­vi­ve during the spring and sum­mer peri­ods. This can have a posi­ti­ve impact on the ove­rall bird popu­lati­on, which is impor­tant for the pro­tecti­on and main­te­nan­ce of the natu­ral ecosystem.

As birds are an impor­tant part of the natu­ral envi­ron­ment and inclu­de a wide vari­e­ty of spe­cies with dif­fe­rent needs, pro­vi­ding dif­fe­rent types of feed for birds can be impor­tant for the­ir sur­vi­val. The dif­fe­rent types of food we can offer birds inclu­de seeds, nuts, fru­its, fats and meat.

Promoting biodiversity

One of the main rea­sons why it is good to feed birds in the gar­den in win­ter is to pre­ser­ve bio­di­ver­si­ty. By pro­vi­ding birds with food and water, we can attract many dif­fe­rent spe­cies of birds that might otherwi­se stru­g­gle to find enou­gh food during peri­ods when food resour­ces are limited.

A gar­den rich in bio­di­ver­si­ty is bene­fi­cial for the enti­re eco­sys­tem and has a posi­ti­ve impact on the envi­ron­ment. Birds are impor­tant pol­li­na­tors and can help keep a gar­den fit. In addi­ti­on, when birds con­su­me insects and other small orga­nisms, they can help regu­la­te pest popu­lati­ons and impro­ve plant health.

Ano­ther advan­tage of fee­ding birds in win­ter is that we can attract bird spe­cies that might otherwi­se be endan­ge­red or rare. If we pro­vi­de sui­table con­di­ti­ons and enou­gh food in our gar­den, we can attract bird spe­cies that are less com­mon and may be endangered.

Ove­rall, fee­ding birds in the gar­den in win­ter can have a posi­ti­ve impact on bio­di­ver­si­ty and help main­ta­in balan­ce in the ecosystem.

Entertainment and watching

Fee­ding birds in the gar­den in win­ter can be not only use­ful, but also fun. Pro­vi­ding food and water can attract many dif­fe­rent spe­cies of birds, which can be fas­ci­na­ting and inte­res­ting for bir­dwatchers. Thanks to this, we can spend hours watching birds, obser­ving the­ir beha­vi­or and lear­ning about them.

For many peo­ple, watching birds in the gar­den in win­ter is a popu­lar acti­vi­ty that can be fun for the who­le fami­ly as well. Fee­ding birds can also help chil­dren learn about natu­re and what spe­cies of birds live in our area. It’s a gre­at way to com­bi­ne fun with learning.

In addi­ti­on, bird watching can be a cal­ming and rela­xing acti­vi­ty that hel­ps redu­ce stress and anxi­e­ty. Sim­ply watching birds enjoy food and water can be very the­ra­pe­u­tic and cal­ming for many people.

So, ove­rall, fee­ding birds in the gar­den in win­ter can be not only use­ful for birds, but also fun and posi­ti­ve for peo­ple. It hel­ps to cre­a­te a con­necti­on with natu­re and learn more about the birds in our area.