As Storm Éowyn makes weather grim across the UK, with some parts experiencing dangerously strong winds, we can’t help but think about the effects this is having on our wildlife.
While trains are being cancelled, roads closed, and people in certain areas being advised to stay indoors unless necessary, there are also the little ones visiting our gardens that we’ve got to think about.
It is likely that you will have some unusual visitors passing through your garden during frozen conditions and stormy weather.
Some birds, in a desperate attempt to find a meal, are often seen in gardens at these times.
Wagtails, blackcaps, redwings, fieldfares, waxwings, and siskins are all birds to look out for near your homes.
The best way to help garden birds in bad weather, according to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), is to help provide them shelter and water.
The RSPB said: “Providing shelter and access to water are also key things you can do to help the birds taking shelter amongst human habitations.
“A mix of food in feeders, on trays, and on the ground (in moderation) should give them the opportunity to get enough energy to keep them warm through the cold nights.”
Popular items you can provide include suet blocks, balls, and pellets, sunflower hearts, grated cheddar cheese, and porridge oats.
As the RSPB explains, birds work hard to adapt to harsh winters and tend to shift their range in order to find food and shelter.
Kingfishers will often head towards coastal areas in search of open water, while fieldfares and redwings travel to gardens to be more sheltered than in the wider countryside.
Other species like wildfowl shelter in place during bad weather. These types of birds often battle the elements where they are until things get better.
Prolonged frozen conditions can become extremely dangerous for wild birds as they burn energy just to keep warm. It becomes increasingly difficult for them to source food so they often team up and huddle together for warmth.
For those with ponds or bird baths, the RSPB suggests keeping the water ice-free.
Their website states: “If setting up a pump to keep the water moving or a solar sipper to warm the water are not options for you, the best thing to do is to float a ball in the water, this may stop it from freezing during the day, but overnight, when the temperature drops, it may still freeze. In the morning, remove the ball to leave a hole that may allow birds enough room to drink.”
Another way to help protect the birds in your garden this winter is by providing shelter boxes for them to keep warm.
You can add a handful of hay or wood shavings to the boxes. However, most birds will roost “quite happily” on the floor of nest boxes.
