Country birds move to gardens during big freeze

Armchair twitchers are being treated to an avian variety show as wild birds seek sanctuary from the rigours of the cold snap in people’s gardens.
Birds that usually keep themselves to the countryside or woodland are being driven into gardens in search of food to keep them alive.
Bird tables and feeders loaded with seeds, fats and fruit provide them with a lifeline when the rest of the landscape is frozen over.
Redwings and fieldfares are among the species most likely to take temporary refuge in gardens during the present freeze and other unusual guests include snipe, woodcock and
buntings.
Householders have been urged to ensure garden feeders are kept well-stocked with high energy bird food while the chill lasts.
Ornithologists at the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) were equally anxious that water should be provided for the birds.
So many ponds and lakes have frozen over that many birds are finding it difficult to get enough to drink. Householders were requested to break up ice for them rather than put
anything in, such as salt or anti-freeze, to keep it liquid.
The freeze has been so severe that conservation organisations called yesterday for walkers, anglers, ornithologists and water sports enthusiasts to take especial care to avoid
disturbing wetland birds.
Ducks, geese, swans and other waders are finding it so hard to find enough nourishment that being scared into taking flight, which eats into their energy reserves, could make the
difference between life and death.
The call was prompted because the freeze had lasted seven consecutive days. The last time such advice was triggered in England was in 1997. Scotland’s weather was last bad
enough to merits it in 2003. If freezing conditions persist for 14 consecutive days hunting of birds can be banned.
The longer the cold snap lasts the more wetland birds will move away from habitat in the east of Britain to find slightly warmer conditions in estuaries and lakes in the west of the
country.
Dr Andre Farrar, of the RSPB, said: “Even at a time when our climate is warming, we can still expect freezing conditions, but less frequently. Wildfowl and wading birds respond
to these icy blasts by moving further south and west.
“If the freeze continues, we can expect the warmer estuaries on our west coast - such as the Severn, Dee, Mersey, Ribble, Morecambe Bay and the Solway - to be especially important as birds escape the weather.”
Foods recommended for bird tables and lawns during the freeze include fruits, high energy seed mixes, bacon rind, stale cakes and mince pies. Spreading cheese, peanut butter
and lard into fence panels and tree bark is good for shier birds, while turning over compost heaps helps insect eaters.

Picture: Wideon grazing; Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com)

Comments

[Will]

For those who are unfamiliar with global warming- Colder winters and hotter summers are to be expected. Essentially the weather is going to get more extreme on both ends, so an above average frost is right in line with global warming effects.

[Frank Upton]

It is touching to see such simple faith, in this case in global warming, but "when the facts change, I change my opinions. What do you do?"

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[David]

“Even at a time when our climate is warming" - Quoted from the above article

Did you not see that the world actually cooled this year, rather than warmed?

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2008/02/19/january-2008-4-sources-say-globally-cooler-in-the-past-12-months/

And that over a longer period of time than most people are willing to look at, the earth has been consistently cooling, not warming.

http://www.worldclimatereport.com/index.php/2008/02/04/1500-years-of-cooling-in-the-arctic/

Please get your facts correct before writing them down.