Feeding garden birds in summer

BBC Gardeners' World Magazine

Published: Wednesday, 24 July 2019 at 3:38 pm

Birds need our help in summer months, to raise their young and keep their own energy levels topped up. Find out how, with the help of our guide.

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Feeding birds used to be a winter activity, but birds need our help in the summer months too, to ensure they have energy enough to survive leaner times ahead.

Following the spring and early summer breeding season, there are millions more hungry mouths to feed. Nesting parents will have to work hard to feed their young, while maintaining their own energy levels. They may have to cope with dry weather, when earthworms burrow deep beneath the surface; or in wet weather, when foraging is difficult.

Just as in winter, providing natural food sources through the plants we grow is the key to summer feeding - in summer, insects are vital for our birds, with healthy garden ecosystems that are high in insect populations creating great feeding grounds. High-energy food and live supplementary food is also recommended, to add to the food they can find in the wild. And it's vital to clean bird feeders at least once a week, following good hygiene practices, to avoid passing on diseases.

Find out more about which foods to feed your garden birds, below.

Want to grow your own bird food? Discover seven plants with seeds and 10 berried plants.

See latest advice from the RSPB on feeding garden birds

Mealworms

Mealworms are the perfect summer dietary supplement. Lives ones are best but a dried alternative is available. Ensure they are not accessible by hedgehogs as they can cause disease and death.

Discover more foods suitable for the range of birds in your garden.

Dried mealworms

A handful of dried mealworms

Fruit and other leftovers

Fruit like raisins, sultanas, apples or pears are an excellent source of energy. Leave on the ground for ground-feeding birds, or suspend from a tree for others. Leftovers like cooked pasta and rice are high in energy, as is rind from unsalted meat or cooked veg. Avoid salty food or bread.

Apple threaded on wire to hang for birds

Threading an apple onto wire to hang for birds

Avoid fatty foods

It's best to avoid foods that might melt in hot weather, such as products containing lots of fat. Fat balls may become rancid after a time, so are best avoided too.

Hanging up home-made fat cake

Hanging up a homemade fat ball

Kate Bradbury says

When feeding birds, make sure there is plenty of shelter, such as a hedge, nearby, so birds can fly to safety if they need to. Clean feeders and move feeding stations regularly, to prevent the build up of bacteria.

Kate Bradbury

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