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Why feed birds in the summer?

I am a real animal lover. Hubby may have it a little less than me, but he also appreciates animals. Especially when it comes to birds, he has a soft spot for that. We now have significantly more birds in the garden than in our previous house and we do our best to recognize all garden birds. Just last week there was a great spotted woodpecker in the front yard. Nice dude, a beautiful animal. In our previous house we were already busy feeding the birds. There is nothing more fun than seeing all those critters flying around and eating, but it is also very necessary to feed the garden birds, and not just in winter!

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Feeding birds in the garden in the summer

We moved to our beautiful new house outside the built-up area at the perfect time. The weather has been wonderful for weeks and we enjoy our garden every day. Especially of all the birds and butterflies that dwell in our garden. It is so nice to sit under the veranda in the morning with a cup of coffee and watch the birds in the garden in peace. But I never knew that you also have to take care of your garden birds in the summer. Nevertheless, it appears to be important to continue feeding the birds in the summer.

And I just assume I'm not the only one who didn't know that. That is why I thought that a blog about it is not a superfluous luxury. Are you also such an animal lover, then read on!

Why supplemental feeding is also important in summer (and spring)

I always thought 'in the past' that supplementary feeding of the birds in your garden was not allowed in the summer. I was always told that the garden birds would then become too lazy and dependent on the food we gave them. But now it appears that things are different, I understand from the information that Vivara  provides in her inspiration guide for garden birds and other animals in your garden. So in addition to making seed bombs to lend nature a hand, we will also feed the birds in the summer.

In the spring a lot of young birds have arrived that have to become independent in the summer and learn to take care of themselves. To help these young birds to become strong enough for the autumn and winter, it is important to also feed in the summer. By feeding the garden birds, they get enough energy to cope with the shorter days. The birds that start their migration after the summer can also use the bird food to build up energy.

Additional feeding in the spring is also important to help the new moms and dads a hand while feeding their litter. The garden birds are still weakened in the spring by the winter they have had, but they have to get back to building a nest and raising young birds. They can therefore use protein and energy-rich food.

Read much more information on the Vivara website.

Feed silos in the garden for the birds

We started with two beautiful large silos in the garden to make it possible to feed the birds. They hang in our tree, because I don't want them too close to the ground because of our dog and cat, who of course also scurry through the garden. The cat could climb the tree, but because there are few shrubs around it, she is immediately spotted by the birds, so I think this is a great place.

Despite the fact that it can take a few weeks before new food spots are visited by the garden birds, we have already seen some birds. I opted for a long feed silo with a plastic tray underneath. This is where all the shells of the seeds fall in so that the grass below does not get full of weeds. The small silo (at the front in the photo) does not have a plastic tray, but it contains food without peels, so that is not necessary.

I have selected the bird food that we now have for the garden birds from a series of garden birds that we have already seen in the garden, such as different types of tits and robins.

Now we only have to put up our bird houses again and maybe make a nice bathing plateau in the pond and the garden is once again completely suitable to offer all garden birds a place.

Feeding other garden animals

When our garden is ready for birding, we will take another look at what else we can do for nature. We also already have an insect hotel, but at Vivara I also saw special houses and special food for squirrels (how nice would that be), bat boxes and hedgehog houses. Super fun to do something with that towards autumn.

Did you know that feeding birds in your garden in the summer is also important? And what do you have in the garden for the garden animals?