In order to replenish the energy spent on active flight and keep the required amount of heat, the small forest bird should eat at least five times a day. Man-made feeders can help the birds get the amount of food they need to support them.
The popular expression “eat like a bird” means that you need to eat not a little, but a little, but often. According to ornithologists' estimates, the total amount of food eaten per day by one bird should be at least 30-50% of its own weight. Moreover, the smaller the bird, the more food it needs to replenish its energy consumption and maintain heat transfer. It is very difficult for forest, field and meadow chippers to get so many grains and insects. They especially need feeding in the cold winter time and during the nesting period.
There are more than 180 ideas and life hacks with which you can make simple devices for birds. The variety in the organization of poultry catering is great - from light fast food to a real restaurant. But whichever version of the feeder you would not choose, the main thing is to follow the basic rules for feeding small birds.
Poultry catering rules
First of all, the feeding place for small birds should be organized so that it is not ravaged by a cat climbing a tree, and is not attacked by crows and pigeons. It is important to ensure that the trough is not overfilled (it is better to add a new one as the feed is pecked). Then the leftovers will not deteriorate, will not turn rancid and will not grow moldy. The main task is not to allow the feeder to be empty. Birds remember feeding points well and will "helicopter" around the feeding place hoping for your help.
Small size. No sharp edges or protrusions. Strong mount. Very light and mobile structures should not be made (not all types of birds can peck, swinging on branches). Try to avoid details of bright red as it scares off birds.
The bird will not be able to reach the grain if there is no convenient stick for landing or the hole in the feeder is incorrectly cut. She will have to be content with only what has fallen down. And only a sparrow can find food in the snow or peck from the ground.
A roof and side walls are needed so that the food is not covered with snow or carried away by the wind.
It is advisable to place the feeder in a quiet and not very crowded place. And of course, taking into account the flight altitude - not very close to the ground, but also not on the top floor of the high-rise.
Universal food for most little flyers - sunflower seeds, oatmeal or flakes, millet, wheat. An absolute contraindication is millet and fresh bread, especially black bread. Under the ban - salty, sour and fried, as well as leftovers from your table. It is good to add various types of seeds (pumpkin, watermelon), nuts (it turns out, titmouses are very fond of walnuts), dried berries (cranberries, currants, bird cherry, hawthorn, raspberries) to the treats. In winter, lard and fat are the main components of top dressing.
Edible feeder
The main advantage of the feeder, which does not require building materials, is the availability of feed - any birds can eat from it. The simplest thing is to string the pieces of food (dried fruit, bacon, nuts) on a string or put them on a tray. You can put lumps made from white bread soaked in water in a plastic or metal mesh with large cells. It must be squeezed out and mixed with nuts, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds. The made balls or cakes should be dried before packing in a net.
But a real edible feeder will turn out if you fill a container made of pumpkin, coconut, orange, apple with food.
:
one. Prepare a crumb-grain mixture from bulk bird feed and mix it with a specially prepared thickener. Form a treat of a certain shape from this mass and let it freeze by freezing a thread for hanging into it.
:
- fat-based. Heat 200 g of animal fat, add 1 tbsp. l. vegetable oil, add 300 g of grain mixture. Make molds of the desired size and freeze. Instead of fat, you can use melted unsalted lard, hard coconut oil, or margarine;
- with gelatin. Dissolve a little gelatin in a quarter of a cup of water and, heating, prepare the base, like in jelly. After cooling, add three quarters of a cup of the cereal mixture. Pour the resulting mass into molds, set to freeze. A thicker gelling base, prepared on 1 sachet of gelatin, 3 tbsp. l. sugar syrup and a quarter cup of flour, designed for 4 cups of a crumb-grain mixture.
The mass prepared by one of the above methods can be poured into molds in the form of figures, frozen in small cups, balls or bags. The resulting delicacies are freely suspended by threads frozen in them on tree branches, in various places and at any height.
2. The dry grain mixture is easy to apply with the help of "edible glue" to the base. For example, take tubs of tissue paper or toilet paper rolls. You can also use large cones from conifers.
:
- flour paste. In a small amount of water, dilute 2 tbsp. l. flour and leave to infuse for 10-15 minutes. Pour the resulting solution into half a glass of water brought to a boil and brew. As soon as it starts to boil, turn it off and let it cool. Apply the paste to the base, dip in the grain mixture and leave to dry;
- honey syrup. Stir 2 tbsp. l. oatmeal, a little flour and 1 egg, add 1 tsp. gooey honey and let it swell for half an hour. Lubricate the base with the obtained molasses, sprinkle with the grain mixture and refrigerate to harden.
Materials for making feeders
Not everyone who wants to feed the birds will go to the pet store to buy ready-made stationary devices for birds or start making a wooden feeder on their own. Using improvised means and unnecessary things available on the farm, you can make a hand made that will suit most of your winged guests.
A small overview of the types of materials used for the manufacture of feeders (with illustrations in the photo) can be presented in the form of the following list:
1. Plastic containers. From cans, eggplants and bottles to buckets and glasses. From filling containers to instant noodle trays and shampoo bottles.
2. Cardboard packaging. Tetra packets for milk and juice; boxes from sweets, New Year's gifts and shoes; egg cells.
3. Children's plastic toys. Skittles, bricks, extra Lego pieces, ice cream sticks.
4. Ceramic dishes. Leftover from the broken service or "chipped" cups, saucers, sugar bowls, teapots.
5. Kitchen utensils. Metal whisk, cupcake mold, tin can, thermo napkin.
The choice of the material and design of the feeder depends on where it is supposed to place the supplementary feeding point for feathered friends: on the branches of the trees of the summer cottage; near a manor house or in a city park; on the window of an apartment or balcony of a high-rise building.
The most frequent guests at the feeder for small birds in the city, of course, are titmouses and blue tit, as well as sparrows (both yard and field). In garden plantings, delicacies hung on trees will attract countless forest, field and meadow small birds. You will see finches, wagtails, warblers, pikas, robins, nuts and even rare species, the existence of which is known only to ornithologists.
