Ireland’s green-fingered bird watchers are getting ready for the Big Garden Birdwatch taking place around the country on 30 & 31 January (www.rspb.org.uk). For over thirty years now the RSPB in Northern Ireland has been asking gardeners to get out in their gardens and count the number of visitors arriving in an hour.
Of the 127,700 bird counted in Northern Ireland during 2014’s Birdwatch, house sparrows were the most commonly seen, in 66% of gardens. But gardeners also spied red kites, great spotted woodpeckers and peregrine falcons. Almost 6,500 children also took part in the Big Schools’ Birdwatch, reporting starlings as the most commonly-sighted birds followed by blackbirds and hooded crows.
Of course this year the unusually mild weather has meant plenty of food for birds so far – but with colder weather taking hold it’s time to get out the feeders again. There’s a huge selection of bird feeding stations at our garden centre here in Athlone including squirrel-proof feeders and bird baths too. Birds need high-energy foods in winter to replace the 40% of bodyweight they can lose overnight just trying to keep warm. Look out for peanuts, fat balls, seed mixes containing sunflower seeds and mealworms – all helping keep our feathered friends happy and healthy till spring.
