Bird seed

The house martin’s undercarriage is completely white with a dusky beige-brown on the bottom of the wings.The tops of the wings are noticeably streaked with black.House martins are insectivores and as such are not likely to be attracted to gardens via the provision of wild bird seed mixes and fat products, though this doesn’t mean that they are that hard to attract.The best way to attract house martins to your garden and general area is by providing them with a home.If you do manage to acquire a pair of house martin residents they are likely to keep you entertained for hours with their aerial acrobatics.House martins will not nest in conventional nest boxes because their natural mud nests quite closely resemble a semicircle, nest boxes of this shape are ideal when trying to obtain them as residents and are available from most wild bird retailers.One of the easiest ways to identify a swallow is by looking at its tail which really stands out when in flight.The forked tail of the swallow is so exaggerated that it appears to have a long pointed streamer on either side.The plumage of an adult swallow consists mainly of three colours white, red and blue.Its underside is mainly white with blue on its tail and towards the back of its wings.It has a dark blue head with a red beard and cap, and its back and the top of its wings are predominantly dark blue in colour.Juvenile swallows have markings that are very similar to those of the adults, though there are some differences with the juvenile having a lighter shade of blue in its plumage and a paler orange beard and cap.Swallows are not often seen in British gardens but can frequently be seen above them.This is because they are accustomed to catching small insects in flight.This in turn makes them uninterested in conventional bird food, giving them little reason to visit summer gardens.A good way to attract swallows in to your area is by planting flowers that attract and sustain a wide variety of flying insects.It is easily identified by its forked tail which resembles scissor blades and its broad pointed wings.When seen in flight the swift appears to be black in colour but on closer inspection its plumage is a mixture of brown, black, white and cream.The only part of a swift that has one stand-out colour is its chin.The chin is a pale creamy beige patch on an otherwise dark plumage with tiny specks of light brown creating a mottled effect.It is not often that you will see a lone swift as they tend to travel in flocks, occasionally separating to catch insects in flight.Swifts seen in denser populations are usually in the south of Britain though they are a relatively common sight UK-wide.They migrate south in the winter with the majority wintering in Africa.The optimum time of day to spot a flock of swifts is at dusk, when they are hunting for flying insects.I am guessing you are here because, like me you want to know what you can feed wild birds from your kitchen and which kitchen scraps are going to be good for the birds.There are so many questions I had before doing this research; canbirdseat raisins and sultanas? Can birds drink milk?Below is a list of suggested things you can feed to the birds in your garden, that can be good for them, instead of throwing them in the bin.Of course, you might want to just feed the birds food from your kitchen instead of buying seed.Fats are good for birds and I have found trimming of beef fat and bacon rind are very successful on my feeders.Try to AVOID LONG STRINGY CUTS OF FAT if using bacon rind or similar, as longer stringier cuts could be a choking hazard for a smaller bird or young chick.The reason that harder fats are better is because softer fats will stick to a birds beak and when they preen themselves the fat can also get stuck in their feathers.Also, remember that BIRDS ARE UNABLE TO DIGEST SALT , especially in large quantities.Try to only USE THE FAT FROM UNSALTED CUTS OF MEAT.Bacon, for example is salted during the curing process and the rind can contain a lot of salt.As long as the meat is not salted it will be fine to put out.I usually find that CHEESE IS A PARTICULAR FAVOURITE OF ROBINS AND BLACKBIRDS that I see in my garden.Use milder cheese instead of stronger cheese and either cut into tiny pieces or grate it, as this will be the ideal size for smaller birds.I have no fruit tress in my garden but if you do, why not collect some fallen fruit, cut it into small pieces and load it into a feeder?Other fruits that are popular with birds include berries, raisins, bananas and grapes; pretty much most fresh fruit.The SEEDS FROM OTHER FRUITS, SUCH AS PUMPKINS AND WATERMELONS ARE ALSO A HIT WITH THE BIRDS.If you have dried fruits, like sultanas or raisins it is a good idea to soak them in the summer months.Grapes can be toxic to dogs, for example and you need to think about where the food it going to be left, avoiding the ground if possible.Most baked goods go down well with birds; bread, cake, biscuits, crackers and more.Again, the important thing is to CRUMBLE THEM OR CUT THEM INTO SMALL PIECES.If you only have bread that is dry you can soak it in water first, before taking it to the feeder.SMALLER IS BETTER as larger chunks of dried bread could choke a small chick.Bread is not an overly nutritious food for birds and will not provide them with the required vitamins, fat or protein.Use old breaded products but DONT MAKE IT A REGULAR THING , as it will not help the birds get a healthy and varied diet.Canbirdseat porridge oats? Yes they can but ONLY PUT OUT DRY OATS, NOT COOKED OATS.The main reason for this is because cooked oats can congeal around a birds beak and cause difficulties in feeding.You may want to avoid putting out porridge oats in wet weather.Both brown and white rice are suitable for bird feeders but ONLY USE COOKED RICE as this is better for attracting smaller birds.Uncooked rice is favoured by much bigger birds like Pigeons and Pheasants.Make sure there was NO ADDED SALT while the rice was cooking.Like us, birds need a variety in their diet to stay healthy and pasta is a good source of carbohydrate.As with rice, cooked is best so ONLY PUT OUT COOKED PASTA.It is a good idea to wash the pasta if it was made with a sauce, although a lighter sauce could add some flavour the birds will like.