The big freeze will have a very catastrophic affect on birds who will not be able to find any food to eat. Some areas have been snow covered for weeks forcing birds to move temporarily.
It wont kill you to put some food out - brown bread, bird seeds, food scraps, fat balls, meal worms andanything else you can search. **WATER **too - birds do drink!
Make sure the food does nt freeze - I have to pour boiling water over the brown bread I have put out. It may take some days for birds to actually start visiting your garden. Go to your park lake feed even the ducks.
People have spotted unusual birds such as Woodcock, Snipe in their garden. If you have a garden then why dont you clear the snow off the lawn??
‘Wildlife in crisis’ in frozen UK
''Gardens have become havens for birds searching for food, the RSPB says
Britain’s wildlife is being pushed to “the brink of a crisis” as sub-zero temperatures continue to grip the nation, according to conservationists.
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is organising emergency feeding of several threatened species, including bitterns and cirl buntings.
The RSPB is also asking people to feed garden birds, which are struggling to find food in the freezing weather.
The harsh winter could hit bird numbers “for many years to come”, they warn.
The UK’s Met Office recorded the winter’s coldest day on Friday, when temperatures plunged to -22.3C (-8.1F) in Scotland’s Highlands.
With the icy weather predicted to last at least another week, this winter could be the single greatest wildlife killer of the new millennium says
Dr Mark Avery, RSPB conservation director.
Severe weather warnings of heavy snow are in place for eastern England, and forecasters warn that the coming days could be even colder.
“The extremely hard winter spanning 1962 and 1963 was arguably the single event that had the greatest impact on wildlife within living memory,” said Mark Avery, the RSPB’s conservation director.
“With the icy weather predicted to last at least another week, this winter could be the single greatest wildlife killer of the new millennium.”
Dr Avery said that recent conservation measures - combined with mild winters - had seen a welcomed increase in the number of some threatened species, such as the bittern.
But he added: “Now that the barometer has swung rapidly in the other direction, some species face a crisis, forcing us to take immediate action.”
RSPB volunteers have begun “emergency feeding initiatives”, which include putting out sprats at key sites for bitterns.
The birds are finding it difficult to catch fish in ice-locked wetland areas.
The society says that it is being inundated with calls from the public, who are reporting unusual visitors to bird feeders in gardens - including woodcock, snipe and grey wagtails.
The freezing weather means that gardens have become havens for wildlife, it adds, as birds and animals are forced to venture further afield in the search of food.
The RSPB has joined forces with other conservation groups - including Natural England, the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust - to urge people not to disturb flocks of wetlands birds.
They say ducks, swans, geese and other wading birds cannot afford to waste energy that they cannot readily replace. ‘’
http://www.surfbirds.com/sbirdsnews/...aunches_e.html
BBC News - ‘Wildlife in crisis’ in frozen UK