Why Summer Feeding Matters Just as Much as Winter

Most of us top up the feeders when the frost bites, then quietly let things slide once the bluebells are out. That is understandable, but it misses a trick. Between April and August, our garden birds are doing the hardest work of the year. Great tits, robins, blackbirds and house sparrows may raise two or three broods in a single season, and every one of those chicks is a protein-hungry little machine.

Hot, dry spells make life harder still. Earthworms burrow deeper, caterpillars are patchy, and the soft insects that adult birds need to feed growing chicks become scarce just when demand peaks. A reliable top-up of the right food can mean the difference between a fledgling that makes it through its first fortnight and one that does not.

The Best Things to Offer

Think protein, energy and moisture — in that order, especially from May to July.

• Live mealworms. The gold standard for summer. Adults take them to the nest and fledglings learn to hunt them. If live insects make you squeamish, dried mealworms soaked in warm water for twenty minutes are a decent second best — never put them out bone dry, as they can swell inside a bird's gut.
• Sunflower hearts. No husks, no mess, high fat and protein, and eaten by nearly everything from coal tits to greenfinches. Goldfinches that have tired of nyjer will often switch to them.
• Soft fruit. Halved raisins or sultanas soaked overnight, chopped apple, pear, and a few berries will pull in blackbirds, song thrushes and robins. Soak dried fruit before offering it, particularly when there are chicks about.
• Suet in small amounts. Choose a suet-based cake rather than a pure fat ball, keep it in the shade, and only put out what will be eaten in a day. It goes rancid quickly in a heatwave.
• Nyjer seed. A fine seed for fine beaks — goldfinches and siskins adore it, and it does not spoil easily.

Fresh Water Is Not Optional

If you do only one thing this summer, do this. Birds lose water fast in hot weather and cannot sweat, so they rely on drinking and bathing to stay cool and keep their feathers in working order. A shallow dish — no more than five centimetres deep — with a few stones or a gently sloping edge gives fledglings and small birds a safe footing.

Place it in dappled shade, well away from fence lines where cats lurk, and refresh it daily. A bird bath that has stood for a week is a soup of algae and droppings. Scrub it with hot water and a stiff brush, rinse thoroughly, and top up every morning during heatwaves. A dripping hose or a slow trickle will draw birds in faster than anything else.

What to Avoid, and Why

Some traditional scraps do far more harm than good, particularly when there are young birds in the garden.

• Mouldy or damp peanuts. Mouldy nuts can carry aflatoxins, which are seriously toxic to birds. If nuts smell musty or look dusty, bin them. Never put out whole peanuts loose during the breeding season — adults may stuff them into a chick's throat, causing choking. Use a proper mesh feeder, or switch to hearts for the summer.
• Stale or soggy bread. It fills a bird up without nourishing it, attracts rats and gulls, and can cause serious digestive problems. Brown bread is not a fix; none of it is bird food.
• Sugary foods. Honey, jam, biscuits, cake and sweetened cereal are dangerous. Sugar can cause fatal digestive upset in nestlings and creates a sticky mess on feathers and feeders. Sugar water is for hummingbirds on other continents — not for your robin.
• Salt. Crisps, salted nuts, bacon rind and leftovers from the roast are high enough in salt to poison small birds.
• Milk. Birds cannot digest lactose. Water only, please.
• Cheap mixed seed with fillers. If the bag is full of red dari, wheat and split peas, most of it will end up kicked onto the lawn and eaten by rats.

If you spot a bird that looks lethargic, fluffed up, or has a swollen, crusty face, take your feeders down and clean them thoroughly before putting them back.

Hygiene in the Heat

Warm weather speeds up everything, including disease. Clean feeders and baths every week with hot soapy water and a bird-safe disinfectant, rinse well, and let them dry in the sun. Rotate feeding stations around the garden so droppings and spilled food do not build up in one spot, and sweep up husks and debris beneath them.

Offer smaller portions more often rather than one enormous heap. Uneaten food in a heatwave ferments within hours. And if you know you are going away, wind the feeding down gradually rather than stopping abruptly — birds that have come to depend on your garden should be weaned off, not cut off.

Beyond the Feeder: The Wilder Half of the Job

Supplementary food is a helping hand, not a whole diet. The best summer larder is a garden that is a bit messy and full of insects: long grass, ivy, honeysuckle, native wildflowers and a pile of leaves will produce caterpillars, aphids and grubs by the barrow-load. Go easy on insecticides, leave spiders' webs alone, and let a corner grow rough.

Add shade and shelter too — a dense hedge, a climbing rose, trees that hold their leaves — and you will give young birds somewhere to hide while they learn the ropes. Feed well, water generously, keep everything clean, and your garden becomes a genuine refuge through the hottest weeks of the year.