Gardeners are being urged to scatter peanuts on their bird tables this month to help cold and starving birds during the winter season. Many common British birds, including the robin, do not fly south for winter and remain in the UK, where they must compete for increasingly scarce food supplies in colder conditions.
According to experts at Ark Wildlife, expensive specialist bird foods from garden centres are not needed to keep robins, wrens and other December garden visitors from going hungry. Simply leaving out peanuts can feed the birds in your garden when the weather turns colder.
Which Birds Eat Peanuts?
Ark Wildlife says: “A wide variety of birds will eat peanuts if they are left out. Common garden birds that will eat peanuts include wrens, great tits, blue tits, woodpeckers, jays, doves and crows.”
The experts advise placing peanuts well out of reach of other creatures, as squirrels will also eat them. They add: “If you leave peanuts out for the birds in your garden, make sure you place them well out of reach for other creatures as squirrels will also eat them. You can also use peanut bird feeders which allow birds to peck at the peanuts whilst avoiding the risk of choking.”
Shelled or Unshelled?
It is generally better to avoid peanuts in shells unless you want to attract larger birds such as jackdaws and jays. Ark Wildlife states: “Not all birds can deal with peanuts in shells, but larger varieties – such as jays, jackdaws, crows and magpies – will quite enjoy the challenge. For smaller birds – such as robins, sparrows and wrens – it can be safer to provide shelled peanuts, allowing them to get the goods quickly, before predators can pounce.”
For those who do leave peanuts in their shells, the experts suggest stringing some together and hanging them around the garden, or pushing them into holes in a tree or log to make the experience more enriching for birds.
Nutritional Benefits
Ark Wildlife concludes: “Peanuts are an excellent food source for birds and you shouldn’t hesitate to leave them in your garden. They are easy to source and refill – just make sure they are unsweetened and unsalted. Peanuts are high in fat which means that they provide a lot of energy and calories, which is especially important during the cold months. Birds can store them away for winter if they need to.”
