Feeding garden birds and Big Garden Birdwatch: How to help birds during cold weather, according to the RPSB

As the last berries have been stripped from the hedges, birds will look for other sources of food - and this will often mean heading to gardens from the countryside.

The regular visitors of blackbirds, sparrows and wrens will likely be supplemented by more and more finches and tits being spotted, and bare tree and bush branches mean it’s easier to see them.

While a general rule of thumb is not to interfere too much with nature, there are several things you can do to help garden birds over the tough winter months.

Firstly, after the bountiful summer and autumn, you can provide food. Scraps are suitable for bird tables - among the nourishment suggested by the RSPB is mild grated cheese, fruit, cooked rice, unsalted bits of hard fat, roast potatoes and dry porridge oats, and so many of these will be found in kitchens.

There are also seed mixes that can be bought from pet shops and garden centres, and if feeders are positioned in safe areas - hanging so predators such as cats cannot take advantage of feeding birds, for example - then they will not only provide a lifeline but also a display every day of new visitors to your garden.

It may be cold but birds will still need water, for both drinking and bathing. If you have a bird bath, clear it off ice on colder days and replace the water regularly, as well as giving it a clean and rinse on a regular basis.

Feeders will also need to be cleaned. Household disinfectant is OK, provided they are thoroughly rinsed to make sure no residue remains. It’s best to let feeders dry outside.

Nestboxes aren’t just for spring - birds will use them in winter to keep warm on winter nights. And while this is not a measure that can be introduced overnight, for the future think about dense hedging that can provide shelter for roosting birds. The RSPB says privet, hawthorn and holly hedges are great for small birds for both protection from predators and sheltering from the elements in stormy weather.

As well as providing practical assistance to birds, nature lovers can help by taking part in the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch which takes place every January to give a snapshot on bird populations.

This year it runs from Friday, January 24 to Sunday January 26 and birders have been asked to spend an hour over that weekend looking for birds and taking a note of how many they see - or rather, the largest number of each species they see at one time in the hour period.

• House Sparrow 1,442,3002
• Blue Tit 1,094,4013
• Starling 879,0064
• Woodpigeon 835,4085
• Blackbird 708,004

So far almost 150,000 people have signed up to take part and more information is available from the RSPB here.