Arctic blast threatens real Easter eggs

Keep your bird feeders topped up
April 2012. With eggs being laid and incubated by birds in gardens, the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is reminding the public to keep feeders topped up as the weather turns colder.

Warm weather over recent weeks has seen a flurry of nesting activity in gardens, with eggs being laid and incubated, and chicks being reared. Breeding so early in the year, however, runs the risk that cold weather can suddenly strike - as is happening now.

Keep your feeders topped up
An Arctic blast has seen 18cm of snow fall overnight in parts of Scotland, and the cold, wet and windy weather is drifting southwards. To help birds at this sensitive time, the BTO is advising that garden feeding stations are topped up, and the charity has also issued a free feeding guide to help.

Producing eggs puts a big demand on female birds. Blue Tits, for example, often lay clutches that exceed their own body weight! Research shows that protein-rich food supplements - such as peanuts, sunflower hearts and mealworms - are likely to be most effective in giving laying females a timely boost.

During incubation, birds face a trade-off between feeding and warming their eggs. Too much time off the nest might cause eggs to chill and die; whereas too much time spent incubating could lead to starvation of the adult bird. The risk of both of these scenarios has increased with the incoming cold weather.

Dr Tim Harrison, BTO Garden BirdWatch, commented: "The cold, wet and windy weather that is sweeping across the country represents a real problem to nesting birds. Falling temperatures elevate the energetic demands on females, at exactly the time that they are producing and incubating their eggs."

He added: "A well-stocked feeding station together with plenty of fresh water will enable garden birds to grab an easy meal during this critical period."

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/easter-eggs.html