This winter we have taken delivery of some special feeders to help farmland birds during the winter and spring when food sources can often be low. This is just one of the additional programmes we have implemented as part of our long-term commitment to ensuring we play our part in supporting wildlife and conservation.

The period between the last of the winter crops being harvested and the emergence of the new spring plants is referred to as the ‘hungry gap’. This is when feed is in short supply and birds are beginning to enter the breeding season. The new feeders make feeding farmland birds easier, more economical and effective, providing an essential source of food for seed-eating farmland birds, once the naturally-available food has run out. 

It’s important that as wide a variety of birds can make use of the feeders so the feeding ports have been designed to allow a wide variety of food types to be fed, either as straight or as a mixture, while the height of the feeders and size of the ports make them less attractive to unwanted visitors which may prevent smaller birds from using the feeders.