Gardeners urged to leave dog food on bird tables this spring

Gardeners are being urged to leave dog food on bird tables this March in a bid to help a classic British bird find food.

Blackbirds, a member of the thrush family, are one of the most common birds seen in British gardens all year round. In winter, blackbirds stay in the UK rather than migrate, and so need to keep finding food in order to sustain themselves in chilly winter months. Now the warmer spring weather is finally arriving, blackbirds are returning to our gardens in even greater numbers than before as breeding season nears.

And hungry blackbirds are adept hunters, swooping in for worms, snails and various insects to keep themselves fed, and because they’re so good at tackling garden pests, many gardeners try to encourage blackbirds to visit their garden, which in turn gives plants a boost when snails and caterpillars are being gobbled up by blackbirds. 

Garden experts Home and Roost.co.uk suggest that you can leave out mealworms for blackbirds, but if you don't have that specialist food on hand, you can use items from your kitchen instead - including uncooked porridge, dried fruit and even dog food.

Home and Roost says: "Meaty dog food. This is a great one for anyone too squeamish to deal with mealworms. While blackbirds prefer to feed their young a natural diet, mainly worms and insects, they will supplement dog food if you offer it."

While most of us probably don’t have a good supply of mealworms at home, pet owners will have dog food readily on hand and if not, a cheap tin of dog food next time you’re shopping can be saved for your garden, and will be cheaper than buying specialist bird foods.

But blackbirds need the food to be put out on a flat feeder or on the ground as they are too big to feed from hanging feeders.

Just be sure to keep your bird table cleaned regularly if it’s flat. This is because the RSPB has recently pulled bird tables from sale over fears they could be spreading diseases, especially over winter.

It urged gardeners to make sure tables are cleaned with hot soapy water regularly to avoid the risks while the charity conducts research on how flat feeders could be affecting bird populations.