In Aberdeen area, as in many places, there has been little or no rain for weeks. The ground is hard and dry and there are very few puddles or muddy areas around.

On many levels this is tough. For birds, it means they cannot find water to drink, nor many insects to eat, as the ground is too hard for their beaks to penetrate.

This video shows oystercatchers (see Chirpy Challenge 10) trying to drill down for worms.

No dirty bills and little to eat.

 

What can you do?

Water – I have put an old frying pan outside and I refill it with fresh water each day.

The birds like to come and drink and have a bath in it 🙂

 

Have you a plastic container in your recycling that you could use as a bird bath?

Just make sure the container is not too deep, so wee birds can enjoy a bath or perch on the side to get a drink 🙂

 

Another thing to do, if you can, is to pour water on an area of mud to help soak the soil, this will help the birds to forage for food more easily.

Food – If you don’t have a bird feeder, you can melt some lard and add nuts and raisins or bird seed and mealworm to it, then put the mix into a homemade bird feeder.

Challenge –  make a feeder using a yogurt pot, pierced with holes, fill it with the fat-mix and tie up to a bush, fence or tree with some string or an old shoelace 🙂