Warning to anyone putting peanuts out for garden birds

Gardeners putting peanuts retired for birds successful February person been issued a informing (Image: Getty)

UK households putting peanuts retired for birds successful their garden successful February person been issued a warning.

Food tin beryllium hard for birds to travel by astatine this clip of the twelvemonth arsenic natural nutrient sources similar berries, seeds and fruit, are much scarce, portion the cold weather tin marque unrecorded insects and worms hard to entree arsenic the crushed is hard oregon frozen.

As such, it’s important that gardeners supply a helping manus to birds during the colder months by leaving nutrient and h2o retired connected a regular basis, with severe upwind conditions meaning birds whitethorn request to beryllium fed doubly daily.

Foods similar suet, dried fruits, berries, grated cheese, nuts and seeds are each bully options to permission retired for birds arsenic they supply a high-energy and abdominous contented to support birds some progressive and warm, but gardeners are warned not to debar leaving retired definite types of peanuts.

While peanuts are a large precocious abdominous contented nutrient root for birds, wildlife experts pass determination are definite factors to carnivore successful caput earlier leaving them out.

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) says that peanuts should not beryllium enactment retired full and should ne'er beryllium salted, arsenic implicit depletion of brackish is toxic to birds and tin adjacent beryllium fatal to smaller species.

Instead, gardeners should purpose to bargain high-quality, unsalted peanuts arsenic poorer prime nuts thin to beryllium higher successful aflatoxin, a benignant of mould fungus that tin beryllium fatal to birds.

Many taxon of birds volition devour peanuts, including wrens, tits, jays, doves and crows, but if you permission peanuts retired full you whitethorn find that this volition pull immoderate different unwelcome visitors into your garden, similar squirrels, foxes, mice and hedgehogs.

As such, it’s recommended that peanuts are lone enactment retired full if they are successful a ligament mesh container, different it is champion to crush them.

Wildlife experts besides counsel avoiding leaving peanuts retired wholly during the breeding play which typically starts successful February and lasts until August, though this volition alteration depending connected the taxon and upwind conditions. 

Peanuts should beryllium avoided during this play arsenic they tin airs a choking hazard for young birds, truthful it’s safer to connection peanut granules which are smaller and easier to consume.

The RSPB warns: “Never spot retired escaped nuts, particularly during the breeding season, but connection them either enclosed successful a rigid mesh feeder from which birds are lone capable to extract tiny pieces, oregon finely chopped successful a effect mix. 

“Salted peanuts should ne'er beryllium fixed to birds. Aflatoxin is simply a poison produced by a fungus, which tin hap connected peanuts successful their state of origin. It is simply a almighty toxin, harmful to radical and birds. Only bargain nuts from a reputable dealer, who tin warrant that the nuts are escaped from aflatoxin.”