MANY indigenous British birds are in decline and with over 50 per cent of the UK now feeding their feathered friends in the garden, the birds are coming to rely on the food we provide.

It is important to make sure that we’re giving them the right foods, especially during the predicted February cold snap.

That’s why Dave Jones, store manager from Pets at Home in Andover, has given some top tips on keeping the birds of Andover happy and healthy.

“Bread has traditionally been considered a good option for birds, but whilst not harmful it doesn’t actually provide birds with goodness or nutrients. It could even be detrimental, as the birds fill up on it and not other, more nutritious foods.

“Peanuts are a staple food for most garden birds however you can also select and mix a variety of seeds to produce a wild bird seed that will provide garden birds with a balanced and nutritious diet.

“Seed can be fed from a bird table or hanging feeders to help the birds overcome periods of natural food shortage and survive severe winter weather.”

And birds know what they like! Small seeds, such as millet, attract finches, reed buntings, collared doves and house sparrows, which are also particularly fond of mealworm, while blackbirds love flaked maize.

Tits and greenfinches favour peanuts and sunflower seeds, while wheat and barley grains are really only suitable for doves and pheasants.

Dave continues: “We also have a number of products in store that are ideal for birds during the cold winter months, such as suet blocks and fatballs.

“These provide the birds with extra body weight so that they can survive the lower temperatures and I’d advise anyone who makes the effort to feed the birds in their garden to stock up on these products over the next month or so.

“We know from our customers that feeding garden birds is growing in popularity and it’s a great way to start teaching children how to care for other living creatures,” concludes Dave .

“There’s no better feeling than looking out of your window on a cold day and seeing birds dining out on food you’ve provided.”

The house sparrow is just one bird under particular threat, with numbers declining by 64 per cent since 1970.