Press Releases - March/April 2007
Item 6

No. 2007/03/37
March 2007

Help make eggs this Easter

Around 60 million pairs of birds breed in the British Isles and, from the tiny egg of a Blue Tit to the biggest swan, all of their eggs have one thing in common; a hard outer protective shell. Now is the time that some of our most familiar birds will be getting down to the serious business of parenthood. Nests will be made and the first eggs laid. The British Trust for Ornithology is providing advice on how you can help make a different egg this Easter.

With spring flowers abounding and the countryside turning green, it is easy to think that now is a time of plenty for our birds, but they need our help just as much now as they did during the winter months. Female birds, ‘mums to be’, will be getting ready to lay their eggs, and will be searching out and consuming calcium to help form the shells that will be the home for their developing young. By putting out a little oystershell grit with your normal bird food you can help provide a natural source of calcium for them. Research has shown that birds with access to calcium in their diet produce more eggs than those that don’t. So go on, put out a little oystershell and help to make a different egg this Easter, and remember you’ll be helping a ‘mum to be’ in your garden. Oystershell grit is available from most bird food retailers.

As the spring progresses and young birds begin to hatch they need high-energy food such as insects and other invertebrates. Even seed eating birds like House Sparrows feed their young on insects during the first few weeks. A pair of Blue Tits will have to find around a thousand caterpillars a day to feed their young. Providing extra food at this time can help, as adults will top-up themselves at feeders, giving them the chance to use all the caterpillars and insects they find to feed their young.

It is not just ‘mums to be’ that need a little help; seeds and berries have all but run out in our hedgerows and seed eating birds such as Goldfinches, Chaffinches and Greenfinches can struggle to find enough food until the first crops of weeds have had a chance to flower and set seed. The Greenfinch is a classic example of a bird benefiting from garden feeding at this time of the year, as their greatest mortality occurs in April and May, the months in which people traditionally stop feeding. Results of the BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch survey show that these birds peak in our gardens at this time of the year. Paul Stancliffe, of the Garden BirdWatch team, said, “Feeding our birds during the warmer months is just as important as feeding in the winter and, with advances in bird foods, we can now provide the foods they need; from extra calcium, to live foods and special seed mixes. We can really help our birds at this most important time”.

For a free leaflet on feeding the birds in your garden, please send your name and address details to GBW, Room 37, BTO, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 2PU, email or telephone 01842-750050.

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Notes for Editors

1. Oystershell Grit comes from the shells of oysters and is a by-product from the North Sea oyster fisheries. Oystershell grit can provide a natural source of calcium to help birds produce their eggs, and can be obtained from most reputable bird food retailers.
2. The BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch is the only nationwide survey of garden birds to run weekly throughout the year, providing important information on how birds use gardens, and how this use changes over time. Currently, some 16,500 people take part in the project. The BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch is funded by participants’ contributions and supported by CJ WildBird Foods Ltd and is the largest year round survey of garden birds anywhere in the world. For more information see www.bto.org/gbw
3. CJ WildBird Foods is Europe’s leading supplier of bird food and bird feeding products. CJ WildBird Foods has been responsible for a number of significant developments within the bird food and feeding industry, including the introduction of black sunflower seeds to the UK as a major new bird food and the development of specialist seed mixes for use in tubular feeders. The company has also been supporting research into the changing fortunes of garden bird populations, most notably through the BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch.
4. Bird Table Magazine is published quarterly and sent free to all BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatchers. An annual subscription to the project costs just £12 and all new joiners will receive a free copy of the BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch Book (which normally retails for £9.99).
5. Images of garden birds are freely available for use in association with this press release. Please contact to request an electronic version. Please quote reference number 2007/03/37
6. Bird Information. For lots of facts and figures about garden birds go to www.bto.org/birdfacts
7. The BTO has an ISDN line available for radio interviews.

For further information please contact:

Paul Stancliffe on 01842 750050 or e-mail: (during office hours)
or mobile 07845 900559 (anytime)