In your garden bird calendar, midwinter is the high season. There are more birds of more species visiting gardens now than at any other time of year. The search for food is critical as the cold temperatures make it very difficult. Frosts and snow make foraging for insects and grubs much harder to come by and impossible for robins and thrushes to dig up worms and other invertibrates.

Now is a perfect time of year to try Live Mealworms as these provide an important source of fat, protein and critically water for your feathered friends. At this time of year a really important way to help your birds is to supply nest boxes or roosting pockets to sleep in.

Get your bird book or your favourite app up when enjoying watching your garden birds. This is the most likely month to spot the more woodland or rural birds. You may well spot a Fieldfare, a Brambling or a Reed Bunting flying in for a more suburban snack and at any rate it’s a great site when you get a party of smaller finches like Siskins or Lesser Redpoll.