When we looked out of the window of our apartment in Izmir this morning, I could hardly believe my eyes: everything was white and there was a heavy drift of snow.

How good that we have a heating system and can heat the apartment and watch the hustle and bustle on the street calmly from above. How suitable too, that the way to home office is just short after breakfast.

During breakfast, as usual, some birds came up to the window sill, where they found a bowl of water that was very much frequented. This has been customary for years and the birds have got used to our movements behind the window. We quickly got the idea of ​​donating food to the birds, now that everything is covered with snow out there.

Of course, the white splendor in Izmir is not staying permanently, after a few minutes the subject was no longer really explosive.

Ms. Goris from the German Wildlife Foundation

A little later, an email from Ms. Goris from the German Wildlife Foundation arrived in our post box, which, however, once again insisted on bird feeding and which I would of course not withhold from you, dear readers.

Birds are gourmets and not rubbish chutes. Old bread and other table debris can even make them sick. Especially now with Siberian freezing temperatures and frost, birds need high-calorie, high-quality food in order to survive the exhausting cold. “Premium mixtures that are specifically tailored to the needs of bird species such as sparrows, titmice, finches and nuthatches are part of the perfect bird dinner,” says Eva Goris, press spokeswoman for the German Wildlife Foundation. “High-calorie, food-grade grain feed provides the necessary energy in the now prevailing sub-zero temperatures,” says Goris. A balanced sparrow menu, for example, consists of opened wheat flakes, rounded off with nuts, sunflower seeds and other seeds. “Then greens, finches, bunting and nuthatches also like to come to dinner.” Good tit feed contains peanuts and hemp seeds, striped and white sunflower seeds - a mix of feed that is pecked down to the last grain.

Balanced special food is vital for birds.

The German Wildlife Foundation advises bird lovers to carefully set the table for all birds that have stayed at home. “You should take into account that not all birds eat the same,” says Eva Goris. In contrast to grain eaters, soft eaters such as blackbirds, song thrushes and robins appreciate dried berries from elder or mountain ash, they love rose hips and chopped apples and pears.

Grain eaters need the fat in the nuts as a source of energy, but margarine, baking and frying fats or butter do not belong in the bird feeder. Kitchen waste and leftovers are absolutely taboo, because exotic spices and salt can be fatal even in small amounts. "Bread swells in the bird's stomach and causes painful upset stomachs," says the press spokeswoman. "That is why balanced special food is vital for birds."

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