Gardeners urged to leave one food item out for blackbirds this week

Anyone who has blackbirds in their garden is being urged to leave at least one food item on bird feeders to help them out during this extended drought the UK is currently suffering.

Blackbirds are among the most abundant birds in the UK, with estimates that there as many as six million breeding pairs and they are a common sight in gardens up and down the country. Through the late summer, into autumn and winter, blackbirds stay in the UK rather than migrate, and so need to keep finding food in order to sustain themselves.

Now the cooler autumn weather is finally arriving, blackbirds will slowly start to find it more difficult to find their own food as natural sources begin to drop off. Blackbirds tend to struggle even more during periods of drought, too.

That's why garden and wildlife experts reccommend people help blackbirds by putting out food for them and ensuring they have enough to eat, especially when the weather is dry, like it has been recently. In fact, it's been so dry that several areas of the UK have officially entered drought status, including all four counties of Yorkshire.

The easiest and simplest food you can leave out is uncooked oats, like porridge oats, say garden experts.

Blackbirds will also eat fruit, berries and seeds. But fruit can go off quickly when the weather is still warm, while seeds need to be bought in specially. Whereas porridge oats are easy to find, cheap to buy and you don't need to do anything to prepare them.

These should either be scattered on the ground or left on a flat bird table (as long as it's cleaned regularly). That's because blackbirds are too large to feed from upright feeders.

The Woodland Trust says: "Blackbirds are too large to access most hanging bird feeders. To attract them to your garden, it's best to put out food on a bird table or scatter it on the ground.

The Woodland Trust adds: "Common and widespread across the UK, the blackbird population is currently stable, although it has seen periods of decline in the past.

"One of the biggest threats is lack of food availability, particularly when the weather is dry. Leaving mealworms and ground feeder mix out on bird tables and planting bushes that attract caterpillars to your garden are great ways to help blackbirds."