Winter bird feeders – which will be particularly appreciated by tits, greenfinches, robins, sparrows and chaffinches – should be set up differently depending on the species.

Tits, for example, will greatly enjoy a glass jar or half a coconut shell filled with butter or other animal fat and sunflower seeds – foods whose high calorie content will provide
an excellent source of energy during the cold season.

Peanuts, walnuts and hazelnuts will be particularly popular with tits and starlings: you can place them in a wide-mesh net or make a peanut necklace by threading them one by one onto a large needle. The necklace can then be hung from a tree or under the eaves.

Robins, greenfinches, sparrows and chaffinches will go wild for a good mixture of millet and panic grass, to be scattered generously twice a day on the feeder (before 9 a.m. and around 4 p.m.).

For thrushes, small pieces of fruit work well – you could ask your greengrocer for slightly bruised pears and apples at a low price. Some kitchen leftovers can also do, as long as they are not spicy or salty. Cheese, leftover polenta, pasta and bread soaked in water will certainly be welcome to starlings, sparrows and blackbirds, which are not fussy eaters and will eat almost anything. The robin is more refined, preferring leftover cakes, biscuits, panettone or pastries.

Read also: How to turn gardens and terraces into bird sanctuaries. The recipe for fat balls and other treats

Finally, there are birds that, even when hungry, turn their beaks up at the feeder and will only eat food if they find it on the ground. This is the case with the wren, for which you can scatter a few
small morsels of cheese or dog treats on the ground.

The feeder should be installed up high, in a quiet spot, ideally clearly visible from your window. The best option is to mount it on a fairly tall pole and, if there are cats around, fit an upturned bell-shaped guard halfway up the pole, made from a piece of thin sheet metal. Once you have started
stocking the feeder, you must keep it going through to spring.

Although each species has a different diet, during winter many little birds that are insectivorous in spring and summer become frugivorous. Insectivores can be recognised by their long, thin beaks, while those of seed-eaters are short and stocky.

Make sure the feeder – or even the balcony – always has a seed mix available. Sunflower seeds, shelled pine nuts, dried fruit, walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, peanuts and pieces of apple are all much loved. Animal fats, such as cheese, can also be added. Leftover brioche or cakes are very popular with robins, as are oat flakes. Avoid anything seasoned, spicy or salty, such as roast or stew leftovers.

At the start of spring, however, it is best to stop providing food, so as not to accustom fledglings to this type of diet.