As the human hustle and bustle of the Christmas rush subsides and the Christmas rush descends, a variety of hustle and bustle continues in the courtyards and gardens across the country – especially if it involves a bird feeding table.

“Finns are very active feeders of birds”, main curator of the Finnish Museum of Natural History Aleksi Lehikoinen told Yle.

Although it is difficult to estimate the exact amount of bird feeding equipment, an estimate can be made of the amount of bird food imported into Finland. The latest report from the Food Agency is from 2019.

“More than ten million kilos of sunflower seeds and more than two million kilos of nuts are imported to Finland every year to feed wildlife,” Lehikoinen said.

According to human tradition, at this time of year, a particularly rich and tasty buffet can also be prepared for birds at Christmas.

“Sunflower seeds are offered more often in cities, while oats are more common in rural areas,” he said.

That is why Yle Areena has started to offer our feather friends and their often passionate feeding more closely – the so – called. bird boarding or ‘Bird Table Live’ – from a bird feeding table in the Finnish archipelago.

Viewers can watch the broadcast from this link or by clicking on the main image in this article. The stream began broadcasting on Christmas morning and will continue until the evening of St. Stephen’s Day.

According to Lehikoinen, the bird table can be very useful, especially for species whose natural food supply can be especially difficult at this time of year.

“It is likely that the numbers of blue and red tit, small sparrows and many foraging species would be much lower in the winter without feeding. The food culture of birds is above all about survival when there is little wild food due to snow and cold temperatures,” he said.

Lehikoinen said he believes that the bird feeding tradition in Finland will continue well into the future. However, he added that there may be regional changes in both the quantity and quality of the food provided.

In private gardens, birds are allowed to feed freely, but in public areas the placement of a bird feeding table may be prohibited or restricted. The number of bird feeding places has decreased in recent years, especially in urban areas.

For example, the City of Helsinki’s environmental services renewed their decision on no-fly zones in Helsinki just a few days ago. The decision is based on the Health Protection Act, as birds can cause health problems and their feeding table also attracts rats.

The feeding table should always be kept clean and if sick birds start to appear, feeding should be stopped, Lehikoinen advised.

However, he continued to say that watching nature and feeding birds is a pleasure for him both at work and in his free time, adding that exercise can strengthen a person’s relationship with nature.

“It’s a nice pastime in many ways. In these socially distant times, I look at my own feeding table every now and then and binoculars are often on my table. The frost that started a couple of days ago brought with me the yellow crickets back to my feeding table. Even today there were over 20 different birds,” Lehikoinen said.