Bread for the birds? Maybe not according to Birdwatch Ireland

It’s important to feed the birds, particularly in the harsh weather conditions we’ve seen in recent days.

Many of us would offer our scraps of bread – but did you know that in general the advice is NOT to give bread to birds, ducks and swans?

Niall Hatch from Bird Watch Ireland told us that ”We should try and replicate their natural diet in as much as possible” this includes vegetable cuttings which offers ”far more nutrition than bread”

He also told us that throwing bread on footpaths can attract vermin while throwing it into ponds or lakes can cause mould to build up – potentially causing serious problems for wild animals.

Niall spoke to us on Tuesday’s show