Sunday 22 November 2009

Feed the Birds

Despite the awful weather conditions we have experienced on the Hill in the past week (severe gales, lashing rain...) the garden birds have been out in full force feeding from our various seed holders, peanut boxes, fat ball feeders & bird table. Granted the gales have blown a lot of them off and we've had to launch a reconnaissance mission to retrieve them, and the bounty has fallen on the floor from the constant swinging, but the Robins, Wrens and Tits seem to love that even more, foraging on the ground for extra bits and bobs!
I only wish I could capture them on camera enjoying my garden, I can't wait until Santa has been and hopefully Mr G.T & I will be able to afford a nice SLR camera, as sadly my little point and shoot fails miserably at things like this, sigh!
So far this Autumn on our feeders we have seen;
Great Tits
Blue Tits
Goldfinch
Blackbirds
Starlings
House Sparrow
Tree Sparrow
Dunnocks
Wrens
Robins
Chaffinch
Collared Doves
Black Redstart
and even an occasional Sparrowhawk that tries it luck at grabbing an unsuspecting bird whilst they are munching away, cunningly evil but gorgeous creature!

I am hoping my passion for wildlife and feeding my garden birds will filter through naturally to GS, he loves being picked up to peek out of the window at whats on the feeders, he even points at our newly erected bird nestbox and says "Birdies make house have babies Mummy!" awww, well that's the hope anyway son!

There are 3 important things to remember when feeding garden birds, patience (it can take a while before the birds suss out the food and make sure the area is safe for feeding before they become regular visitors) and keep feeding throughout the year, it's bad news for birds if you stop feeding in the Spring or forget one year to put them things out, once they have sourced you out as a regular pit stop they will keep coming back looking for that lovely stuff you put out, so you have to take it on as a commitment, and finally water, the need this as much as food and it's vital to have a bird bath or just a tub of water for them to drink/bathe in. The RSPB have some terrific advice on feeding and encouraging birds to come in to your garden here http://www.rspb.org.uk/advice/helpingbirds/

Stay tuned for winter bird pics hopefully after Christmas, fingers crossed!

2 comments:

  1. Sounds as though you've got a personal version of Autumnwatch going on in your back garden!
    Lovely for your little one to watch.
    Lisa x

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  2. I have asked for more birdfeeders for Christmas - ours have sadly seen better days. The sparrows are very keen on stealing from the hens though!

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