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FEEDING THE BIRDS
Over this weekend the RSPB are holding events all over the country to celebrate the wonderful birds around us, and all nature as a whole - Feed The Birds Day. Unfortunately I won't have the time to attend an event, but tomorrow I shall make sure to fill up the bird feeders around my garden and to replenish them regularly over the cold and wet winter months ahead.
Not all birds will feed from a feeder, so don't forget to leave some food on the ground too. Blackbirds love to come down for sultanas etc and robins love to feed on cake crumbs or if they are very lucky, enjoy a mealworm or two! Just watch out for the starlings, they have a habit of appearing from nowhere and eating everything in sight, and then leaving their deposits everywhere!
I would love to hear what you feed your birds, and which birds visit you in your garden or on your allotment?
A month or so back, Michelle at Veg Plotting opened up her virtual garden for charity to raise money for Water Aid. I left a donation and was lucky enough to be picked out at random to win the lovely birdbook, which I have photographed above. Thanks Michelle. There is still time to visit, the garden's opening times have been extended, quite unusual considering the clocks are going back this weekend! The fundraising target of £1,000 has been reached, but has been reset to £1,300, which could pay for a hand-dug well and handpump to serve 150-200 people in Ghana. If you haven't already done so, you may like to spend some time in VP's Open Garden.
17 comments:
Hi Louise! I am so glad you are back on your patch again! I put fat balls in a bird feeder to feed the birds. The neighbours either side of me have bird feeders too with seeds and nuts. I have Starlings, Blackbirds, Blue Tits, Sparrows, Wood Pigeons and Robins that visit the garden.
Hi Louise,
Good to see you back. We have lots of birds visiting our garden and our neighbours have lots of feeders too. I am just a little concerned about when our cats finally get to go out.. i think i will have to put some very large bells round their necks!
Have a lovely weekend.
with love
Ginny x
Oh, we missed you. Very fine, that you are back with a new post.
We cannot feed the birds during the winter, because we leave soon.
But we have neighbours, who do it.
Have a good time!
gosh Louise it wasn't just me that missed you!
remember the robin who popped into my kitchen, well I secretly call it grandma, it cheers me up when she appears next to me!
I don't feed the birds with feeders as we have rats, suppose it's living in the country??
However I have never seen so many types of bird as I have this year. I do grow plants to attract wildlife and leave all the seed heads on.
Clare x
I like to feed them sunflower hearts and chipped peanuts. But in this awful economy they get less than I wish I could give them. So many to list but I have a relationship going on with the local black-capped chickadees.(((Welcome Back Louise)))
We love the birds and are still hand feeding our resident Pheasant.
Lovely to see you back on your patch!;-)
Hi Louise,
Thanks for letting me know about the Feed the Birds day.
Hope all is well with you and your patch!
Kind regards
Sara from farmingfriends
Hi Louise - welcome back!
I'm still trying to find a squirrel proof feeder here, so I feel really sad that I won't be joining in feeding the birds today. However, the birds are feeding on all the rosehips, sloes and other berries in and around my garden at the moment, so they aren't going hungry!
Many thanks for the mention and reminding everyone that my garden's still open for visitors. I'm currently in the process of adding plant lists, so there's fresh content for you to have a look at if you fancy another visit :)
xx
What a good post! It reminded me to go, in the pouring rain, and get bird food, then replenish the feeders.
VP really has done so well with that hasn't she, and I see from her comment that there's yet more to look at! xx
I don't have any specific feeder, keep thinking i must. I tend to leave out crumbs from various things, pasta and sometimes raisins. I see some strange birds I never used to see in the uk, I hjave never looked them up though.
What a great book and post! Ever since I started using my digital camera, I have taken more notice of the wonders of nature. Plants are easier to take photos of, of course, as they stay put! Birds and other critters are a little more elusive, and therefore much challenging. I have managed to take a few photos of birds at my feeders, and at the moment they seem to be mostly the dark-eyed junco. Many birds are enjoying the 'fruits of fall', seeds, etc. I have 2 bird feeders which I fill with wild bird seed...sunflowers, corn, etc. and a suet holder as well which the blue stellar jar enjoys. Here's a link to my blog where you can see the dark-eyed junco feeding...http://porcelainrose-glo.blogspot.com/2008/10/end-and-beginning.html
Re previous post ~ a couple of goof ups there!
Birds and other critters are a little more elusive, and therefore much more challenging.
and Stellar blue jay not jar!! LOL
In the Florida Everglades, the wading birds are so prolific (and big) I think my birding eye has gone into atrophy, especially for the smallish ones.
We began feeding the birds some 20 years ago! The seed we buy is a mix of black oil sunflower seeds, thistle and dried fruit bits. It costs a bit more than the run of the mill cheap stuff but we have absolutley no waste. The price keeps going up, but the joy we get from watching our feathered friends is well worth it!
Hello Louise, I really like the idea of "Feed The Birds" day. I get a few different kinds of birds coming to my garden but I'm not good at identifying them beyond the kind that everyone knows, like sparrows, etc. Mostly I throw out crumbs, stale cereal, crackers, bread, toast crusts.....its gone a few hours later but I don't see who is eating! I'm sure the birds are sharing with squirrels....
Me too, me too - I've missed you as well!!
We don't have a garden here unfortunately and I miss it because my dad ALWAYS has birds in his garden. One year we had a record of bluetits nesting in the silver birch, blackbirds in our archway and robins in a tub of plants. (We also had bees in an old tree stump and hedgehogs at the top of the garden that year!!)
I do try to feed the birds still though, and try to remember to take out some bread or seeds to put out in the woods we go walking in. I used to hide peanuts on campus at uni too for the squirrels and birds to find. I was even mad enough once to bite the chocolate off the nuts in my chocolate bar and share them with the quirrels and birds all crowding round me hehehe
We have a seed mixture in a hanging feeder and I put out suet cakes in the winter for woodpeckers and nuthatches, I throw out peanuts for the squirrels and the cardinals, chickadees and other birds seem to like them as well (if they can beat the bluejays to them)!
I have also been known to throw out ends of grain bread with peanut butter on it.
We get loads of birds in our backyard and I love them all!
Kat
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