Garden Birds

I am feeling a bit better and spent this morning peering out of the rear window at my garden birds. With the weather being so cold the birds need feeding more than ever. I was blessed with a great variety and managed a couple of pictures of the birds who stayed still long enough for me to manage to grab the camera. Starlings and parakeets were the only ones to oblige but I had a wren come and visit along with various blue, great and coal tits sparrows and chaffinches along with a robin that was defending our garden from all comers. I saw him chase off a couple of stray robins and he picked on the chaffinches and the blue tits chasing them out of the tree. I first thought maybe he picked on the chaffinch because of the colour of its breast but then that theory was dismissed when it picked on the blue tit as well. I assume he wants the garden to himself and chases off any competitors for the food in his chosen territory. I haven’t seen many wrens in our garden and it was pleasing to see one today. Unfortunately I wasn’t good enough to capture a picture but I will remember him scooting up and down the branches seeking out his food.

With the freezing conditions our feathered friends need our help so if you don’t already do so please, please put out some seeds and scraps for the bird. A feeder filled will bird seed can sustain all manner of small birds. We hang out fat balls and have feeders with sunflower hearts another with suet and insect pellets which are a firm favourite, plus fresh water replaced often to avoid it freezing. First thing this morning a procession of starlings lined up to bathe in the bird bath, once again I failed to capture this with my camera but believe me it was fun to watch and is easy to provide. Before the bird bath we now have a had a plastic sweet box with a couple of stones in the bottom to offer various depths for the birds, last thing you want to see is them struggling to get out of water that is to deep for them after all it is a bath not a swimming pool. Don’t forget the birds who are ground feeders sprinkle some seeds etc under the bushes but not close to where a cat can lay in wait to pounce on any hungry unwary birds.