Birds of a Feather

“Where have all my garden birds gone?”

 

This has been the question most asked in the shop over the last month.
We have found things very quiet over in the nature area all winter, this time last year there were dozens of the beautiful Brambling, stacks of Siskins plus regular Redwings on the holly tree outside the shop. Apart from the acrobatic Tit families (which have been in in huge numbers) most of our garden visitors have found sufficient natural pickings around the farm.

All this is mainly due to the warmer weather, last year we encountered heavy snow and very, very cold night temperatures, our birds needed to get as much food as they could in the short daylight hours just to ensure they made it through the nights.

It is still vital however to keep our feeders topped up and clean, a sudden drop in temperature means our feathered friends will be popping in to take advantage of a lack of natural food.
If you haven’t already got any nest boxes in your garden now is the time to think about the on-coming breeding season, if you search around many suppliers are having the *National Nest Box Week* from the 14th -21st February, this may give you the opportunity to purchase a couple of boxes at competitive prices instead of the extortionate cost that some garden centers charge. Erect them as soon as you can making sure they do not get the full afternoon sun, otherwise almost anywhere is good. Nest boxes really do make a huge difference to our garden bird numbers, sadly habitat loss still accounts for the downward trend of many of our garden birds in particular the hole nesters.

Allan………. feathers wild bird care. www.featherswildbirdcare.co.uk