I have always been one for feeding the birds. I really enjoy watching them tucking in, feasting, squabbling, all the usual behaviours. I try hard to cater for the various types of birds, some are happy on feeders, some like the table and some prefer to be on the ground. And different birds have their preferences on types of food.
So, we have two feeding stations, one catering mainly for the tit family (peanuts and seeds) and one for finches and siskins (niger seed and peanuts). I also made a large quantity of bird cake, pictured above, as most birds are omnivores and a bit of fat goes a long way in the cold weather.
These feeding stations have proven very popular, especially with coal tits. The dunnocks and chaffinces mop up what is dropped to the ground. We also have regular visits from a pair of nuthatches and a great spotted woodpecker.
On the ground, we still have windfall (apples) which are most popular with the blackbirds and the occasional visit from the ever shy and retiring fieldfare. Strangely, no sign of siskins as yet – they were regular visitors last winter.
The bird cake is very popular.
Robins, well they are aplenty here, but prefer me to do a bit of digging or feed them mealworms directly. One particular robin appears every time I go out so he gets his own special delivery.
