The early years of bird feeding
Not sure what to feed birds in your garden? Read this blog to see the tips and advice we give to attract new faces to your feeders.
We can all remember how exciting it was when we were children watching a Robin with its bright red breast flying around or watching a Blackbird trying to tug a worm out of the ground. Exciting stuff, and what hopefully could be the start of a love affair with nature.
We recently had great pleasure in supplying a primary school in North Yorkshire with bird feeders and seed. Their feedback has been enjoyable to read, we have all taken pride in the knowledge that we have provided these children with what we hope is a lifelong love of birds and bird feeding. We particularly liked this poster with its brightly coloured pictures;-
Our interaction with the school then made us think of how important it is to encourage children to start feeding birds and take an interest in the world around them.
For instance do children know all about the different habitats they can explore? We can think of at least five different ones that may spark their interest:-
Woodlands – these are a great source of plants, trees and shrubs. Go squirrel spotting or try to find those beautiful wildflowers that adorn the forest floor.
Grassland - ideal for finding a meadow full of flowers and beautiful butterflies. They thrive with insects too.
Beaches – great for watching waves roll in and letting the sand run through little fingers. Seabirds can be fascinating to watch and of course, who doesn’t remember searching for seashells?
Wetlands –perfect if your little ones like critters such as beetles and bugs. Swans, ducks and geese are also regular visitors.
Urban Areas – watch out for night time creatures like hedgehogs and foxes. Daylight hours can bring finches, tits and ground feeding birds like Blackbirds and Wrens.
All these places are tailor-made to kick start children in to ‘nurturing nature’. But there is no place like home so why not start in your own back garden if you’re lucky enough to have one?
For just a few pounds you can invest in a bird feeding station or hang a feeder from a tree to attract lots of different species of birds. Our seed or peanut feeders would be a great starter feeder for any young budding ornithologist.
Drinking water is vital for birds too, so why not build a shallow rock pool or even an upturned plastic lid would provide your garden birds with essential water.
Haith’s Songster Food is great for making your own bird cakes, just mix with fat, place in a yoghurt container, wait to set and then just hang out for the birds.
Spring is not too far away, and soon we will be thinking of siting our nest boxes. What could be more enjoyable than watching birds find a home in your garden, then watching as the fledglings slowly gain confidence and leave the nest?
All these projects are suitable for getting children involved and with our help we can encourage them to care for their local environment. Should you require any help or advice please contact us via email at enquiries@haiths.com or telephone our customer care team on 0800 2987054.
