Nesting boxes are a source of new life and bring much joy to bird lovers. Given enough free time to watch, you could see the birds gathering material to line the box, the female staying in to incubate the eggs and the male tirelessly foraging for food to feed the hen and their chicks. Your … Read more
Garden birds seem permanently busy. No sooner than chicks have flown the nest, it is time to concentrate on preparing for winter. It is easy to feed the birds in the summer when we already spend much of our free time in the garden; you need to be dedicated to trudge out in the rain … Read more
If you’re a regular garden bird feeder, you have probably been visited by the coal tit. They are common across all of the UK and Ireland; there are 600,000 breeding pairs. They are one of the smallest members of the tit family and easily overlooked, if not for their loud, repetitive song – “teachoo-teachoo-teachoo” If … Read more
Nuthatches are one of the rarest visitors to my feeders, and I have never had the pleasure of hosting a breeding couple. Although they aren’t native to Ireland, and there are few in Scotland, they are common in England and Wales with around 220,000 breeding territories. If like me you’d love to know how to … Read more
Whenever I spot a bird that I haven’t seen in a while, I always wonder if it’s because its population is decreasing. It happened the other day when a nuthatch sat among one of my clematis plants, singing merrily away. I know that numbers of many songbirds are suffering, are nuthatches in decline too? Nuthatches … Read more
There are more than 2.5 million breeding pairs of great tits in the UK they inhabit huge swathes of the country. I love seeing them at my feeders, although for their size they are tough little cookies; they dominate the table against much bigger songbirds. Blue tits use my bird box regularly, but I’ve never … Read more
I rarely look out of my window when there isn’t a blackbird hopping around the lawn looking for juicy earthworms. Most often, it is a solitary bird, but occasionally there are two. I wonder, do blackbirds mate for life, and are they a couple foraging for food for their babies? Or are they just two … Read more
Which food should birds not eat? Like me, so many people enjoy feeding the wild birds that visit our gardens. Pre-prepared seed mixes and suet balls are always a good idea, but isn’t it nice to give them the occasional treat from the kitchen? Not all human food is safe for our feathered friends, so … Read more
Attracting any type of bird usually involves offering them some of their favourite foods and a safe place to shelter. While this is similar for the bullfinch, you are less likely to see them unless your garden meets certain criteria. They are incredibly shy birds that prefer to hide in deciduous woodland with dense undergrowth. … Read more
I have two birdbaths in my garden; a small basic one and a larger pedestal-style model that is much more ornate. They both see lots of activity; my birds will bathe anywhere that has clean water. But, are birdbaths good for birds, or does cold water adversely affect their body temperature? Let’s take a closer … Read more
