Читать книгу Gardens and Parks - Nick Baker - Страница 8

Feeding the birds is probably the single most popular way in which people interact with the natural world; from feeding pigeons on the park bench to the bird table in the garden. What you are doing is simply taking on the needs and requirements of the birds.

The ways you can present food to birds is becoming very big business, and by using the right mix and the right feeder in the right place, you can attract birds almost to order! But for now, here’s a low-budget idea to get you going (see opposite).

Choose a variety of foods. Not all birds like eating the same things – finches love seeds (niger and sunflower), tits are crazy about nuts, thrushes like fruit and woodpeckers love fatty, suet-based stuff.

YOU WILL NEED

> 1 litre plastic milk carton

> marker pen

> ruler

> scissors

> twigs

> bird seed

> funnel

> string

1 Using the marker pen and ruler, draw a line 1.5cm from the bottom of the plastic milk carton and parallel to the base on the opposite side to the handle.

2 With the scissors, cut along the marked line and then, at each end of the incision, cut up about 3cm.

3 Fold the flap you have just created back into the bottle and add a perch or two. Make these from twigs or any straight bits of wood; push them into a hole below the feeding tray.

4 Fill with seeds, pouring them into the container through a funnel. Screw the lid back on and then hang up the container with string in your garden.

Take my advice

* Position your feeders carefully. Birds like to be in the open so that predators cannot sneak up on them. But they also like to have cover nearby so that if a sparrow hawk comes cruising around, they can all leap into cover.

* Vary the locations of your feeders, as some birds are bold while others are shy. So feed close to the house by all means, but do not forget the nervous ones and provide food at the end of the garden too.

* Different birds feed in different ways. Some rarely get onto the bird table but prefer to stay on the ground, while others like flat surfaces, and some like to hang.

* Feed only good quality foods. If it’s cheap, it may have lots of wheat in it. Cheaper peanuts may also contain a fungus infection that can kill the birds you are helping.