Feed the birds
It's really worthwhile feeding garden birds especially when natural supplies of bird food are scarce during the winter months. However, feeding garden birds offers other benefits too. Not only do garden birds provide great entertainment, but a larger garden bird population will mean more garden birds to feed on garden pests. Once you start feeding garden birds, make sure you continue to put out bird food supplies until after fledglings have left the nest - better still feed garden birds all year round. The best way to feed garden birds is to place special wild bird seed on a bird table where the feathered visitors can feed in safety, out of reach of predators. Acrobatic garden birds, such as tits and finches, prefer their food to be suspended from a tree or disused hanging basket bracket in a bird feeder. A few garden birds, such as the pied wagtail, prefer feeding on the lawn - so scatter a little food here too. Position the bird table or bird feeder in the open, but near enough to the house so you can view the comings and goings in comfort through the window, yet close enough to a shrubbery so that shy birds have the courage to visit your bird table.
