Bird box

December is a good time to take down any bird boxes you have and give then a clean out.  This is my home-made bird box which had blue tits nesting in it this year.  I've posted a picture of the nest that was in the box as it's such a wonderful structure and obviously lots of hard work went into making it. 

What might be hard to see in this picture is a very neat depression two thirds  the way up the nest, where the eggs would sit.

Roosting Pouch

This is a new product to me, but they are shelters for birds in bad weather.  There are some real bargains to be had and you can buy 3 for just over £10.  More than one bird will use this at a time and when the temperatures drop, a pouch (or pocket as they are sometimes known) and the protection they give, can mean the difference between life and death.

Sunflower Heart Chips

I ordered these by mistake!  They basically look like sunflower hearts that have been cut up with a knife.  I'm not sure if they use slightly substandard seeds for this process, as they are cheaper than whole sunflower hearts.  However all I can say is they are extremely popular with the birds in my garden.  I don't think they are any less popular than the whole seeds, and possibly easier to eat for anything with a small beak.

I think you can save money using these, without any detrimental effects on the birds.

Peanut Granules

I've been using peanut granules for a few months with real success!  They are so versatile so can be mixed in with your general seed, or put on a bird table for those ground feeders who can't cope with a traditional peanut feeder.  They are attracting lots of birds and much more popular than the whole peanuts I have.

As a rule, they are a similar price to whole peanuts.

Gallery 2

Some more birds photographed in my garden.

In these picturse there are a bullfinch, great tits, long tailed tits.

Behind the Scenes

As I'm buying seed in bulk at the moment, my garden shed is pretty full of stock and I thought I'd show where I keep all my supplies.  In the photo, there is (from top left) general seed, then sunflower seed.  Top middle is Utterly butterly, then oats, and fat blocks.  I also keep raisins and peanuts in this container.  On the right are meal worms, niger seed and fat balls.  On the chair are suet pellets. Towards the left wall there are spare feeders and some empty coconut shells.

I think the main thing I'd stress is that I keep all food in rat-proof containers.  And I never fill feeders in my shed as any spillages might attract mice and rats.

Starlings

Starlings are presenting me with a bit of a moral dilemma.  They eat the food I put out - no crime in that, but they are starting to eat all of it!  They swoop in like a raiding party squabbling over the food in great numbers. If I put out meal worms, they are gobbled up within minutes and other birds don't get a look in.  Other foods that attracts them like no other are suet products - fat balls, Utterly Peanut Butterly, and suet pellets.  It has got to the stage where I'm thinking of withdrawing these foods. However this would be a real shame as other birds rely on these things too.  So, answers on a postcard to...