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I live on a estate where very few people feed the birds and was taken aback when my little girl said to me one day "mummy, why can I never hear any birds singing, where can we get some singing birds from" and those comments really hit home and we resolved as a family to get the birds singing again. So, armed with every feeder and variety of bird food under the sun and a lovely bird bath, we set up a bird enticing environment at the bottom of our little garden. Initially, we only seemed to manage to attract seemingly endless amounts of Pigeons and Starlings, but we persisted. By the end of the summer last year we had large flcks of House and Tree Sparrows at which my daughter would take great delight at their cheeky little dust baths amoungst my flower beds. Our absolute joy has been Autumn/Winter 2009/10. The birds are singing again !! We now have at least 10 Blue tits at a time, Great Tits, 4 Robins fighting a couple of days ago, Song Thrushes, a Redwing and a Redpoll, Sparrowhawks and a Red Kite. I put up 3 different nest boxes Autumn last year not expecting any results only to find to my absolute delight this morning that all 3 are being used. Two have been taken by the Blue Tits and a lovely Robin spends most of the day sitting on my terracotta nest pot. I have been so overwhelmed at how so much of a difference we each individually can make. When I walk the children to and from school the Estate is so quiet until we reach home, and it's then that you can really hear the birds singing.
Apologies. not sure that this should have been posted on this forum. Please excuse me i'm new to all this.
That's fantastic! My daughter isn't quite two yet but she loves watching the birds already. Its great when you go to one or two birds to whole flocks and different species.
Make me a coffee and put me in front of the kitchen window!
Well good for you Lynette!! Just goes to show that perseverance and patience is rewarded and whilst you all get to enjoy your birds, they get to benefit from a good regular source of food, water and nesting / roosting sites!! Lovely to hear that it was a young girl that triggered all this too! Welcome to the forum by the way!!
"All weeds are flowers, once you get to know them" (Eeyore)
My photos on Flickr
Hello Lynette. Your local birds must be so grateful to you and your daughter. Thanks for telling us your story.
Thank you Emma and Marjus. It's lovely to be on here and share my experiences with like minded people. My mates don't quite understand so it's always been mine and my childrens hobby. I used to feed the birds a lot but i guess took for granted just how bad their situation could be at times. I used to stop and start quite a lot not realising the damage I could have done. My daughter has just turned 11 yrs and is trying to get her school to help with bird conservation schemes but the head teachers there actively discourage the children from feeding the birds, seeing them only as a source of nuisance which is so sad. So we carry the weight of the estates bird population on our shoulders for now. we shall continue to do as much as we can for as long as we can and hope that it helps in some way. It's really lovely to be able to spek with others on here and thank you for your replies.
Brenda : I do feel a bit overwhelmed at times at the huge numbers we get as I feel so responsible. I had 8 Blue Tits this morning flying around two of my nest boxes and felt so bad that I hadn't put up more. But I will continue to do as much as I possibly can.
Well done lynette, its very rewarding to watch the birds feeding from your own feeders.
Hey farmer, farmer, put away the D.D.T now. Give me spots on my apples, but leave me the birds and the bees, please!
Hi Lynette and welcome to the forums :o)
I find your story lovely and inspiring - but also very sad as your neighbours and the school don't bother.
I know what you mean about being overwhelmed, but it is very rewarding.
Keep up your good work :o)
With regards to the school, I was going ti try to get hold of some information from the RSPB and hopefuly get the kids involved in the Birdwatch but they are not interested. We printed off loads information for them highlighting declining species and hoped that this along with the bad weather may have helped them into a change of heart but no luck. My daughter used to get picked on because she used to spend her lunchtimes watching the birds on the playing field and would used to try to sneak the Wagtails a bit of her lunch now and then for which she got a detention. I don't think that the two of us on our own even with all the will in the world will change their attitudes but at least we tried.
I hope when my daughter goes to school that they encourage them to appreciate the natural world and I also hope she comes home one day with a yoghurt pot full of suet and seeds to hang in the garden.
One of the schools near me has bird feeders hanging all along the playground fence - its lovely to see.
Hi Lynette and belated welcome to the forums.
Regards Buzzard
Nature Is Amazing - Let Us Keep It That Way