Below is a piece we did for the local parish newsletter..
With strong winds and snow on the hills it seems particularly appropriate to talk about feeding the birds. No doubt over the years you’ve read quite a few of such articles in the parish newsletter ‘Birdy Bit’. Here at the Reserve we have a feeding station which our volunteers revamped last year with the addition of a long wire with feeders attached and a pulley system – you may have seen it. Every day we fill the feeders with wild bird seed mix and sunflower seeds (at weekends they get an extra treat when the volunteers add fat balls and peanuts). This is in addition to our arable plots which provide food through autumn and into winter means we get quite a variety of smaller birds around the Reserve. Before Christmas we had an amazing count of linnets on the arable plots of 600+ birds. On the feeders we get lots of tree sparrows as well as the usual garden birds – this list is always growing. As well as providing the birds with the much needed sustenance to see them through the winter, many people who maybe can’t walk too far get a great show sometimes without even leaving their car as they are visible from the carpark.
This is all leading somewhere…. On 27th to the 29th of January it is the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch. There will be some of you who have been participating for years and if you haven’t there’s never been a better time to get involved. Plus ..it’s a great way to keep the kids entertained and off their ‘tech’ for an hour! I was reading on our website that in 2011 600,000+ people had a go and counted 10.2 million birds. It’s what is known as citizen science which basically means that what you and thousands of others record is used to further our knowledge of the world around us- in this case how garden birds are faring in this ever changing world. In fact the more who participate the better the snap shot. So all you need to participate is to grab a brew, take a seat and over that weekend in January record the birds that visit your garden for an hour.
If you would like to know more and have a go please have a look at the website https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/birdwatch/