How your pet can help the birds...
By a rather circuitous route I have three cats. I love my cats and I love my birds therefore my cats have a Catio the full length of the side of my house which gives them access outside and keeps my garden birds out of their way. One of the three siblings is gloriously long haired and required frequent brushing but what a perfect time of year to be doing that job!
Peanut actually enjoys it and so in the sunshine today he had a good brush but I did not throw away the collected hair but decided to put it out for the birds as nesting material.
Now you can either just put it on your lawn and see who comes down for it but it is a little safer if you tie it up in a tree somewhere the little birds can find it.
So, I tied my piles of fluff into two parcels and attached them quite close to the nest box that currently has a very industrious pair of Blue Tits busily taking in lots of moss to start off their nest. Hopefully they will find that Peanut’s super soft fur will make a nice nest lining for that dozen little white eggs in the weeks ahead.
Oh and you can of course do this when you groom your dog or rabbit or any other hirsute pet!
Howard Vaughan, Information Officer