Leave me alone!!!

If baby birds could speak thats probably what they would say! Now that we are into April we are well on the way to baby bird season, time to put down the hedge strimmers and to enjoy the sights and sounds of our garden birds doing their very best to raise the next generation. Whilst this process is fraught with danger due to the natural hazards that await, predators, harsh weather, shortages in natural food etc, human nature has an unfortunate habit of making people intervene when it is the last thing that should be done. So here are a few quick pointers to help parent birds have an easier time through the breeding season that is now upon us;

1. Leave fledgling birds alone. It may be cute, fluffy and seemingly helpless but all it needs is to be left alone so its parents, no doubt waiting close by, can come and feed it and lead it to safety.
2. Put away your power tools. Hedge nesting birds like robins, blackbirds, song thrushes, greenfinches, wrens, dunnocks etc all build their nests in trees, shrubs and hedges, cutting these back during the spring and summer months can destroy your local songbirds best efforts to raise families so save this aspect of garden care until later in the year.
3. Keep tiddles inside. Cats kill baby birds and also parent birds that are busily trying to find enough food for their young. If you can keep your cat occupied indoors throughout the spring and summer then you will be doing your wildlife a big favour. Even reducing the time it spends outside, especially dawn and dusk can make a difference.
4. Natural food. The parent birds will be desperately scouring shrubs, trees, lawns and flower beds for invertebrates to feed to their ever hungry offspring, you can help them by not using chemical sprays (avoid slug pellets too) and planting a wide range of plants that attract in insects.
5. Supplementary food. It is beneficial to wild birds to feed throughout the year, we recommend keeping a seed feeder going all year as well as a few mealworm treats (live if possible) during the breeding season.
6. Water. Given the drought warnings it would be advisable to store as much rain water as you can to give birds a regular top up in ponds or birdbaths, after a busy day feeding their young they might be glad of a chance to cool off!

Already this spring we have had reports of robins, blackbirds and mallards with young and the usual early nesters like herons and rooks are well on their way with either eggs or chicks in the nests. Peregrines, ospreys and owls are also getting started and are featuring on webcams across the UK. We're all geared up for a busy season so just one final reminder...Leave baby birds alone!!!