The Simple Pleasure of a Bird Feeder

Author - Tess Street

Approximately half of all households in the UK own bird feeders, and during and since lockdown there is a greater appreciation of the luxury of having one’s own outdoor space and the value of this to our mental health and general well-being.

Wanting to make the most of our garden space and more appreciate its surroundings we purchased a  bird feeder, which we hung on a branch of a small tree and waited …… it took them several weeks to find us! 

There are a huge range of bird feeders to buy from garden centres or online with reasonable starting prices for basic models and also the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds website has useful tips for getting started www.rspb.co.uk

We buy basic bird food from the supermarket which the birds appear to approve of! It is interesting that once the birds have found your bird feeder,  they establish  their own feeding routine, ours visit around breakfast and early evening and we really appreciate the bird song and observing the natural queue they form on the shed roof waiting their turn!

We can recognise sparrows, starlings, greenfinches, the occasional robin and a few hungry blackbirds picking at the leftovers dropped below the feeder.

Although there  have been concerns that birds can become reliant on bird feeders,  there is no strong evidence that they create dependency, with the exception of strong weather conditions.  Supplementary feeding of birds is, as the name suggests, supplementary and there is no reason to believe that feeders cause birds to lose their ability to forage for natural foods.

It now gives us simple, untold pleasure to gaze at the birds that visit us regularly and gives us a sense of being closer to nature. There is nothing more pleasurable than watching our feathered friends enjoy their snacks and would highly recommend this pastime.

If you prefer not to have a bird feeder in your garden you can always add a wooden birdhouse or you can try making your own. 

If you don't have a garden or small space to have a bird feeder or bird house, you could always spritz one of our natural Room Sprays to bring the scent of the fresh outdoors into your home and feel that connection with nature.