Looking out for our winged friends!

In January we spend time learning why encouraging birds into our garden is important for organic gardening and exploring how we can provide a happy and healthy habitat for them. We made bird feeders and checked that our garden provides food, water and shelter. We all enjoyed participating in the  RSPB Big Garden birdwatch (26-28th January) What’s more, looking after the birds is now a fixed item in our weekly volunteers’ job list. 

Birds in the garden are very welcome guests indeed. Not only do you get the delights of the amazing Dawn Chorus (if you are up this early!), but they are also an important part of the ecology and health of the garden.

• Seed eaters: Birds eat seeds. This means they eat weed seeds; what is not to like about this!
• Pest eaters: Birds eat bugs – yes, they will eat good bugs, but they also eat garden pests that many people rid using chemicals. Don’t use chemicals – use birds!
• Soil aerators: Birds that peck around in the soil will keep the surface layers aerated. This makes for good soil structure, and good soil structure makes weeding easier.
• Birds are also a sign of a healthy ecosystem. If you have a good range of bird species visiting the garden, it means you have good plant and structural diversity (trees, shrubs, hedges, short grass, long grass, ponds etc.). You also have pollinating plants that bring in insects that the birds feed upon (the good old food chain!).
• Good for mental health: Birds are known to facilitate good mental health.