• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Beautify Balham

Beautify Balham

Striving for a greener, cleaner and more beautiful Balham.

  • ABOUT
  • LITTER PICKING
  • TREE PLANTING
  • Balham In BloomBALHAM IN BLOOM
  • DONATE
  • OUR PARTNERS
  • OUR FRIENDS
  • CONTACT US

Bird feeding

Feed the Birds

February 10, 2022 by beautifybalham

A wren spotted locally

Barbara is one of the guides who leads bird-walks on Wandsworth Common. For more details see the Friends of Wandsworth Common website.

Gardens are an important habitat for wildlife and even a small urban garden can attract a variety of birds and give hours of pleasure as you get to know your regular visitors. Engaging with nature is good for mental well-being and you can even contribute to citizen science by reporting your sightings to BTO’s Garden Bird Watch and RSPB’s Big Garden Bird Watch on the last weekend of January.

Providing feeders helps supplement the natural food supply. Sunflower Hearts and Fat Balls are favourites with a range of birds. I regularly see House Sparrows, Starlings, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Coal Tits and Goldfinches on my feeders, with Robins, Dunnocks, Blackbirds, Magpies and Wood Pigeons foraging for the food dropped onto the ground underneath. Even if you don’t have a garden you can try a window feeder and watch the birds from the comfort of your armchair.

Position feeders in the open, but close to a shrub or tree where birds can perch to wait their turn and retreat to safety if they feel threatened. Feeders with a cage surround can help deter squirrels and larger birds, although the Wood Pigeons and Magpies have become adept at balancing on my window feeder! To reduce the spread of disease, feeders should be washed regularly, and mouldy food discarded. Equally important is water – both for drinking and bathing – but ensure you add a few stones so that any insects or small mammals which fall in can escape. Birds can take a little while to get used to change so be patient: sit back and wait for them to come.

Article by Barbara Littlechild, Wandsworth Common Bird Walk Guide and a Friend of Wandsworth Common

Filed Under: Beautify Balham Tagged With: Bird feeding, Birds

Primary Sidebar

BLOG

  1. Item 1
  2. Item 2
  3. Item 3
  • Why you should install a water butt in your garden
    Why you should install a water butt in your garden
    Have you ever considered all the rainwat...
  • The Bees Knees
    The Bees Knees
    When thinking about the word pollinator ...
  • The Triangle Garden at Chestnut Grove
    The Triangle Garden at Chestnut Grove
    Armed with forks and trowels and wearing...
  • Balham in Bloom 2022
    Balham in Bloom 2022
    Beautify Balham held the presentation of...
  • Balham in Bloom 2022 Prizes
    Balham in Bloom 2022 Prizes
    We are incredibly excited for the culmin...
  • Pollution Busting Plants for Front Gardens
    Pollution Busting Plants for Front Gardens
    No matter how small your front garden is...
  • Beautify Balham Nominated for a Tooting Heroes Award
    Beautify Balham Nominated for a Tooting Heroes Award
    We are thrilled to announce that Jean Mi...
  • No Dig Vegetable Beds
    No Dig Vegetable Beds
    Not many of us relish the idea of diggin...
  • Birdsong in Balham
    Birdsong in Balham
    As International Dawn Chorus Day approac...

FOLLOW US

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram

Copyright © 2023 Beautify Balham · Privacy Policy