Last weekend I went out and spent a small fortune on food for the birds this winter. I'm a member of the old school of thought. I have always taken the view that you should stop feeding birds in the Spring and Summer because nature provides them with a whole larder full of natural and nutricious goodies. I was also taught that chicks find seeds and peanuts hard to digest. The modern school of thought then declared this to be incorrect and urged us to put out bird food throughout the year.
Well, I still stick to my belief that birds should fend for themselves in times of plenty. I'm sure the insects and berries they find during the summer months are so much better for them. But when we changed the clocks last weekend I knew it was time to begin looking after my feathered friends again. So, after cleaning all the feeders and the bird tables, the garden is now a top class bird restaurant. Peanuts, seeds and fat balls are there to tempt the little beauties into my field of vision throughout the winter months.
And within a few days, my efforts were rewarded! Yesterday, at lunchtime, we were treated to the sight of a Great Spotted Woodpecker hanging onto a peanut feeder for over twenty minutes! Beautiful. What a striking bird - black, white, buff and red - and such an acrobat. And so different from his Green cousin, who also visits us occasionally, which stays on the ground for the majority of the time.
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