Feeding a hunger for garden wildlife

ONCE I had a bird table but it was involved in a fatal accident with a runaway lawnmower. I didn’t bother replacing it because I keep poultry and whenever I feed the hens and ducks flocks of wild birds descend and pinch their rations.

But a couple of weeks ago I had a change of heart. I was in a garden centre and, on impulse, I bought a kit containing various feeders and wild bird foods.

I hung everything up a few metres outside the kitchen window. I figured this way I would be able to enjoy watching the birds at close range and the special mixtures of wild bird food might appeal to species that were not getting the benefit of stolen poultry rations.