Advantages: Birds brighten up your garden, and their songs are cheerful and happy.
Disadvantages: Seed residue can get messy

...It's easy to attract birds to your garden, if you just do a little homework. First, you need to know what kind of birds are native to your area. Second, you need to know what types of food and plants they enjoy eating, and using for nests. If you can identify those two things, attracting birds to your garden is a snap! Identify the Birds in Your Area There are many ways to identify the birds in your area, if you don't know what varities frequent your yard. Invest in a good book to identify the birds in your area. (Some titles I prefer are listed below.) Find out if there is a local chapter of the Audubon Society in your area, and attend the meetings. These people are your local experts, and are a wealth of knowledge. Once you identify your local birds, you can begin putting out their favorite foods to attract them. You can... Read review

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Advantages: Very entertaining imitator's
Disadvantages: Messy and noisy

...I once had a mynah bird called Keo, named after a Cypriot beer. Why he was named after a Cypriot beer is somewhat diffuse as I don't particularly like beer and have no connection with Cyprus other than a couple of holidays in Ayia Napa. I suppose I just liked the sound of it at the time. As you probably know, mynah birds are amazing imitators. If you think a parrot’s good, trust me, compared to a mynah, they have the talking age of a foetus. Well, maybe not quite that young but compared to the less spectacular looking mynah bird, their imitation skills really are quite basic. Ours could imitate both my ex husband and myself perfectly, even down getting the accents right. He had the sound of the telephone ringing down to a fine art, and as his cage was against the wall that connected with the bathroom, the sound of the toilet... Read review

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Advantages: look good smell good taste good
Disadvantages: contain sugar...not the best treat to feed

... Egg Biscuits "Nutritious and tasty treats for all cage and aviary birds" to quote the box. I buy these regularly for my parrot bird from the big pet-stuff-store down the road, at £1.55 a box they not that cheap but I only feed as a treat and they last a couple of weeks. The name 'Egg-biscuits' to me implies they are based on 'egg-food' but these are nowhere near as nutritious but they do look better. For those who haven't come across egg food it is a dried or moist high protein food mix that contains many strange things (for example insect parts and bits of fish) It's good for breeding birds and moulting birds though can be fed anytime to give your bird a boost. I feed this pretty regularly too as my Bird still persists in plucking himself now and then. Egg food really helps with his feather growth - when I first got my bird... Read review

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Advantages: very rewarding
Disadvantages: small effort and outlay required.

...Sorry, this isn't an op on pulling! If you have a bit of garden, then attracting wild birds to it can be a source of real pleasure - they are a delight to watch, and you are undoubtedly helping to keep them alive. However, what should you feed your feathered friends on and how much is it going to cost you? Do you need a bird table? No. Many birds - blackbirds, pigeons, robins, thrushes etc prefer to eat from the ground while tits like hanging nuts and don't much like bird tables. Just hang a bag of nuts from your washing line, and you will attract birds. Drop some bread out of your window and they will come. Bird tables can be quite expensive, but they do look attractive and do make feeding certain kinds of bird a lot easier. I would recommend getting one, but if the budget won't stretch or you haven't room, you can do without... Read review

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Advantages: Relaxing and educational to watch
Disadvantages: Lots of poo

...Birds The easiest way to encourage birds into the garden is to feed them. This can be done in two ways. Either put food out on feeders or grow plants that will feed the birds, or will support the insects they need. As birds can become dependant on feeders, they must not be allowed to run dry. Neigbours are often happy to refill them during the holiday season. Bird Tables These should be sited in a safe palce, away from cover, where cats could hide, and high enough to prevent cats jumping up on them. They should be situated not too near to the house but close enough to observe through a window, and close to a path to allow access for Winter feeding. Food should also be left on the floor, in hangers, and pushed into crevices. The Menu Sunflower seeds, wild bird food mixes, peanuts, raisons, cheese, berries, mealworms, and breadcrumbs... Read review

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Advantages: FEEDS BIRD WHEN FOOD SCARCE
Disadvantages: ?

...Where I do my bird watching is in the garden. We feed the birds in a position where they can be seen from the house either from the kitchen window, or from the conservatory. In fact I can see the feeding area from the computer if I turn my chair around and look out of the french windows and through the conservatory windows to the garden. I also have a good view across the Chiltern hills from the back bedroom (my daughters) she left home ages ago still has her teddies and dolls in it pictures of her favourite pop stars on the wall) anyway in this bedroom we keep a pair of binoculars and my husband will often go there to scan the skies for any interesting birds I have two bird feeders one full of nuts and one with seeds I/ or my husband also scatter food on the floor for the birds that feed on the floor. A bird feeder needs... Read review

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Advantages: Good for wildlife
Disadvantages: none

...Birds foot trefoil, eggs and bacon as I used to call it when I was a nipper. Lotus corniculatus It is a member of the Leguminoseae family. I have some growing on my wildflower “lawn” Bird’s foot trefoil is a perennial it grows on short grassland grows in meadows and on grass verges. First to describe this plant. Slender stems can grow 10 to 40 cm tall these stems have stems branching out from them. .It has 5 leaves 3 of which grow trifoliate look like a trefoil. The flowers are a bright yellow with a few orange streaks hence the eggs and bacon name. These look like a pea/ bean flower. 4 -6 of these flowers grow in a cluster at the end of a stem. .The flowers are about 15mm long. They will flower from April till about September. The flowers will self pollinate but they are frequently visited by bees and butterflies too... Read review

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Advantages: The pleasure of watching birds from your window, and helping the bird population.
Disadvantages: Absolutely none.

...Now we are well into the tail end of winter, but this does not mean you can relax and forget our feathered friends. The berries have all but gone, the windfall apples have been finished off by the blackbirds and thrushes, and the ground has been so frozen that the worms and insects are not available. Birds need to feed most of the day this time of the year, early morning and late afternoon are vital times for feeding, although they will be looking for food all the time! The smaller birds need to eat about a third of their body weight each day for survival. In the morning they will need to replenish the energy they have used up during the night, when they are roosting. If you can put out a fast food supply last thing for them, they will benefit from it. Old and bruised apples, cut in to quarters will be appreciated, sultanas... Read review

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Advantages: it's FUN, it's FREE, its for ME
Disadvantages: Bird droppings on your window

...When the red red robin comes bob bob bobbing through YOUR garden this xmas, he has probably come for something to eat, so don’t forget to lob the little blighter a bit of festive fair, or he my not be here next year ! When winter has left trees barren and daylight hours are few, birds still fill our suburban landscapes. We marvel at the resourcefulness of wild birds as they search out food and warmth through the long winter months. However there is not always enough to go round and it would be nice to help them along with a bit to peck on till the worst of the winter is over. I don’t mean a mince pie and a glass of brandy, but our lil’ feathered chums are pertty hungysome this kind of year and those that haven’t flown south to warmer climes are gagging for a bit of extra nosh. We can help to provide... Read review

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Advantages: Friendly, loving, comical, amusing and entertaining
Disadvantages: Can be noisy, seed spreads everywhere

...is black. Feeding - some experts recommend pellet food for these birds but I find that my bird prefers parrot seed mix. I add vitamin drops to this which are easily obtainable from all pet stores. They also enjoy great variety and love fresh fruit and veg which should be given daily. My bird also gets occasional little treats like a tiny piece of plain biscuit or toast. He also loves millett sprays and the parrot treat sticks of fruit and seed also available in all pet stores. Fresh water is essential and should be changed twice a day. The birds can be rather indiscriminate where they poo so if you see the water has become contaminated, change it. There can be unwanted bugs lurking in there which may make your pet sick. My rule is if you wouldn't give it to your children to drink don't expect your bird to drink it either. Housing... Read review

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