Big Garden Birdwatch 2017

It’s the Big Garden Bird Watch this weekend, 28-30 January, so get your bird feeders filled, find a good window to sit at, a nice cup of cosy milk (or tea if you prefer) and get watching! I love hanging out with my feathered friends. Daddy and I went to Jupiter Urban Wildlife Centre recently for their Winter Birds workshop so we have some top tips to share with you on caring for your garden birds…

A robin hanging out on our garden globe

Make a bird house

I am very lucky and have a lovely cosy home to live in so I thought it was only fair to make a nice home for my feathered friends…

Get some left over pieces of wood or use an old pallet. Get a grown up to help cut the wood to the right lengths. There are some great tips in this post from the RSPB including different hole sizes for different birds. My favourite part was hammering all the nails in as it makes so much noise!

Hammering nails into the birdhouse was fun

Once you have completed your birdhouse choose carefully where you want to put it in your garden. You will find some tips on siting bird boxes here.

Make an apple/sunflower feeder

Push sunflower seeds into an apple for a tasty treat

Push sunflower seeds into an apple for a tasty treat
Core an apple, put a piece of string through the hole and tie a knot in it then push the core back in.
Push sunflower seeds into the apple, all the way round.
Finally, push sticks into each side of the apple to create a ledge for little birdies to sit on and feed.

Make a pine cone feeder

Push the lard into all the bits of the pine cone

Push the lard into all the bits of the pine cone
Tie a piece of string around the pine cone.
Fill all the gaps in the pine cone with generous amounts of lard.
One covered roll it in bird seed and hang up for the birds to enjoy.

If you want to take part in any of the workshops held by Jupiter Urban Wildlife Centre, visit their website.

Happy bird spotting everyone.

Lulu xx

Feed The Birds, Tuppence a Bag…

I love birds. They can fly for one thing, which is pretty cool. They are also great friends to us gardeners. In my latest blog I am reviewing a super book all about garden birds from the cool people at the RSPB. I have also created a trendy bird feeder which is soooo easy for you to make at home.

Book Review: My First Book of Garden Birds (RSPB)

The lovely people at the RSPB do an incredibly important job in protecting our feathered friends. They kindly sent me their “First Book of Garden Birds” so I could read it and, more importantly, tell you all about it.

The first thing you notice before you even open the book are the beautiful bird illustrations on the cover. These continue throughout the whole book making it beautiful and colourful as well as educational.

The book is split into interesting sections. “Birds in your garden” tells you some basic information on what its important to do to look after the birds in your garden and to encourage more in.

The “Guess Who” section is my favourite. You are given lots of clues about common garden birds and a beautiful illustration and you have to try and recognise them. It’s a great introduction to bird spotting for littlies like me and you don’t even need to venture outside with binoculars and waterproofs!

Loving reading My First Book of Garden Birds

There is also an explanation about some of the terms used when talking about birds such as plumage and markings so you can talk like an expert!

At an RRP of £6.99 for a hard backed copy, this book is great value and a wonderful introduction to the world of birds. It’s a must for all young readers who like the outdoors and nature.

One of the things that this lovely book tells you about is how important it is to feed the birds in your garden. I have created this awesome bird feeder from an old drinks carton. Read on to find out how…

Make Your Own Bird Feeder

You will need:

Empty juice carton
Scissors
Paints, glue and things to decorate your feeder
String or ribbon
Pencil or doweling

To make:

1. Take your empty drinks carton and give it a good clean out.

2. Paint your carton. I gave it two coats of paint so that it was well covered.

3. Ask a grown up to carefully cut a whole in two facing sides, big enough for small garden birds to enter.

4. Glue on lots of pretty accessories, glitter or paint some patterns.

5. Under the whole cut a small cross on each side and slide a pencil through to create a perch for the birds. You could use a piece of doweling.

6. Add a piece of string or ribbon through the top so you can hang up your bird feeder.

7. Fill your bird feeder with some lovely bird seed.

My lovely new bird feeder!

Your garden will be THE place to be seen and hang out in the neighbourhood for all the local birdies!

Lulu xx