The Joys of Bird Feeding

The old garden wall with the hazel tree on the left

I have never fed wild birds as I believed that once begun, one had to be consistent and continue to feed, otherwise the birds would starve in cold weather. I was probably wrong, but I now have a country garden where I can maintain regular feeding and have therefore set up some feeding stations on and beneath a fine hazel tree in my garden in Hampshire.

Old Swan House with the hazel tree hung with feeders, with the robin feeding station at its base The urn feeds the pigeons

The hazel tree is now a busy feeding station full of bird life with three bird feeders - two hanging and one - specially for robins - on the ground. Tits crowd the feeders and the garden robin hops delightedly on his wooden frame as he pecks the delicacies out of his special mix.

The garden robin with his feeder

And the urn in the foreground has been pressed into service as an additional feeder - for pigeons and doves. It remains to be seen whether the local squirrels will come and help themselves as well, but all are welcome.