A Bird Friendly Garden

May 1, 2015

 

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My children, especially my eldest Lucas are all very much in love with the outdoors. We worked hard last year making our garden somewhere that they can all play out but this year I really wanted to focus on attracting some more wildlife. I’m a really big believer in children learning about the animals, plants and how to take care of our planet. I just love that Lucas takes such an interest in the world around him and we talk a lot about nature and the environment, even at this age it is good for children to learn how we can give nature a helping hand – good karma for the universe!  When we are out and about we often talk about the animals and birds we see, you would be surprised how much you spot when you are actively looking. However our own garden is a little light on wildlife so that is the plan for this year. We want to encourage as many birds as we possibly can into our green space.

Luckily for us Sykes Cottages sent us the most fantastic little pack containing all sorts of goodies to attract birds to our garden. This is all part of their Give A Bird A Home Campaign which we were very eager to take part in. We live on a new build estate so it’s taken a while for the environment to establish; this spring I have noticed a wider range of birds in our own garden and around the estate so it is a great chance to introduce the boys to a little bird spotting!

Bird Friendly Garden

We set to work on the DIY fat cake making kit and build your own bird feeder. Lucas was very involved in the fat cake making – first we melted some suet in a glass bowl over boiling water; when it was all liquid we added some bird seed. We popped the string into the mould to make a loop to hang the fat cake on then poured the suet mix into mould. We had a little left over that we poured into a silicone cake case – they were so easy to make and can’t have taken longer than five minutes. Afterwards we left them to set in the fridge them hung them out in the garden. They didn’t last long as we had a flock of starlings visit but they were so quick to make we’ll have some more ready in no time.

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After that I tackled the build your own bird feeder but this was a little fiddly so I did it when little ones were in bed. Lucas was very excited to come down in the morning and see it ready to go so we stuck it to our patio doors and filled it with the feeder mix bird seed. Again there were a few starlings hovering so we are hoping it lasts long enough to see some more birds. I have explained to Lucas that he has to be quiet if we see a bird on it and he’ll be able to watch them eating up close.

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On the way to school we took our bird identifying cards so we could do some bird spotting. Lucas was very good at spotting the birds and I was chief identifier. We did the same on the way home and I had set up a little activity for him when we got in. We chatted about the birds we had seen and what was in our garden for the birds.

Bird Drawing

He drew in his notebook and we are going to keep it going over the year to document the birds and nature we see. He has started off the first page by drawing a nest and eggs so it looks like our next step is to hang the nest box and learn about nesting birds. I’ve seen some great tips on Pinterest for attracting wildlife to your garden and I think we are going to make a hanger full of nesting material too.

Thank you to Sykes Cottages for inspiring us to make our garden bird friendly!

Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall

 

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30 Comments

  • SArah Christie

    What a great little pack, I love having wild life in the garden. We always leave food out for the birds, we used to get loads visit, they don’t visit as much since Toby moved in, I wonder why hmm x

    May 1, 2015 at 8:36 pm Reply
    • hayleyfromhome

      It is a lovely set and we have had a lot of fun setting it all up, just on the look out for the birds now! Luckily we have no pets so I don’t worry about coaxing them in 🙂 xx

      May 6, 2015 at 9:13 am Reply
  • Notmyyearoff

    I hope you gets lots and lots of little bird visitors. We have a bird feeder and we spend so long just watching the birds eat their breakfast and lunch 🙂 it’s so interesting. I really want to buy a birdhouse soon!

    May 1, 2015 at 9:01 pm Reply
    • hayleyfromhome

      It is quite relaxing watching the birds isn’t it, I hope we get a few more visitors now!

      May 6, 2015 at 9:14 am Reply
  • Julia @ rainbeaubelle

    This kit looks fab, I love feeding the birds in our garden and helping the kids be kind to living things! X

    May 1, 2015 at 10:25 pm Reply
    • hayleyfromhome

      It is good for them to learn about the wildlife isn’t it, I hope we get some new birds in! XX

      May 6, 2015 at 9:15 am Reply
  • Maria Noell

    Fab post! I completely agree- it is sooooo important for children to learn about nature, the world and animals. That kit looks super xxx

    May 2, 2015 at 8:41 am Reply
    • hayleyfromhome

      It is fantastic, Lucas has had so much fun with it and we are looking forward to doing more as the year goes on! xx

      May 6, 2015 at 9:16 am Reply
  • Jenny

    Aww! lovely idea to attract more birds to the garden. He looks very pleased with it all! 🙂 x

    May 2, 2015 at 4:18 pm Reply
    • hayleyfromhome

      He was made up, I love that he got so involved! xx

      May 6, 2015 at 9:16 am Reply
  • mummyofboygirltwins

    Oh I LOVE this idea – we are very keen to keep Harry and Lottie very involved in nature and the outdoors and how perfect is this? Fab photographs and looks like it went down well too! Thanks for sharing 🙂 Jess x

    May 2, 2015 at 7:50 pm Reply
    • hayleyfromhome

      It is great and I think Harry and Lottie are the perfect age for getting involved in this kind of thing! Lucas has really got stuck in! xx

      May 6, 2015 at 9:18 am Reply
  • Jenna

    What lovely activities to do with children – it’s definitely important to teach them about looking after wildlife. I hope you get lots of new bird visitors to your garden.

    Jenna at Tinyfootsteps xx

    May 2, 2015 at 8:52 pm Reply
    • hayleyfromhome

      Me too, Lucas is poised ready with his binoculars most days so hopefully we’ll see something new! xx

      May 6, 2015 at 9:18 am Reply
  • Everything Mummy

    this is such a lovely way to get children interested in wildlife and nature he looks like he’s having such a great time. It so nice to see them taking it all in and learning new things isn’t it x

    May 2, 2015 at 9:12 pm Reply
    • hayleyfromhome

      Yes, I love to see them learning new things and the I like the outdoorsy stuff! He has really taken an interest and was so excited with the little kit! xx

      May 6, 2015 at 9:19 am Reply
  • Merlinda Little ( @pixiedusk)

    We also did add some birds feeder in our small terrace! Sadly since the pigeons and seagulls are already there no smaller birds would dare go and eat. But we are still waiting for our first bird to come =) #countrykids

    May 3, 2015 at 7:57 am Reply
    • hayleyfromhome

      Haha, oh no! We get a few pigeons but no seagulls thankfully, I imagine that they would take a lot of the food! xx

      May 6, 2015 at 9:20 am Reply
  • Ickle Pickle

    I love looking as the birdies – but with two cats, don’t want them in my garden 🙁 x

    May 3, 2015 at 9:40 pm Reply
    • hayleyfromhome

      Oh, that is the downside isn’t it? Luckily we are pet free so it is safe in our garden! xx

      May 6, 2015 at 9:21 am Reply
  • Katie LifeonVistaStreet Haydock

    This is one of the downsides to owning at cat. I love birds and it’s lovely to sit in my father in law’s garden and watch them as they go.

    May 3, 2015 at 11:16 pm Reply
    • hayleyfromhome

      It’s nice you have somewhere else that you can watch them but yes, having a cat does make it quite difficult!

      May 6, 2015 at 9:25 am Reply
  • Lisa@intotheglade

    I hope you do get lots of wildlife. I used to always feed the birds and encourage them but don’t anymore because of Jack, I would die if he caught anything. We do gets owl and woodpeckers in The Glade though which is fab, if a bit noisy x

    May 3, 2015 at 11:39 pm Reply
    • hayleyfromhome

      It is difficult when you have pets isn’t it but they are lovely to watch. It must be amazing to see the owls and woodpeckers close to where you live though. I can hear owls round our house but haven’t seen one yet! xx

      May 6, 2015 at 9:43 am Reply
  • Mini Travellers

    What a wonderful idea, and a great project to be part of. I hope you see lots and lots of lovely birds in your garden.

    May 4, 2015 at 3:04 pm Reply
    • hayleyfromhome

      I hope so too, Lucas is very eager with the binoculars 🙂

      May 6, 2015 at 9:44 am Reply
  • Tina

    This is an awesome idea. I’d really love to try and do something like this at our house!

    May 4, 2015 at 11:31 pm Reply
    • hayleyfromhome

      Lyla would love it! It is great for them to get stuck in with something like this and then they feel like they’ve really had a part in it all!

      May 6, 2015 at 9:45 am Reply
  • mamasVIb

    What a great little pack, I love feeding wild life in the garden and want to encourage Miss M to do the same – be kind to nature and all that. This is such a great idea x

    May 5, 2015 at 1:29 pm Reply
    • hayleyfromhome

      Lucas was so excited when he saw what was in the pack, it is perfect for pre-school age to get involved with this! xx

      May 6, 2015 at 9:45 am Reply

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