Another super useful substack post, thank you so much. I will surely look into those bird food plants and see if we can make a little space for them in our garden.
Ha, I thought ‘Cetti’s!’ before I got to the line where you revealed what it was! They are SO loud, aren’t they, and always near water as they eat the larvae oof aquatic insects!
This is such a great idea to plant for bird seed instead of using feeders. I found great joy in seeing our local gold finches feeding on the verbena bonariensis seed heads that grow in the cracks in our concrete front yard. Although I suspect they only provided enough seed for a small snack, it was still rewarding to see.
I think the main issue is the maintenance of the supply through winter but if we can reduce their reliance on feeders it would be a start and at least we know the seed is pesticide free
Great post. Teasels are the definite favourite here. Whilst I miss seeing the goldfinches daily on my feeder there is nothing like the thrill of seeing them on teasels.
I was also going to add don’t give up on learning bird song. I always thought I just couldn’t ‘do’ birdsong but I’ve learnt a lot in the last few years from Shriek of the Week here on Substack, BTO videos and courses. Merlin is a great tool but now I mostly use it to check - eg I think that’s a blackcap - great Merlin agrees!! Cetti’s warblers have a great explosive song. I often hear them in Cardiff.
Thank you Hilary - teasels have spread around the garden and are easily identified. Love how they give structure to the winter garden as well as entertain birds. Thanks too for the bird song encouragement - it's getting the right description which you remember - Simon King taught me that great tits sound like pumping up a bike tyre so can do those !
I'm like you - love watching birds at the feeder, using a bird cam for those great close up shots - but hearing the finch story last year was a huge wakeup call. Seeing fields of ripe sunflowers in France, sprayed off with glyphosate was another.
Another super useful substack post, thank you so much. I will surely look into those bird food plants and see if we can make a little space for them in our garden.
Glad it was useful Chantal - our choice of annuals could make such a difference to birds in winter
Wry useful. Happy to say I’ve been sowing some of these already
Worth adding that in North America hummingbird feeders spread fungus and molds that kill hummingbirds. People don't clean their feeders.
Thanks for the info - so useful to know. Clearly bird lovers around the world who feed birds really need to clean their feeders
Ha, I thought ‘Cetti’s!’ before I got to the line where you revealed what it was! They are SO loud, aren’t they, and always near water as they eat the larvae oof aquatic insects!
Well done!! So loud but not managed to spot it yet.
This reminded me to sow Tithonia today! Saved seed last year and just found it in fridge seedbox…
Its one of my fav annuals - takes up a lot of space though!
Thanks for this Sally - educational and useful. List of plants to grow particularly helpful.
Thank you !
On a different subject, can you recommend any domestic garden size trees that will stand up well to climate change?
Hi Jane - I'll email an article I wrote re my top 5 small trees for climate-resilience
This is such a great idea to plant for bird seed instead of using feeders. I found great joy in seeing our local gold finches feeding on the verbena bonariensis seed heads that grow in the cracks in our concrete front yard. Although I suspect they only provided enough seed for a small snack, it was still rewarding to see.
I think the main issue is the maintenance of the supply through winter but if we can reduce their reliance on feeders it would be a start and at least we know the seed is pesticide free
Great post. Teasels are the definite favourite here. Whilst I miss seeing the goldfinches daily on my feeder there is nothing like the thrill of seeing them on teasels.
I was also going to add don’t give up on learning bird song. I always thought I just couldn’t ‘do’ birdsong but I’ve learnt a lot in the last few years from Shriek of the Week here on Substack, BTO videos and courses. Merlin is a great tool but now I mostly use it to check - eg I think that’s a blackcap - great Merlin agrees!! Cetti’s warblers have a great explosive song. I often hear them in Cardiff.
Thank you Hilary - teasels have spread around the garden and are easily identified. Love how they give structure to the winter garden as well as entertain birds. Thanks too for the bird song encouragement - it's getting the right description which you remember - Simon King taught me that great tits sound like pumping up a bike tyre so can do those !
I love watching the birds that come to the feeder from my armchair, but had never joined the dots over the seeds and peanuts we fill them with.
We have teazels that self-seed all over the place. Left to their own devices they make perfect feeders for goldfinches.
I'm like you - love watching birds at the feeder, using a bird cam for those great close up shots - but hearing the finch story last year was a huge wakeup call. Seeing fields of ripe sunflowers in France, sprayed off with glyphosate was another.