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| Birds in the garden |
Encouraging birds to feed in your garden can aid pest control.
They will seek out and eat various insects and moluscs that could otherwise damage plant life.
The secret is to attract the birds into your garden with other forms of feeding.
This can be by means of laying out various 'bird feeds' on bird tables/baths and purpose made feeders suspended from trees & fences.
Their are many types of 'bird feed'that can be purchased from specialist shops and garden centres.
If this is deemed too expensive there are a number of 'home made' alternatives that can be used as seen in the following list;
Commercial seed mixes are readily available, some designed to attract specific bird types.
Finely chopped bacon rind is appreciated by many small birds as is grated cheese, grain, sunflower seed and nuts.
Blocks of fat can be purchased to either be suspended on cords or to fit into feeders.
You can make your own fat blocks by melting suet and pouring into moulds such as coconut shells or logs with holes drilled into them.
Adding commercial seed to the mix can put variety into the feeding process.
Fruit such as apples and raisins can be a useful addition to the menu.
Growing plants that hold onto their fruit/berries/seed during the winter months is another food source for birds.
Finally; feed birds regularly all the year round so that visiting your garden is habit forming.
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