Birds are used as indicator of the general quality of the farmed environment because they sit near the top of the food chain. I am interested to find out the range of bird species here, and whether there are any which we should be particularly helping and encouraging. With this in mind we have put up some bird feeders.
Matt made the poles from Mimosa bushes which we have on the land and strapped them together with baler twine which we are always trying to think of uses for (due to having loads of it as it comes on the hay for the horses). We have sited them near the orange trees and they should be cat-proof. We have bought some bird seed but will also use sunflower seeds grown here. Apparently black sunflower seeds are a good all round food for birds and have a higher oil content than the striped ones. We will watch and wait and report back!
We also want to put up bird boxes but as spring has started here it’s probably a little too late as birds tend to check out their nests in autumn and winter.
