Gardens and Parks. Nick Baker

is becoming very big business, and by using the right mix and the right feeder in the right place, you can attract birds almost to order! But for now, here’s a low-budget idea to get you going (see opposite).

       Choose a variety of foods. Not all birds like eating the same things – finches love seeds (niger and sunflower), tits are crazy about nuts, thrushes like fruit and woodpeckers love fatty, suet-based stuff.

       YOU WILL NEED

       > 1 litre plastic milk carton

       > marker pen

       > ruler

       > scissors

       > twigs

       > bird seed

       > funnel

       > string

      1 Using the marker pen and ruler, draw a line 1.5cm from the bottom of the plastic milk carton and parallel to the base on the opposite side to the handle.

      2 With the scissors, cut along the marked line and then, at each end of the incision, cut up about 3cm.

      3 Fold the flap you have just created back into the bottle and add a perch or two. Make these from twigs or any straight bits of wood; push them into a hole below the feeding tray.

      4 Fill with seeds, pouring them into the container through a funnel. Screw the lid back on and then hang up the container with string in your garden.

      Take my advice

      * Position your feeders carefully. Birds like to be in the open so that predators cannot sneak up on them. But they also like to have cover nearby so that if a sparrow hawk comes cruising around, they can all leap into cover.

      * Vary the locations of your feeders, as some birds are bold while others are shy. So feed close to the house by all means, but do not forget the nervous ones and provide food at the end of the garden too.

      * Different birds feed in different ways. Some rarely get onto the bird table but prefer to stay on the ground, while others like flat surfaces, and some like to hang.

      * Feed only good quality foods. If it’s cheap, it may have lots of wheat in it. Cheaper peanuts may also contain a fungus infection that can kill the birds you are helping.

       Nutty feeders

      The cheapest nut feeder has to be a plastic mesh bag, the sort that supermarket fruit often comes in. Simply stuff it with peanuts and hang it up. I hate the bright orange of the netting but I have noticed that siskins (one of my favourite birds) show the most interest in these feeders even though they have many others (some of them scarily expensive too) to choose from. This could well become a subject for a garden experiment!

      Alternatively, make a full-fat nut pudding. This animal fat-based food is made from warmed animal fat or suet, mixed with any variety of seeds, fruits, nuts or insects and left to set before being served up. It’s a great way of providing a high-energy winter diet for your birds. My favourite way to use the suet reciped is to make fat cones – see opposite – or dip teasel heads into the melted suet.

      Another way to provide bird cake is to leave the mix to set in a tin that is wedged in place between three blocks screwed to your bird table. Or you can form a ball and stuff it in a handy plastic fruit net; fill an old coconut shell; or drill holes in a log and jam the fat into these. This last is a real favourite for wood peckers! This recipe is very easy to make and you can fine tune the ingredients, perhaps including some peanuts, sunflower seeds or millet, according to what the birds seem to prefer.

      Take my advice

      * If you have just started feeding the birds in your garden, it may take them a little while to learn about your new service. So be patient and if after a few weeks there are still no visitors, try relocating your feeding station. It may be that the birds feel just a little too exposed.

      * Keep your feeders clean by washing and sterilizing them every few months and try to avoid food hanging around and becoming stale. Feeders over concrete or decking mean you can easily sweep away any spilled food, which may otherwise attract unwanted wildlife such as rats.

       YOU WILL NEED

       > pine cones

       > string

       > 250g animal suet

       > 1 jar unsalted peanut butter

       > plain flour

       > bird seed

      1 Next time you are out for a walk collect old dry pine cones in various sizes. When you get home, tie some string around the base of a few of them.

      2 Take a saucepan and heat the suet slowly in it until it has melted. Add the peanut butter and mix in until it has melted too.

      3 Add some flour to help thicken the mixture and then pour in plenty of small fine seeds until you have a fairly stiff mixture. Let it cool a little, continuing to stir.

      4 Before the mixture sets, drop your cones into the pan and press the stodge in between the scales.

      5 Leave to cool and harden and then take out to the garden to hang in a tree or on a bird table.

       A bird in the hand . . .

      If being close to wildlife is your goal, then it doesn’t get much closer than when it is sitting on your palm. The robin is the perfect candidate for this. Famously bold, you can train your local bird to come to your hand in as little as a week – see opposite for how you do it. If at any stage you fail, go back a step and keep trying for contact. It is worth it for both of you: your robin will get vital food of the right kind, and you will get the rare thrill of touching a wild bird.

      Take my advice

      * Despite what some people seem to think, you can feed your birds all year round, just be aware that large, dry food items, such as stale bread crusts and peanuts, can choke young nestlings. So in the summer, either place them in a feeder that allows the birds to only take small bits or crumble