Bird Table News

My small garden bush is leafless now, but it still gives birds shelter from the wind and rain .  I also use it for sheltering the bird food from the wind and rain as well

Every year the bush gives fruit for me and the birds.

Here is a photo taken last July.  This July it will fruit again as it does every year.

 The bush is leafless now but I know it will spring into life again and in a few months will be full of berries.

Every year this old bush spring back into life

 When it’s cold and windy it’s  nice to look at photos of a fresh summers day isn’t it.

Think about planting flowers, shrubs or plants that will attract birds.  Look at my Bird Friendly Plant list.   There are many more plants that attract birds – ask if you want to.

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If you are interested in finding out more about Bird Friendly Plants take a look below -

Hello Trisha,

Many thanks for your e-mail.

Yes, you are correct, the bushes/hedges of Elder, Blackthorn and Hawthorn are the same as trees. The main difference being that the trees are turned into hedges if the trees are clipped and pruned. If the plants are left to grow naturally, they will be classed as trees. If you need any further info, please get in touch, we are more than happy to help.

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Birds and Plants.  Maybe you can’t have one without the other

A mistle thrush will feed on the flesh of the white mistletoe berries, which is very sticky 

Mistletoe for Mistle Thrushes

• After feeding on the mistletoe the mistle thrush tries to clean its beak on a branch
• It does this to try to get rid of the stickyness of its beak.
• When it does this the mistletoe sticks to the branch and grows into misltetoe.

Apple and Hawthorn are common trees and bushes were mistletoe grows.

So mistle thrushes play an important part in spreadinga mistletoe and misltetoe plays and important part in feeding misle thrushes.

Mistle Thrush in an English Garden

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Please read this and plant a native plant -

NATIVE PLANTS HELP NATIVE BIRDS

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English Hawthorn Hedge

plant a hedge, feed a bird.

Below is some bright, cheerful wild hawthorn berries, ripe and ready for birds to eat.

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Below is a bramble / blackberry bush

Brambles for birds

 with a few brambles left over for us hopeully!

Below is a bramble / blackberry bush with fruit that are nearly ready

Blackberries for birds

Plants like these brighten up the countryside and could brighten up our gardens, provide fruit for ourselves and provide food and nesting sites for birds.

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I have been getting confused about when a bush turns into a tree!  I emailed Trees2mydoor and got this reply -

Hello Trisha,   Many thanks for your e-mail.

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Many native birds get food and shelter  and protection from a hawthorn hedging

Is hawthorn a tree, hedge or a bush?  Whatever it is – it is a natural British plant that gives -

• shelter and safety – the prickly spikes on the branches mean that predators such as sparrowhawks can’t get inside the bush. Birds of prey cannot risk tearing their feathers on the sharp thorns of the hawthorn hedge

• nesting sites

• food for birds from the berries that grow on the bush

The other week I saw a sparrowhawk with a blackbird in it’s talons.  It had flown out of a laurel hedge. 

If it had been a hawthorn hedge the sparrowhawk would not have gone inside as they cannot risk tearing their feathers.  If a sparrowhawk damages its feathers it cannot hunt or feed.

As well as the laurel hedge we also have a lot of old hawthorn hedges / bushes / trees nearby that birds can shelter in.  This hawthorn hedge has been here for years.  Year after year the hawthorn gives nesting, shelter and food to a lot of birds.  The hawthorn is often full of birdsong.

Click here to read about the sparrowhawk in the garden

Below is a photograph that I took of a hawthorn bush which is growing near our garden.  It is part of the British countryside and hawthorn is a really bird friendly bush / hedge / tree!

If you plant one hawthorn plant  it will enhance your garden and help you make a part of your garden into a bird friendly garden corner

Hawthorn Hedge gives food and shelter to birds

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HOW TO GET A HAWTHORN DELIVERED TO YOUR DOOR

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Sunflower grown from sunflower seed in a bird food pack

Sunflower grown from seed out of a bird food pack

A Home Grown Sunflower planted from sunflower seeds taken from bird food. Wonderful!

A while ago my blogging and bird friend John sent me details of how he grows sunflower seeds from his own sunflower seed bird food.

I plant each seed in a small pot of compost and start them in a cold greenhouse when it looks as though the worst frosts are over.

Sunflower seeds  are quick to start and very vigorous growers once established in the ground.

The size of plant and flower head is very variable depending on type.  It is pot luck which type are in the wild bird seed mix.

They really need staking or tying to your fence, as they grow especially as the flower head grows and becomes top heavy

The stems can be up to 1 inch (24cm) thick.  Some varieties have multiple heads.

Like wheat, sunflowers can suffer from the rain.  Flower heads can get so set that they start to rot, but most produce edible seeds.

Not just for the birds – sunflowers in bloom look so joyful with their large brilliant yellow flowers following the sun across the sky it cheers you up just to look at them.  Happy Growing. John.

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Thanks John. Fruit bushes are the same, they look so colourful and feed the birds at the same time, so I can see what you ean when you say they are not just for the birds.  We can enjoy these flowers and plants too.

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If you would rather buy sunfower seeds and other seeds for a Bird Friendly Garden Corner then try Thompson and Morgan seeds and get seed packets delivered to your door.

CLICK HERE FOR THE DIRECT LINK TO THOMPSON AND MORGAN SUNFLOWER SEEDS FOR SALE

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I have started to put together a bird friendly plant list.

Not sure the best way to do it yet, but this is what I have done so far.  Hope you can read it or print it off.  If you can’t do either let me know and I will sort something else out.

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I’m putting together a  Bird Friendly Plant list.  Hoping you can help.

Deans Garden Centre in Scarborough have been helping me with planting dates.

Here are two that can be planted at any time of year – which means you can plant them now – tomorrow even! 

ORNAMENTAL GRASSES PROVIDE:

• Seed for birds to feed on

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ELDERBERRY SHRUB PROVIDES

• Berries for birds to feed on and
• A nesting site for our garden birds.

There will be a lot more information about Bird Friendly garden plants in the next few weeks.

Why not take a trip to the local garden centre?

Whatever you plant will last years and help our garden birds for years.

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