Discover How to Bring Birds into Your Garden

 

Above: Long-tailed tits (Aegithalos caudatus) feeding on suet balls (image courtesy of Paul Brentnall)

Birds are everywhere.  Just LOOK around; parks, cities, in fact, most places you look (commuters often stumble over frenzied pigeons on their way to work).  But it can be frustratingly hard to see birds when you want to, for instance in YOUR garden.  In this series of posts, I will teach you the secrets of attracting them to your garden.  With these useful tips you can transform your personal 'green space' to a twittering haven for your feathered friends.

In the series:

What do you feed birds?
How do you feed birds?
What do birds drink?

RSPB advice

If you have already created a ‘bird garden’, you may have some useful tips of your own. Please share them through a comment.

What Do You Feed Birds?

 

Above: Long-tailed tits (Aegithalos caudatus) feeding on suet balls (image courtesy of Paul Brentnall at FreeDigitalPhoto.net)

In this post you will learn how to attract different species of birds to your garden.

Birds eat allsorts; bread, seeds, peanuts, suet and meal worm.  But each bird species has its own food preference.  By providing a variety of different foods, as detailed below, you can attract a good diversity of birds to your garden.

So let’s begin.

Bread is perhaps the easiest and cheapest food to distribute.  In urban areas you are likely to attract crows, magpies and feral pigeons, whilst in more rural settings, bread will also additionally attract wood pigeons.  However, bread is of low nutritional value (lacking the fat and proteins birds need), and so should not constitute a large or sole part of their diet.  Also, make sure ideally that the bread is not too stale (and, therefore, hard), so that it will not choke birds, particularly hatchlings in the breeding season (although, incidentally, I have known magpies to soften stale pieces of bread in our bird bath, before eating it).

Above: Wood pigeon swallowing large chunk of bread, on a garden lawn

It is more ideal to provide birds with seed mixtures.  Good mixtures contain maize, peanut granules and sunflower seeds.  These mixtures will attract a variety of birds including blackbirds, house sparrows, dunnocks and finches. Black sunflower seeds are popular all year round, particularly with tits and greenfinches.  Although these types of seeds can be spread on the ground, you will have more success of attracting birds through distributing these foods via a bird table or hanging feeder.

Nyjer seeds will attract goldfinches to your garden, one of the most colourful British species.  You will need a special type of feeder, however, for distributing these small, black, oily seeds.

Above: a goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) feeding on Nyjer seeds

Peanuts are also very popular, particularly with greenfinches, tits, and if you're lucky a visiting nuthatch or greater spotted woodpecker.  However, unfortunately not any peanut will do — peanuts can be high in a particular natural toxin which can be lethal to birds, so make sure you buy them from a trusted dealer, such as the RSPB.  Unfortunately left over dry roasted peanuts will not do!

Suet balls and bird cakes are very popular in the winter, due to their high fat content.  They are favourite foods of tits.  However, make sure that you remove the mesh bags they are sold in, which can injure birds, before placing the food on a special feeder.

Meal worm is particularly sought-after by robins, and other insect eating birds, but will also be popular with seed-eating birds during the breeding season, as the emerging chicks will be needing the extra nutrition.  This food type can be distributed on the lawn, on the bird table or in a specialised feeder.

Above: A British robin feeding on a fresh worm it has plucked from the lawn

Do NOT give these to birds: milk (which can result in death), cooking fat and vegetable oils (not good for bird health or feathers), mouldy foods (which can cause respiratory infections).

In the series:

Introduction
How do you feed birds?
What do birds drink?

RSPB advice

If you have already created a ‘bird garden’, you may have some useful tips of your own. Please share them through a comment.

How Do You Feed Birds?

 

In this post, you will discover how to feed birds in different ways. Not all birds feed the same way.  So this means you will need to be a little creative.

 

 

Some birds, such as the blue and yellow macaw above, are happy to feed by hand (image courtesy of Khunaspix FreeDigitalPhotos.net).  This post, however will focus on garden birds; birds that you can see and attract without having to go on holiday or visit the zoo.

Some garden birds, such as robins and pigeons, also feed by hand   However, it is far easier to feed them, by putting food onto the ground. Some food items, such as bread and meal worm can be distributed in this way.

Above; feral pigeons (Columba livia) congregrate en masse on a garden lawn (image courtesy of Natara at FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

 

However, not all species of bird (e.g. goldfinches) like to feed on the ground.  Bird tables and hanging feeders are more effective ways of distributing many food items, attracting a greater number of bird species.

 

Bird Tables

Distributing food items on a bird table will attract smaller species, such as robins, tits and greenfinches. Bird tables come in all shapes and sizes, though one with a roof will provide shelter for visiting bird guests. Ensure that there are no sharp edges which will harm your avian visitors.

Make sure that the bird table is a suitable height (at least a metre) above the ground and away from anything obvious that a cat could use as a platform to pounce onto the bird table and unsuspecting bird guests.  If your bird table is made of wood, then by fitting an inverted plastic bucket at the top of the pole, at the base of the table platform, this should stop scaling cats and squirrels (squirrels, though they will not harm birds, have a tendency to completely raid the food bounty!).  Additional tip: you will need to fit some wiremesh around the base of the bucket to stop squirrels gnawing it away.

Larger species, such as pigeons, will also try and devour everything on the table in sight, so you may like to consider winding some string around the centre, a couple of inches above the platform of the table, in order to prevent this. Alternatively, a 4 cm wiremesh around the table will also keep out the larger birds. 

You also need to clean the table regularly and avoid letting old food accumulate, which will lead to the buildup of harmful bacteria.

 

Above: A bird table, showing modifications restricting squirrel and pigeon access

'Hanging' Feeders

In my experience, hanging food feeders are a better way of attracting small birds, at least to our sub-urban garden.  Because these feeders have a mesh or small access point they inherently keep out squirrels or larger birds, such as pigeons, and depending on where you live, may be a better investment than a bird table.  Ideally place them on the branches of a tree, where birds would be sheltered by overhanging foliage (offering protection from both the rain and prospecting sparrow hawks).

Hanging peanut feeders consist of a wiremesh, between which dining bird guests can access the goodies via pecking.  The mesh is typically about half a centimetre apart, allowing birds to get their beaks in without letting the peanuts slip out. These feeders will attract tits, greenfinches, ring-necked parakeets, and sometimes greater spotted woodpeckers.

Above: greater spotted woodpecker (Dendrocopos major) feeding on peanuts (image courtesy of Tina Phillips at FreeDigitalPhoto.net)

Some specialised peanut feeders have a spring-loaded metal sheath around them, so that when prospecting squirrels land on the feeders, they inadvertently pull the sheath down around the peanuts and block their passage to them.  The agility of squirrels never fails to amaze me, and they always seem to get onto the feeder no matter how far it is from the trunk of the tree — but this spring-loaded sheath always seems to do the trick and leaves the little critter more than a little disappointed.

Above: A hanging peanut feeder, designed to keep squirrels out with spring-loaded sheath

Hanging seed feeders consist of cylindrical transparent tubes which have one or more access points for the bird. They also have a platform for the bird to perch on, while they dine.  Sunflower seeds can be distributed in this way (in addition to on a bird table), and it's quite common to see a tit or greenfinch leisurely sitting on the feeder while it strips the shell of the kernel.

Above: Great tit (Parus major), left, and coal tit (Periparus ater), right. (Image courtesy of Tina Phillips at FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

Nyjer seeds can be distributed through a specialised Nyjer seed feeder. Depending on how many perching points you have, you can attract several goldfinches all leisurely feeding at the same time (unless you startle them, they are happy to dine, unhurriedly, for 5, 10 minutes or more, and with their spectacular coloured plumage make a marvellous addition to your garden!)

Above: A goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) feeding on a hanging Nyjer seed feeder

Suet ball feeders consist of hanging baskets or cages, in which the food is placed.  But do remember to remove the mesh packaging from the balls first, as this is harmful to birds.  In our garden anyway, this food is very popular with blue tits and sometimes if we are lucky we get a large group of feeding long-tailed tits.

Above: Long-tailed tits (Aegithalos caudatus) feeding on suet balls (image courtesy of Paul Brentnall)

 

Mealworms can be dispersed via a hanging tray, which the robin is quite happy to swoop down on to grab its dinner, before immediately flying off again. However, open trays can be raided by starlings — which have the habit of consuming every last remaining scrap.  Therefore, there are specialised mealworms feeders you can purchase which have adjustable height roofs, which only allow smaller birds, such as robins, in. 

In the series:

Introduction
What do you feed birds?
What do birds drink?

RSPB advice

If you have already created a ‘bird garden’, you may have some useful tips of your own. Please share them through a comment.

What Do Birds Drink?

You should only give birds water.  Liquids such as milk could kill them.

Although many birds get a certain amount of water from their food (particularly those that feed on insects), many will also need a good guzzle of water. Water also helps birds to keep their flight feathers in good working order and a good wash is invaluable to removing unwanted dirt or parasites which will affect flight performance and general health.

Above: these starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) enjoy a good soak in a bird bath (image courtesy of Paul Brentnall at FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

Bird baths are the best way of providing birds with water in the garden.  Bird baths come in many shapes and sizes but you don't need anything too fancy, with an expensive fountain or anything which will be difficult to maintain.  However, I do advise flushing out and replacing the dirty water, every few weeks or so.  You may like to replace any ornamental pebbles at the bottom of the bath every few months or so, as green algae tends to build up on them.

Also bear in mind, that bird baths, being nearer the ground than other bird attractors, make visiting birds inherently more vulnerable.  So you may like to consider the safest place to put the bird bath in the garden.

Above:this blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) is about to dine on some peanuts; but the bird bath is frozen!   (image courtesy of Tina Phillips at FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

Bear in mind that in the winter, bird baths will freeze.  To help birds out, you can add hot water to melt the ice.  Also, if you line the bath with a polythene sheet, this will help you to remove the ice easier.  However, substances such as antifreeze and salt should not be used, as these are harmful to birds.

In the series:

Introduction
What do you feed birds?
How do you feed birds?

RSPB advice

If you have already created a ‘bird garden’, you may have some useful tips of your own. Please share them through a comment.

What Are Fossil Footprints?

 

Fossil footprints are ancient traces of living animals — termed trace fossils.  Trace fossils also include eggs, faeces (coprolites) and trails and burrows of invertebrates (animals with no backbones). 

You are probably more familiar with the skeletons of extinct animals, such as the iconic dinosaurs, which fill the halls of our museums — these are termed body fossils.  They tend to steal the excitement of children away from footprints, and very often, from scientists too.  In fact, although fossil footprints sparked much excitement with their first discoveries in the early 19th century, it is has only been relatively recently that we are beginning to realise just how important they really are.

Fossil  footprints show us how extinct animals moved; they are geological “movies” of dinosaurs going about their daily business.  They record the dynamic interaction between the animal and the ground upon which it walks.  Fossil footprints also help us to understand extinct animal behaviour (e.g. did they live in herds, did they hunt in packs?);  they help us to understand their ecology (what other animals did they live with?);  they help us to understand their environment (did it contain rivers, lakes or was it near the coast?).   Very often, fossil footprints may be the only traces of extinct animals (in a particular area).

Indeed, as the great Sherlock Holmes quipped in A Study in Scarlet, “There is no branch of detective science which is so important and so much neglected, as the art of tracing footsteps”.

 

Above: Fossil footprint of a three toed dinosaur.  Such footprints are records of how extinct animals moved; note the claw mark (top, centre) indicating that the toe was dragged through this sediment (photograph from the Middle Jurassic, Yorkshire coast).

 

This is the first in a series of articles aiming to introduce the reader to the study of fossil footprints, with a particular focus on my area of study, dinosaur footprints.

‘Mutant’ Turtles at Crystal Palace Park? The Story of the Dicynodon

 

As the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) film pounces onto British cinemas, I thought it timely to introduce you to the strange turtle-like animal statues at Crystal Palace Park — animals that you have probably already passed many times rushing to see the dinosaur statues…

These two strange animal statues (termed Dicynodon) can be found to the right-hand side of the (large) dinosaurs and the marine reptiles.  The statues are actually on the other side of the Primary Island to the Labyrinthodon, (as shown in the photograph below).  But you should be able to see them if you follow the path around.

 

Above: Photograph showing location of Dicynodon on Primary Island.

 

Above: Close -up of two Dicynodon statues

 

As you can see from the photographs, these two strange statues have shells like turtles.  But have a closer look, what else do you notice?

You should be able to see tusks, giving them a strange sabre-toothed appearance (in photo, can only be seen in one animal, but they both have them).  It is from these features, that they were named Dicynodon (from the Greek words meaning “two tusks or canine teeth”).  Now if you are a fan of prehistoric animals you have probably seen many strange creatures; the four legged carnivore with a huge sail on its back (Dimetrodon), the exotically frilled Triceratops and its kin, or the prehistoric shark with an ‘ironing board’ like spine on its back (Stethacanthus).  But you are unlikely to have seen sabre-toothed turtles. But did these animals really exist?   In order to answer this question, we need to take a look back at the history of the Dicynodon models.

The famous sculptor of the models, Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, built the models under the scientific guidance of famous British anatomist, Richard Owen.  Richard Owen was particularly good at solving palaeontological puzzles, a few years earlier being able to predict the existence of a giant flightless bird (later described as the moa) from a single bone fragment alone^1,2,3.  However, in the case of these strange Dicynodon, all he really had to work with were a few skulls he was sent from South Africa (along with a few vertebrae)^4,5.  These heads were very strange indeed, showing a combination of tusks, but with the toothless beak of turtles.  So what did the rest of the bodies look like?  It seems that Owen was unwilling to reconstruct an entire body, however, judging from the lack of such reconstructions, though he did speculate that the animals were amphibious⁵.

 

Above: The skull of Dicynodon lacerticeps (from Owen 1845⁵).

 

Now, in order to breathe life into these extinct animals, and reconstruct the bodies, Hawkins would have to edge further into the dark of the “speculation zone”, even if Owen was not prepared to.  So, it seems Hawkins gave these Dicynodon statues shells.  Exactly why he did this, we can really only speculate.  This could be due to Owen’s interpretation of the animals as amphibious, or from his description of the turtle-like beaks.

We know now, that Hawkins was incorrect in giving these animals shells — the Dicynodon turns out to be more closely related to mammals (“mammal-like reptiles”).  However, perhaps we should not judge Hawkins too harshly, as what we must bear in mind is that he was working with very fragmentary material known at the time (we now have more complete material for the Dicynodon and closely related species).  More importantly, the Hawkins’ reconstructions, still standing 160 years later, are ‘living’ testaments to the changing process of science — reconstructions change with new discoveries and theories, so we can go back and question older reconstructions, or ideas critically. We can say “we have got it less wrong now”.  Ideas, like animals, evolve too.

The sabre-toothed Dicynodon, ‘mutant’ turtles no more.

 

For my more comprehensive historical look at the Dicynodon, visit the Friends of Crystal Palace Dinosaurs website, where this research was first published.  I would be happy to answer any questions related to this topic, so please leave a comment.

 

References

1. Owen, R. (1840). On the bone of an Unknown Struthious Bird from New Zealand, Meeting of November 12, 1839. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London (Vol. 7, pp. 169-171).

2. Owen, R. (1843).  On the Remains of Dinornis, an Extinct Gigantic Struthious Bird.  Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London (pp. 8-10).

3. Dawson, G.  On Richard Owen’s Discovery, in 1839, of the Extinct New Zealand Moa from Just a Single Bone. BRANCH: Britain, Representation and Nineteenth-Century History. Ed. Dino Franco Felluga. Extension of Romanticism and Victorianism on the Net. Web. [Last accessed 20 September 2014].

4. Bain, A. G. (1845). II.—On the Discovery of the Fossil Remains of Bidental and other Reptiles in South Africa. Transactions of the Geological Society of London, 53-59.

5. Owen, R. (1845). III.— Report on the Reptilian Fossils of South Africa: Part I.  — Description of Certain Fossil Crania, Discovered by AG Bain, Esq ., in Sandstone Rocks at the South-Eastern Extremity of Africa, Referable to Different Species of an Extinct Genus of Reptilia (Dicynodon), and Indicative of a New Tribe or Sub-order of Sauria. Transactions of the Geological Society of London, 59-84.

What Are Butterflies?

 

Butterflies are insects, which like all arthropods (also including spiders, scorpions, millipedes, lobsters) have jointed legs and a 'shell' on the outside of the body (an exoskeleton), enclosing the soft parts. Like all insects, butterflies have three major body parts; a head, thorax and abdomen. Like insects, butterflies have three pair of legs, though in some groups the first pair of legs has been reduced so much that they are virtually useless for walking and are only apparent on closer examination.
 
Butterflies belong to the order Lepidoptera — Greek for 'scale wings', as their thin membrane wings are covered by loose scales. Actually, only about 12% of this order (Lepidoptera comprising more than 165,000 species) are butterflies, the rest being moths. Butterflies and moths have two pairs of wings, originating from the thorax; 2 forewings, 2 hindwings, which are cut by complex patterns of veins, varying between the different species.

Below: Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae), showing characteristic butterfly features discussed

Unlike most moths, butterflies are active during the day, usually only when it is sunny and bright. When butterflies rest, their wings are pressed or folded together in a vertical plane, above the body (abdomen) so that the lower surfaces of the wings are exposed — most moths rest with their wings held flat, concealing the abdomen. Unlike moths, the two antennae end in clubs.

Below: Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta), feeding on buddleia, showing resting position with wings closed.

The bright colours and spectacular markings which often adorn butterfly wings are either due to presence of pigments in the wing-scales, or may be due to the way the microscopic structure of the scale interferes with light (the diffraction of incidence light), the latter of which produces the metallic colours of butterflies, as in the group known as the 'blues' (Lycaenidae). Colour may serve several functions: to avoid predation through camouflage (normally visible on the under-surfaces of the wings), for attracting a possible mate (visible on wing upper-surfaces), and may also be used to raise body temperature, as the butterfly basks in the sun.