I have vivid memories of a particular incident when, as a child living in College Road in Maidstone, I’d been sent into town to buy a loaf of bread. My route back took me past the river where there were always lots of ducks both in and out of the water. It seemed a bit churlish to walk past them when I had a whole loaf of bread in my hands so I started to give them some…The result? I returned home with less than half a loaf although luckily my grandmother forgave me. Now when I look back I think, “Oh no! Isn’t bread really bad for birds - especially when it’s not soaked first?” Feeding the birds today is proving to be a bit of a modern dilemma. Does feeding them merely support  some species (e.g. great tits) at the expense of others, leading to an imbalance? 

The jury seems to be out on that question but it is true that at the moment here in Marden, the winter bird crops out on the farms are starting to become depleted and in my view, feeding our feathered friends is something that we can do to help nature in a world where much of the natural world is under attack by human intervention.

I was given a new feeding station this year thanks to Sue’s recommendation: a Tom Chambers model. The different hooks at different heights have worked really well although of course hanging food from my buddleia also works well and provides some camouflage.

On the few occasions when I’ve seen some more unusual species living here in the centre of the village  (green and great spotted woodpeckers, redwings and a tree creeper), they’ve been clinging to the bark of our old crab apple outside the kitchen window. It is also a joy watching the birds splashing around in the ‘beach’ at the edge of the pond and hopefully they also enjoy the insects that the pond attracts. The calicarpa is still full of berries waiting to be devoured by the blackbirds- they seem to love the taste of these vivid purple fruits.

It is true that we share our gardens and the joy that our wildlife visitors brings is a part of the happiness of being a gardener.