A natural charm - Sarah Niemann

Goldfinch on branch

I’m charmed. And more literally than you might think.

Birds in the garden, we know how much people like them, and what could be more delightful than goldfinches fluttering around outside your kitchen window? I’ve just had that experience and it’s moved me enough to sit down and write about it.

Charming

It’s a dull day and I’m working. I got myself a cup of tea and there they were. Bright red and yellow flashing in the gloom, bouncing on stems and feeding eagerly, and in my garden. In case you didn’t know, a group of goldfinches is called a charm, and it’s so very appropriate, don’t you think?

'We try to do what we can for the wildlife that shares our space, and it’s as if they are telling me that we’ve got it right.'

For me though, there’s an extra charm. I have to confess that there haven’t been any feeders out in our garden for ages. Does that sound terrible? Feeders are a great way of bringing birds in, aren’t they? And so they are, and they bring much pleasure.

But my goldfinches were not on feeders, they were taking seeds from dead plant stems, and that’s where the charm lies for me. A feeder is a very quick thing, fill it, put it out, job done. Easy. We’ve done it the slower way, turning the patch of sickly grass and huge patios that were there when we moved in into something different.

It looks like a fairly normal garden, with a lawn that needs regular mowing, a pond, a patch of rhubarb and lots of growing plants. We may not be the most hard-working gardeners, but it’s no ‘scruffy wilderness’, and people tell us what a lovely garden it is.

Showing their approval

However, we’ve quietly built in lots of extras, in our choice of plants and the way we manage it all, because we want this to be a habitat for wildlife, not just a habitat for us. So there’s a bit of long grass, to help the insects complete their breeding cycles (and they’ll be food for birds), no pesticides, lots of good wildlife plants, and we’ve not removed seeding plant stems yet, even though they do look a bit messy. And now the goldfinches have expressed their approval, by coming to take the seeds we left for them.

This feels so special, as if I’ve reached an understanding with the birds. It’s not like that, of course, but we try to do what we can for the wildlife that shares our space, and it’s as if they are telling me that we’ve got it right. It would have been lovely to see them on a feeder, but this is so much more. If you like to feed the birds, do give it a thought. It’s really not that difficult and even if it is slower than filling a feeder, one grey morning you might find a burst of colour brightening your day too. Isn’t that a charming thought?

What can I do?

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Last modified: 20 February 2009