Homes Fit For Birds

2006 results
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Which activities were most popular?

Adult starling on bird feeder
Providing food and water for birds was voted the most enjoyable activity

Of the 19 actions, the most frequently undertaken was growing a mix of nectar-rich flowering plants. This provides a rich source of food for insects, which in turn may help feed birds, providing food for young house sparrows in particular.

Other popular actions were leaving bare patches within flowerbeds closely followed by growing flowering plants. For insects like solitary bees and wasps, and ground beetles, bare patches provide somewhere to warm up and hunt. Bare patches can provide a source of mud for birds, such as song thrushes, to line their nests. Later in the summer when the patches are drier, house sparrows make use of them for dust bathing. 

Although these were the most commonly followed actions, creating a woodpile was the advice most frequently followed by those to whom it was provided, followed closely by managing a pond sympathetically for wildlife. Woodpiles provide somewhere for mosses, lichens and fungi to grow, shelter for insects which attract amphibians, somewhere for mammals and birds to feed, as well as somewhere for them to shelter and nest.

Although less than half of participants carried out action to reduce predation by cats, the least popular action was fitting an internal nestbox. This reflects the complexity of this action, and is backed up by the assessment of those 15 who did install an internal nestbox (1.2% of the people it was recommended to).

How easy did you find the actions?

All participants were asked how difficult they found the actions, as well as how much they enjoyed doing them.

Fitting internal nestboxes and reducing predation by cats were the two actions rated most difficult. The latter was one of the two actions that the highest percentage (though still low <10%) of participants 'did not enjoy'; the other being retaining bare patches on the lawn (around 14%).

Providing food and water for birds was the most enjoyable activity for participants, whilst leaving some grass long (in summer or winter) was, not surprisingly, rated as the easiest activity.

Last modified: 17 November 2006