A Book on How to Save Our Garden Birds
Save Our Birds is another wonderful read, again by Matt. Leaving no habitat unexplored around the British Isles, he provides a wealth of practical advice on how to help birds in cities, coastlands, woodlands and farms.
Imagine a garden entirely without birds. Imagine a whole street empty of them; a town with no spring nests or morning birdsong; no swifts or swallows overhead on hot days. Actually, don’t. It’s far too horrible.
Our once insect-rich summers are now a thing of the past, due to pesticides and intensive farming practices.
Matt is passionate about saving our birds, and his writing will make you passionate too:
Put simply, a lot of our birds are endangered, because the UK and Europe just isn’t wild enough anymore. All of our outdoor spaces are owned, managed and pumped full of chemicals to yield as much from the earth as possible.
Matt Sewell is an artist and ornithologist who has written several best-selling books on bird and other wildlife. His designs for birds even feature on stamps on Isle of Man.
- If you live with cats, keep them indoors at dusk and dawn, when garden birds are feeding.
- Don’t feed birds stale, mouldy or crusty bread (nor buttered bread, fat can smear on feathers, affecting weatherproofing and insulation).
- Never use brightly-coloured or tin bird houses (they overheat and attract predators).
- Read more on create safe havens for garden birds, and how to stop birds flying into windows
- Don’t play birdsong near birds, it can confuse and attract predators.
