Feed the Birds Day

Today is the RSPB's Feed the Birds Day, where they ask everyone to put food out for garden birds. Bird feeders are important all year round in urban areas but they're particularly important when wild seeds and insects are hardest to find during the winter months. My bird feeders are nice and full in the garden this weekend. I haven't seen many other bird feeders in the area but maybe there will be more after today!

Have a look at the RSPB's website for more information on feeding the birds in your garden and identifying what turns up. You could even have fun making bird cakes to hang up outside- a great activity for kids at the end of half term week.

Why not let me know what you saw on your bird feeders this weekend? I'm expecting sparrows and not a lot else but maybe I'll be surprised.

I'm Back!

After a week offline I'm back! Lots has happened in the last week and I'll be talking about some of it over the next few days. I'll have updates on my veg box ventures and my weekly walks, why I was dressed as a Viking for a day and recent environment news.

Suddenly Autumn seems to have really arrived. With the first frost last night and the clocks changing in just over a week the nights are feeling a lot longer and darker. The heating has come on at home as we need somewhere warm enough to dry clothes. The occasional sunny days are enough most of the time but when washing stays wet for days inside something needs to be done. Our lights are on more now too and since the weekend all our bulbs are energy saving, saving us money and fossil fuels.

As I've said before while we're tucked up in ever warmer houses the wildlife outside has to find other ways to cope with the onset of winter. The sparrows in the garden are at the feeders constantly and I'm going to give them all a good clean and make sure they're filled before the RSPB's Feed The Birds Day on the 29th.

October in the Office

We're ten days into October already and I've only just got round to looking at How Green Are My Wellies by Anna Shepard for this month. The book is split into twelve chapters giving tips and suggestions for green living month by month. I got this book for Christmas a few years ago and I love it. Each chapter's short enough to read in a spare half an hour and ends with tips and actions you can do to green your own life.
For October Anna looks at green office etiquette and how even if you're greener than green at home it's easy to slip into bad habits without noticing at work. Many work places now have environment champions or committees and small steps can often make the office a much more pleasant place to be.
Her main tips that everyone can do are:

• Install greenery - Putting a plant on your desk absorbs toxins and pollutants (a green air filter) and also absorbs CO2.
• Give your computer a lunch break- Even if you don't turn the whole thing off (turning it off then back on again later gives a nice 3 minute settling in period after lunch doesn't it?) definitely turn the screen off. The screen accounts for about 80% of the computer's energy and it only takes a second to turn on again.
• Lunch al-fresco - Bringing in your own lunch saves money, saves on packaging as you won't be disposing of a plastic box every day and is almost certainly more healthy for you. Eating outside (even sometimes in winter!) is even better for you as it gives fresh air, a walk and a proper break from the office.
• Right sort of cuppa - Using a proper cup from home rather than a plastic beaker makes drinks taste so much better. You could even ask the canteen whether they can provide milk jugs and sugar bowls rather than sachets.
• Ethical snaking - A mid afternoon snack always raises spirits but it feels that much better if you know you're helping the environment too. Did you know there are over 800 Fairtrade certified products available? Does you office stock any of them, and if not could they?
• Put the office to bed - If you, like me, turn lights out as you go round the house at night do you do it at work too? The last person out the door should check computers are turned off and lights are out, and make sure it's never you who is the one who's left things on!
• Promote a green commute - Some people enjoy their quiet alone-time on the way to work but other love company. Organise a lift-share board or cycling/bus group.

I'd add make-your-own recycling boxes to this list. If it's a long way to the recycling facilities use a cardboard box to collect your recycling and then do a trip at the end of the day. Group together with colleagues and take it in turns to make the trip. This will raise awareness of recycling and also create a feelings of community responsibility and achievement.
As well as all this office greening a quick look on Wikipedia showed up a few more things to do this month. October is Fairtrade Month in the USA, on the 21st October it is Apple Day in the UK (so remember to stock up with nice British ones) and on the 29th October it's the RSPB's Feed the Birds Day, so better stock up on bird food too! My sparrows have finally found the second seed feeder so hopefully by the end of the month I'll have lots of full happy birds in my area.

Hungry Sparrows

Yesterday I wrote about what makes me notice Autumn. More jumpers, darker evenings and higher gas and electricity bills are probably the main differences in my home life. But the colder weather has a much greater effect on the lives of the animals outside.

The house martin nest on my friend's roof.

By the end of September thoughts of swallows, swifts and house martins are normally long gone. But this week some friends found what we think is a house martin nest on their new house. The nest still has young birds in. They look very cute from the street below but I hope they grow up before it gets too cold.
In September and October these birds fly south over the Mediterranean Sea, across the Sahara  to Southern Africa, not bad for birds that are only 13-15cm long. And after a warm winter breeding, they fly all the way back and build mud nests for their own young. 


In the small backyard of our terrace house we encourage visits from local birds. We have four bird-feeders, two with sunflower seeds and two with peanuts. One of each are stuck to the kitchen window. At the moment the local sparrows seem to love the sunflower seeds, but only in the feeder away from the window. Tomorrow I'm going to swap the feeders around to see if it makes any difference. It's great to look out the window and catch a glimpse of five or six hungry sparrows nibbling at the seeds.
The RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) has some great tips on how to look after the birds in your garden throughout the year. They even have a special day when they ask everyone to put out food for birds in their garden. Feed the Birds Day this year is on the 29th October, so you have just over a month to get ready for it!