Bird leisure spa
By franl155
6 comments
Rearranged the “bird spa” to give more room and more open space all round.
It’s a lot lower, so they won’t be able to see it at a distance, but once they find it, they’ll have more room to move, – that lower placement will mean a steep flightpath up and down.
There’s open space all round, apart from the back (that wood was there when I moved in; what an ugly way to get some privacy!), Wish I could get that wood down, it’d let more light in as well as giving the birds another way in and out.
Found some more stones, but they’d have fallen through the holes in the crates, so I put some planter trays down to hold them – now it looks like the beach at Eastbourne – as it should, because that’s where these stones came from (I spent a month there one wet weekend in November, the only entertainment was collecting beach stones!).
I did think of filling in the gaps between stones wtih sand or dirt, or scrunching them up and having a clear space of dirt or sand for birds that might want a dry bath, but not sure yet.
Next time it rains, there’ll be “beach puddles” all over!
Found some smaller pebbles to put in the trays,
With a couple of larger stones in the big to give them something to stand on – they can use the rim of the smaller tray to drink
Clear space on the other side
View from bedroom window: the white bar at the bottom is the window-frame
I’ve no idea if the birds will a) find it and b) use it, but then, I didn’t know that when I first put it on the table-top – I’ll have to wait and see.
If anyone has any suggestions how I can make it more bird-friendly, please share!
13 Jul, 2013
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Comments
There aren't any, but maybe they don't know that. That wood at the back does make it feel a bit closed in, though; if it wreen't there, they'd have views all roudn and be able to hop through the fence, at least the samller ones might.
Thjere was a pigenon on the fence a while ago, checking it out, I was lying on my "lawn" and stood up to back off and give it room, but I must have moved too fast. Ah well, at least one bird knows what's there .
13 Jul, 2013
Fran- do they have somewhere to perch on until they know it's safe to get down there? My first thought was whether or not the board would hinder their observation all around.
Do you have an old hanging basket bracket or shelving bracket - perhaps fixing it to that fence post, just above the board would give them a perch high enough of the ground, yet open enough - if you know what I mean.
13 Jul, 2013
there's a wire-mesh fence, twice as high as the wood - most of them have been perching on that before hopping down to the birdbath where it was on the table-top, and the pigeon today parked there while it had a look around.
But there's nothing between top of fence and "beach stones" to perch on. I'll have a look around, maybe I can wedgie a shelf bracket in the mesh for half-way perching. Thanks for that suggestion, never occured to me.
13 Jul, 2013
Is it a bit enclosed for them Fran?
14 Jul, 2013
it might be, or might feel it - there's more space and less cover for danger, but it is lower, and that rotten wood at the back don't help. I'll leave it a few days - after all, it was a bout a week after I'd put it on the table that I first knew it was being used.
14 Jul, 2013
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Looks great, I just hope it's not so low that it leaves them vunerable to cats....
13 Jul, 2013