Gimme Five! Bird feeders

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selection of five different bird feeders

Snow currently feels like a permanent fixture around the whole of the UK. I’ve really been feeling sorry for our wildlife – especially the birds. One of last week’s Winter Watch programmes told of the decimation that happens when birds can’t get through the inches of snow to feed on seeds, worms, slugs and insects.

Why don’t you help them out? Here are five of our favourite bird feeders that we’ve found online – from the low-tech to the bird equivalent of a swanky, Michelin-starred restaurant!

  1. Flock Follies bird feeder – Feeds the birds AND adds a burst of colour to your garden!
  2. Roundabout fly-through feeder – Made of polished copper , this one will mellow into a beautiful verdigris.
  3. Bottle bird feeder – Just add an empty wine or beer bottle!
  4. Umbra contemporary outdoor bird house – An avian take on a modernist des res!
  5. Unplugged Barcelona bird feeder – Inspired by the famous, Mies van der Rohe-designed Barcelona Pavilion.

Being Cagey!

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collection of vintage canary cages

We bought these vintage bird cages this week – they have a certain charm and upcycling potential. Does a group of bird cages have a collective noun? Not sure. They were originally intended for showing canaries – a collection of canaries is known as an “opera” –  how lovely!

black painted vintage canary cage

So how about those ideas for recycling/upcyling/repurposing from you crafty lot out there?

We quite like the original shabby look, but they could also be spray painted in gold, bronze or sugar-coated almond colours; the wires could be wrapped in floral fabric or ribbon; perhaps convert them into pendant lampshades; put tea lights in; display felted or other crafted birds inside; bird feeder maybe; grow a small plant in it.

close up showing finial detail on a black painted vintage canary cage close up showing seed drawer detail on a black painted vintage canary cage

They’re quite nicely made from wood & metal – with turned detailing and little drawers for food. They can be used indoors or hung from a tree in the garden or patio. Endless possibilities!

Towneley Park birdsong

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Justin was off to an auction view this morning so I decided to go along for the drive and take Fudge somewhere different for his walk – Towneley Park.

It’s a beautiful, well maintained park in Burnley – the former grounds of Towneley Hall, where the BBC film Antiques Master with Sandi Toksvig.

Anyway, it made a lovely change – lots of different sights & sounds to our normal stomping ground. So much so that I stopped and recorded a 30-second clip of the beautiful birdsong. The volume’s a bit low, but get your twitcher hats on, click the red button and tell me how many different calls can you recognise?

Tuesday Huesday: Charley Harper’s Octoberama

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Charley Harper's Octoberama open edition lithograph print

Long-time followers of our blog will know that we love the art of Charley Harper. This one, entitled Octoberama is one of our favourites!

He was very prolific and his work can be found as originals artworks, prints, books, calendars, stationery, mouse mats… the list goes on & on. All of which can be bought from either the Charley Harper estate website or Amazon in the UK or USA.