Feed The Birds ......

I mean seriously. Please. They're having absolute fucking hell out there right now. You can help ensure that a lot more of them make it through. It doesn't have to be a chore either. Certainly not a strain on the budget.

Pick up a wire mesh, tubular 'Peanut Feeder' and a bag of shelled peanuts. Probably set ye back less than a fiver. Hang it within a few feet of some sort of cover, if possible. Hedge. Tree. What ever. If at all possible, hang it from a length of fence wire (tying wire will do admirably, if ye more urban) And fix it so it's four feet from either end of that wire. About chest or head height.

Why's this? It's because rats can't jump that far. Nor can they climb along such wire. Not the Brown Rat ye'd get in ye gardens anyway. And peanuts, unlike 'Bird Seed' mixes, won't get picked out of their feeders and scattered about the ground below.

That's why councils and my fellow pest controllers have taken to damning people who feed the wild birds, see? They blame Compost Heaps and 'Bird Feeders'. I say 'fucking well educate people in the correct ways of keeping their compost heaps, and feeding the birds.'

I'm talking from experience here. I've fed the birds all my life. I know about rats. I've cracked it. I've been feeding the birds around here now for twelve months, like this, without rats getting in on the act. It Can be done. I've just told ye how. No need not to look after the poor bloody birds, despite what the Thought Police might say.

Not all birds eat that much peanut, of course. Some like insects and even fruit. So, for those, I put out tiny amounts of strategically placed minced meat. Put a bit the size of my thumbnail on top of a fence post, near where any of my Robins gets. Little buggers are waiting for me now, every day. They virtually take it from my hand in their keenness. I'm sure they would do too. But, I'm not into teaching wild birds 'tricks'.

Pesky little fuckers though. Moment I open my door and there's one hopping about my kitchen. Looking for something to eat. I have to shoo him out before the Dogs find him. Always in there. Not in the least bit concerned about me. Too hungry to care, poor soul.

So, buy an apple today, eh? Red ones, I feel, are best. Cut it in half and just leave it out there, on the ground. Blackbirds and such will see it off. Fetch it inside as darkness has fallen, if ye like.

See? Bloody easy. Doesn't need a Degree in anything. Costs next to nothing. And we do it simply because we can.

Compassion is good. Try some. It might grow on ye.