There are many things that we love about winter. Each year we always look forward to the RSPB's Big Garden Bird Watch. We brew some warm coffee and hot chocolate and gather around the window to identify and count the number of birds that come to our garden.
However, it's not always easy to attract birds into your garden but having a bird table and feeding the birds certainly helps.
In this short film we show you how, as a family you can make a basic bird table to hang in your garden all ready to join in the birdwatch at the end of January.
Not only is this activity great fun it will also boost your wellbeing:
1) Get Active - Watching the birds in your garden can become a lifelong habit and if you don't have a garden don't worry take some bread crumbs along to your local park and feed the birds there.
2) Keep Learning -There are many different types of birds to identify. See how many you can spot and name. Once you have mastered that begin to listen carefully to their calls and watch how they move.
3) Be Mindful- Watching the bird table is a great way to practice mindfulness, identify the changes happening all around, consider how the behaviour of the birds might change on wet days or notice how different birds prefer different foods.
4) Practice Kindness- Winters can quite difficult for birds, feeding them bread and nuts could be the difference between life and death especially when there are prolonged periods of ice and frost.
5) Think Community - In our street we all love to watch the birds on the tables and feeders, they are often a topic of conversation and a shared interest that our community have, after-all the birds are a part of the family too.