In the extraordinary situation we all now find ourselves in because of the Coronavirus crisis, those of us with a garden will probably never be more thankful for it. Even if it’s cold and wet outside, we can still enjoy the view from a window and the ever-changing activity from our garden birds.

It’s long been recognised that enjoying nature is good for mental health, with this benefit now taking on a whole new dimension with so many of us largely confined to our homes for the foreseeable future.

Our gardens are therefore our own little piece of nature that we can enjoy, regardless of size. As we come into spring there’s so much more to enjoy with trees coming into leaf, birds singing and busily building nests as the breeding season is now well underway, and new shoots pushing through the soil.

Helping children to remain occupied and learning

A particular challenge in the months ahead for parents with school-age children, is keeping them occupied, entertained and still learning, given they won’t now have the daily routine of school. Hopefully with a little encouragement they will take an interest in the birds and other wildlife in their garden.

If this is a new interest to your children, then a great place to start is identifying the birds that come into your garden. Feeders positioned near a window can help, and they can also use the camera on a mobile phone to take still shots or short videos.

Here’s some things that can help:

• Use our online bird library to identify each species and learn something about them
• Get your hands on a feeder cam, that can be linked up to a PC, laptop or tablet (it also comes with a nestbox! It’s a bit late to put one up now, but you’ll have it ready to put up later in the year)

Looking after birds through the breeding season

The birds may be doing a good job of helping our wellbeing during this time, and it’s important we help them too, particularly during breeding season when adult birds are searching for food to raise their young.

You can combine helping your garden birds with a craft activity by making your own bird feeder using this fun activity sheet! If you need to stock up, at Vine House Farm we deliver straight to your door, everything from bird food and feeders to other wildlife products like hedgehog homes.

In April the first of the season’s nestlings will be being fed, and a supply of live mealworms will help them to fledge successfully and can be a great learning experience. You can learn more about this right here.

Want to know more?

Our website is a rich source of information and has some great blogs which go back a decade and more. 

We’ve all got to face some difficult months ahead, but our gardens and the birds and other wildlife we attract to them are unquestionably a way to help us get through it and keep spirits up.