I have always been a big believer in feeding the garden birds throughout the year. However, I stopped feeding a few months ago as the feeders were attracting vermin. Since then I have only provided saucers of water; they together with the Ivy and other bird loving plants still attract a good number of birds.
Every day I sit at my computer watching the birds bathing in the saucers of water, feeding on aphids and other insects and I have had wrens and blackbirds nesting in the Ivy and Clematis growing up the fencing.
There are a few birds I miss such as the woodpecker and goldfinch as well as the sparrowhawk but I don’t miss the mice and squirrels!
I will probably put out some high fat food during the winter but will no longer feed the birds during spring and summer, I’ll just enjoy them using my garden as a bathroom.