Introducing our new feeding station
After several months of planning and postponing and dreaming and rearranging, we have finally completed our first project – redesigning the bird feeder station. The station is along the Peter Scott Trail in an area of wet woodland. This habitat provides a niche for loads of wonderful species from tree sparrows to blue tits, and we wanted to lean into a more natural feel and dedicate the space to what it wants to be.
A goal of the project was to open up the wet area, allowing the water to return to a more natural state after a long time of bird feed dropping down into it. Of course, we still wanted birds to enjoy this spot so we have put in natural bird feeders, with no feed ending up in the water. They seem to be loving it so far! All the feeders were made from recycled wood, giving it an extra bit of life before being used as firewood. Not only birds were considered in the design and a dead wood pile was created with the hope of increasing and encouraging invertebrates and fungi. The area is naturally quite damp so should provide a great habitat for both and increase overall diversity.
Another goal was to work as sustainably as possible. We mostly used recycled materials, giving lots of wood a new lease of life. We created natural bird feeders, all from recycled wood. We designed a few different types and more are to be made, to not only provide more feed for the birds, but to add extra perch points for them.
new screen at feeding station - windows are cut in it for a better viewing experience, photo by Jake Goodwin
We also wanted to improve visitor experience. We felt you didn’t get a great view of an area where many different species can be seen so we decided it was best to change it up. We removed all the panelling, with a bit of help from Storm Isha, and cut windows into the planks then reassembled them on top of each other. The windows have provided a better view of the area, allowing for easier photography and a generally clearer view. The frames were all made from recycled wood and we re-used most of the planks that were removed from the original screen and only a couple of new ones were needed. We removed the panelling on the right-hand side, as we wanted to open it up so visitors can get a really good look at what wet woodland really means.
It has been such an enjoyable project for us to complete together and an ongoing task creating bird feeders to replace the current ones eventually. We are very grateful for all the volunteers that helped, staying long hours after finishing time, but we think it was well worth it. We hope everyone visiting enjoys the area as much as we enjoyed making it!
Words by Megan Grisewood-Foley and Ed (Emily) Dixon
Feature image of great tit, tree sparrow, chaffinch and greenfinch enjoying a new homemade feeder by Marianne Nicholson
