FEED THE BIRDS....TUPPENCE A PENNY ....

Get ready for the next two weeks of themed activities .... homemade bird feeders!!

Many of our clients enjoy sitting by their windows, in conservatories or out in their gardens, so they can enjoy the birds that enter their gardens.

This can bring peace, distraction and a chance to name the bird types...

.... So, Watch this space!!

Our wonderful clients, enjoy replenishing food for the birds and can sit directly in front of a window and enjoy the wildlife come to them!!

I don't think we really always appreciate the small, feathered friends and the comfort they bring to your loved ones!!

Some of our clients

immerse themselves in the expectation of what species will land in their gardens and are simply overjoyed when they have a whole garden full of varying breeds ...... equally they can feel the disappointment when none visit in a day ...and one lady, has recently commented that they must've all gone on a holiday!!

It's definitely worth trying and is a great mindfulness activity. Many of us don't just sit and be, and this is a great way of switching off and relaxing.

It can be a great distraction for worried thoughts or an upset.

...... Making your own bird feeder is very gratifying, and once the birds have got used to the new feeder, will bring joy as your loved one has had a hand in making one themselves!!!

This was a fantastic effort made by our fab lady and Companion, Angie.... she enjoyed the experience and said it made a change ...she lives for her birds, and this will be brilliant for her 😍😍😍😍😍😍

Let's see what investigates this new arrival in the garden!!

Some clients enjoy chatting about how they feed the birds and with what types of food ....

This is a great idea!! You can drink the coconut milk from this, it's easy to open and then he usually leaves the hard coconut inside and fills it with lard, currants and bird seed. He'll then hang the two halves for the birds to eat .... great and different variation of a bird feeder!!

Of course, some of our clients enjoy observing a Companion creating their bird feeders and get a lot out of watching it come together. We don't assume that they're not motivated, often it's a physical or cognitive issue that prevents them from actively participating.

Companions will always concentrate on the can do's and will involve your loved one in the small part they may wish to do independently.

For this particular lady, she loves birds and watching them from her kitchen window.

She selected meal worms and seed and came out to the garden to show her companion where she wanted her feeder. Said she could then watch the birds from her lounge window!!

Filled up her container with additional seed and she was thrilled!

Another lady, was having a particularly challenging day with her anxiety and participating in filling the feeder and cutting the circles out for the birds to get to the seed, really reduced and distracted this moment for her and she was specific where she wanted to place her feeder. She couldn't see it initially from the first place, and so moved it to the end of the washing line, so she could sit and watch from her Conservatory...she said that she enjoyed doing this too .... definitely not keen on the meal worms though!!

Our lady this then motivated our lady to go out on another day with a different companion.

She chose some seed to buy and was interested in different bird houses .... the activity had developed her interest and curiosity to continue on with hopefully initiating feeding the birds herself!! Nice spot of lunch as a bargain too.........

What's been wonderful, is watching the momentum being kept alive from one lady's initial fir cone feeder, to now having replenished seed mixture with the support of a companion, two or three times over the last fortnight .... amazing and she's really engaged with this activity as she loves the variety of birds in her garden.

It's important to focus on activities loved ones enjoy as this is likely to gain participation more easily. Companions will have some loose plan of what activities they may be introducing for that day, but they can go off on tangents, led by our clients. This can bring many surprises and is always interesting to see. 🙌🙌🙌🙌

Some clients, of course, would prefer to talk about birds and sit in their lounges or conservatories and watch for interesting bird life, such as Dunnocks, being territorial, bluetits coming down to feed on existing feeders and getting out the binoculars just too late to spot a woodpecker...Companions can then share their own photos of wildlife like squirrels in their own gardens.

It's a point of conversation which can be led by the client. Birds are usually very visual and calming.... a perfect activity which can be shared and in the moment.

Fantastic to see this wonderful client motivated to engage in making a different type of feeder with a Companion out of a teacup and saucer!! They replenished the seed mix in the fir cone feeder too. the birds are loving it!

A lovely gent enjoyed chatting to a Companion, and they shared the excitement of seeing, 'Woody', The Woodpecker, in his garden......at last!

The great thing as well, as these feeders are natural, or use recyclable materials around the house .... always a good thing and you can't ask better than that!!

What's so important about making a bird feeder, you might be thinking??

There're many bonuses, which may not seem obvious!!

Bird feeders are an amazing way to get close to nature. An array of feathery friends can add colour to your garden and bring joy and wonder!

The birds can help to pollinate the flowers, eat up the insects which come into the garden, and act as free pest control....

they can actually eat up seeds belonging to certain weeds in the garden.

During the nesting season, the more food birds find, the less time they need to be away foraging, from their young.

There's also been a lot of destruction to bird's natural environment, through an increase in housing developments, for example.

Winter increases this challenge, and feeders assist the birds to keep their bellies full in the harshest of seasons.

Mating season can bring a source of entertainment, the birds become, bright and flashy! 😂

You can connect with children and grandchildren, teaching them to appreciate the different species of birds and identify them.

The birds become nature's friends, you get familiar to certain sounds and chirps. It's relaxing and combats loneliness ...you can start to recognise your repeat visitors!!

Being in nature improves a sense of self-worth, happiness and calm.