Last updated 28 February, 2007

The house is situated right on the Surrey/Hampshire border near Farnham in Surrey in the United Kingdom. It is located on the side of a large field which is bordered by hedges and trees, and is home to an abundance of wildlife.

Foxes are common and less so Deer. Badgers haven't been seen for a few years now. However we did actively put out Badger food to see if we could attract them back, but none arrived. The same goes for Hedgehogs, which haven't been seen for ages, but maybe they'll find some food one day.

Pheasants polish-off the spoils from the bird feeders, and after a few years of continual bird feeder provision, a large range of birds are being attracted, such as:

Unfortunately there is also a resident cat from next door which also favours the feeders. It can sometimes be seen just patiently sitting under a feeder, hoping to make a catch!

The garden backing onto the field - August

Along with the Blue Tit nesting box we follow on this site, there are also other nesting boxes dotted around the garden:

Big enough for Blue and Great Tits

Blue Tit box

Sparrow Terrace (used in 2005 by a Great Tit)

Robin Box in the back garden (yet to be used)

Treecreeper box out front (yet to be used)

Blue Tit box

Robin box in the front hedge (currently used by a mouse!)

There is a miscellaneous box at the bottom of the garden with a 38mm diameter hole. In 2005 Great Tits nested and laid eggs. Unfortunately it all ended one afternoon when a Starling fancied the box as home and rather brutishly turfed the eggs out. We stopped the episode just in time, leaving only 3 eggs remaining. The female Great Tit did return and kept incubating for a few more days before giving up and abandoning the box altogether. The Starlings never returned.

In 2006, two additional items were added, a window Peanut feeder and a window nesting box, which has a removable back viewing panel. The window nesting box is just an experiment, and we don't expect it to get used, but if you don't try, you'll never know!

The back of the box has been removed and a cardboard flap placed over the rear of the box on the inside of the window. If a pair did nest, it would make a fantastic 'up close 'n' personal' viewing area.

We keep the feeders fully stocked at all times, and also replenish the feeding bowls in the front and back gardens every morning with anything from fruit and nuts to food leftovers etc.

For special treats, and especially during the breeding season, there is a mealworm feeder:

Mealworm feeder adapted from an old seed feeder

The various feeders are filled with an assortment of wild bird seed mixes, husk free mixes and Niger seed along with various suet puddings:

During the Winter months, and before the warmer weather means humans can comfortably sit outside, we hang various feeders from a Gazebo which backs onto a Bamboo bed:

Also, to make life a little easier for the birds, we put out straw and pure wool so they don't have to go far to find nest building materials:

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