MATT BAKER
THE COUNTRYFILE PRESENTER GOES BEHIND THE SCENES ON HIS SHOWS AND FAMILY FARM BIRDS GET A WARM WELCOME ON THE FARM
How we’ve created a haven for birds.
We are lucky enough on our farm in Durham to have a lot of different bird species visit us. Some are permanent residents while others pop in for a few months before heading off on their travels again. We’ve worked hard over the years to put in the foundations to attract as many birds and wildlife here as possible and as time goes on, those habitats and food sources are showing they’re working.
The hedgerows we planted years ago are now mature and full of blackberries, rosehips and sloes. They’re also dense enough to make a good spot to build a perfectly protected nest and are teeming with insect life for added protein. The wildflower meadows are a favourite spot for pheasants, quail, lapwings and curlews.
It also helps that my dad spends a small fortune on buying birdseed to fill a huge amount of feeders to help see our feathered friends through the hard winter months. We have blue tits, coal tits, greenfinch, blackbirds and chaffinches that are all regular visitors.
The treecreepers are quite shy and tend to enjoy sticking to the sheltered edges of the ancient woodland. We’re sometimes lucky enough to see them bobbing up and down the bark of the trees looking for insects and they’ll occasionally venture to the birdfeeders, too. My dad’s favourite at the moment is a little nuthatch who likes to visit. It’s definitely not camera-shy, as it doesn’t seem to mind him taking photos through the kitchen window.
The tree sparrows now have their own ‘street’ of nestboxes on the farm and their numbers have grown enormously year on year.
There’s always a flurry of excitement on the farm when the first swifts and swallows arrive as the weather gets warmer. Another fair-weather visitor is the redstart and every year there seem to be one or two more appearing, which is great to see. I think the most unusual bird we’ve had visit was a hoopoe. It’s quite rare in the UK and we’ve only seen it once, but we’re hoping for another sighting in the not-too-distant future.
Wildlife has always been a priority on our farm and making sure we provide what we can to help is really important to us. Migratory birds are only with us for a relatively short time; helping them make the most of their time so they can feed or breed goes alongside ensuring our all-year-round birds have what they need. There are fat balls and seedfeeders aplenty to feed whoever’s staying put or passing through. It’s heart-warming to see who visits the ‘24-hour takeaway’ and what they prefer to eat, especially when food is scarce or there are youngsters to feed.
We’ve worked hard to put in the foundations to attract as many birds as possible”