Garden Birds
Whether it’s a Robin looking for earthworms in a British garden, a Cardinal feeding on sunflower seeds in an American backyard, a stunning Rainbow Lorikeet in a bottle brush tree in Australia, or the incessant call of the Asian Koel during the Indian summer, garden birds are the easiest way for most of us to get close to and appreciate the joys of nature.
This website is about sharing the wonders of garden birds wherever you are in the world, with information about the birds and how to attract and enjoy them in your own garden. It describes the common garden birds, and how to attract them with their basic needs of food, water and shelter.
About Me
I’ve been a birdwatcher since about as long as I can remember. From a bit earlier than this in fact.
My birding developed in England but I’ve been fortunate to travel quite a bit. In 2006 I settled with my wife and daughter in India, an amazing country full of diverse experiences whether bird-related or not!
For the first few years this was great, bringing up my young daughter whilst getting the opportunity to visit the fantastic jungles of south India, the majestic Himalayas and the bird-rich rainforests of the northeast. Unfortunately, some stressful jobs, followed by a long period of unemployment, living in the heart of a crowded, noisy and dirty city, and a spell in hospital with life-threatening dengue, developed into anxiety and depression. I realised that I had got caught in a material life where I found it difficult to appreciate anything.
I started taking more notice of common birds around me: watching the antics of nesting Ashy Prinias and Common Tailorbirds, and smiling at the cheery call of Red-whiskered Bulbuls. On a recent trip back to visit my parents in England I sat just metres away from a Starling enjoying a frenetic bird bath. Small things like these gave simple pleasures, and I realised that I (we) really don’t need much in life to be content, and need to be more grateful for what we do have.
This website is not about me though. Writing it fulfils a therapeutic need for me (and hopefully a financial one too as some of the products sold here earn a small commission) but it is more about sharing information about the birds around us that are easy to see but all to simple to overlook in otherwise busy and distracting lives.
I would love to hear from you if you have any stories to share, questions to ask, and ideas of how to develop the Garden Birds website into a resource that helps others. Please do comment below or email privately to sparrow@gardenbirds.net if you’d prefer.
‘Bubo’ Mike
Garden Birds website founder