Why you need to build bird feeders

Birds are creatures that we know better than others. And this is not surprising: they can be seen and heard everywhere. The relevance of the chosen topic is obvious: birds live next to us in a big city, delighting us with their beautiful appearance and beautiful singing.

Since time immemorial, birds have fascinated people and served as a source of inspiration for artists, poets, musicians and dreamers who passionately wanted to get off the ground and rise into the blue sky. Observation of the flight of birds prompted people to invent the first aircraft; the study of bird flight continues to influence the development of modern aviation.

Birds have left a deep imprint on the culture of the peoples of different countries of the world - this is confirmed, for example, by the legends about the Thunderbird, existing among the indigenous inhabitants of North America, or the legends about the phoenix bird, often mentioned in Egyptian mythology.

Bird - Phoenix

In Europe, as elsewhere, birds play a special role in all kinds of folk festivals and beliefs. In many countries, the robin is invariably associated with Christmas, and the return of the common cuckoo from wintering in Africa is eagerly awaited as one of the signs of the approaching spring in almost all of Europe. The same can be said about cranes, which occupy a special place in Japanese culture.

Today it is reliably known that birds, in the process of the evolution of life on Earth, descended from primitive reptiles. The ancient bird Archeopteryx, which lived approximately 150 million years ago, was the size of a pigeon. It walked on its hind legs and was covered with feathers.

Wood lark

When I learned about the origin of birds, I wanted to know: “What kind of nests do they have?”

It is usually believed that all birds, when hatching their chicks, build special nests for incubating eggs in them. But this is not so: many birds that nest on the ground do without a real nest. For example, a small brownish-gray nightjar bird lays a pair of eggs directly on the forest floor, most often on fallen pine needles.

Nightjar

Real nests are made by birds that nest in bushes and trees.

It was from such a nest that my observations began.

I would like to note that it is difficult to observe only the first bird, and then experience will appear and observation will develop. It is not without reason that one of the best experts on Russian nature, Professor D.N. Kaigorodov, said: “Nothing sophisticates and refines observation as the observation of birds. Improves vision, develops and refines hearing.”

During the summer holidays, in the Moscow region, I discovered a nest on a blackcurrant bush. It was open and cup-shaped. Made from thin twigs and roots, and inside there is soft flooring. It was a warbler's nest.

Watching this bird in the garden, I became interested in how birds live in the city.

I decided to conduct my observations of the most frequently encountered bird in the city - the sparrow.

Sparrows have long been an integral part of the urban landscape; they are accustomed to living among people and nesting under the roofs of houses.

I observed how sparrows gather in large fickle flocks, usually formed where there is a large amount of food - bread, grain and seeds. Sparrows spend most of their time on the ground, looking for food and at the same time vigilantly looking around to see if their most terrible enemy, the cat, is nearby. Quite often in winter, sparrows gather together under one roof, but not to nest, but to shelter from bad weather and warm each other a little.

Sparrows that live outside cities make their own nests or arrange them in hollow trees.

On the way home from school, I feed a flock of sparrows every day that have settled on a rosehip bush located next to a pond. During the day they lead an active lifestyle, and at night they sleep under the roofs of houses.

On an autumn Sunday, our whole family made several bird feeders and hung them around the house. My friends, who were in the yard at that time, came up to us and offered their help. They brought bread, which we crumbled into feeders.

I shared my observations about sparrows and impressions of other birds with the guys from the class. After my story, my classmates followed my example and made bird feeders for their yard. After all, birds deserve protection and patronage from humans. And first of all, students should take care of this and take their feathered friends under the protection. The guys and I concluded that each of us can contribute to the protection and preservation of the lives of our winged friends.

To do this you need:

plant trees and shrubs as much as possible, because a lot of bushes and tall trees, an abundance of grass and a variety of greenery are the most suitable conditions for building a nest;
do not destroy bird nests, give the opportunity to hatch chicks;
Hang houses for birds in the trees, where they don’t have to be afraid of pests.

So I want the birds to have enough living space to ensure they and their offspring have the opportunity to survive. An important role is played by the preservation of ecological channels—continuous areas in which a particular species of bird can move, areas where urban tree plantations meet and elements of the forest park belt, and the maintenance of natural vegetation along the banks of reservoirs.