Encouraging birds into our garden with Wilko

My dad has always loved birds. He's always enjoyed feeding his feathered friends and watching them in his garden. He is very knowledgeable about all the different types of bird and gets very excited if he spots something rare. His enthusiasm and love of the birds is quite contagious, and I've found myself happily watching many a wood pigeon, jay, wren or buzzard because he has pointed them out to me.

When Wilko offered me the chance to be one of their Wild Bird Bloggers, I thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to introduce my own children to one of their Grandad's interests, as well as a great chance to encourage wild birds into our garden, supporting our native wildlife.

Birds bring colour and movement to the garden and can provide lots of entertainment as you watch them feed, sing and defend their territories. Helping them survive the winter months keeps them well fed and encourages a variety of species into your garden. Feeding birds is so mutually beneficial - you provide them with something to eat - you get fabulous display of nature in return.

We received a lovely box of items from Wilko, designed to attract wild birds into the garden:

• Wilko Wild Bird Nesting Box
• Wilko Wild Bird Wooden Bird Table
• Wild Bird Cage Seed Feeder
• Wilko Wild Bird Food

The bird table needs assembly using a screwdriver. Once assembled it is quite sturdy and provides a table with a roof to keep food dry and offer some shelter. At £10 it is a real bargain. The cage seed feeder is a clever way to keep little birds safe while they feed from the tube, protected by the wire cage. It also stops big birds or squirrels from stealing their food. The top can be lifted off to fill the feeder and clips on securely afterwards. For £6, it is a great quality feeder that does the job really well, while offering extra security to small birds as they feed. The nesting box is made of natural wood and is easily mounted to a tree where it provides a great spot for small birds to make a nest. The front panel can be removed to make an open fronted nesting box. At £2.50 it is extremely good value and will provide a wonderful opportunity to watch birds as they nest and rear young.

Freddy, who is six years old, had a great time helping his daddy build the table, fill the feeder and position the nesting box. Everything is sturdy and well made and is a welcome addition to the garden. The wooden designs of the bird table and nesting box fitted in very naturally and looked really good. Freddy was very interested in the idea of feeding the wild birds and asked lots of questions about which birds will come to eat the seeds. Introducing children to the wildlife on their doorstep, helps them understand their environment and nurtures a respect for the local flora and fauna. He got very excited to see a friendly robin hopping around picking up the seeds that had been dropped on the floor. Taking time to notice the local bird population, hearing the birdsong and spotting familiar breeds really is a lovely activity for children to engage in. We really hope that a family of birds take up residence in the bird box, because that will be amazing!

Activity around the new bird feeder has been a bit slow, probably due to the windy, wet weather, so I haven't managed to catch any shots of the birds making the most of their new bird table or seed feeder. However, we are hoping that once the birds start 'tweeting' about the new place in town where they can get free food, word will get around and the peckish birds will make a bee-line for the garden. Then we will have a lot of activity from our feathered friends that will make us all into keen twitchers!

The types of bird we will be hoping to attract include tits, finches, sparrows, blackbirds and thrushes. Wilko's wildly tasty seed mix contains sunflower seeds, millet and red dari, which is a perfect, nutritious feed for table, feeder and floor, and at just £1.50 for 2kg is great value and will encourage birds into the garden. Bird spotting is fun and free and can be done from the comfort of your own home as you watch out of the window to see the birds in action. Children can keep a tally chart, write a bird diary or draw sketches of the birds that visit, making an opportunity for some creative learning at home.

The Wilko Wild Bird range is excellent value for money, so much cheaper than similar products bought from a garden centre. Everything is such good quality, well made and well designed. I really can't fault any of the products for the price.

I might not have captured any photos of the products in action, but here is a snap of a blue tit enjoying the fat balls in my sister's garden from last summer. I hope I will be able to get lots of beautiful wild bird photographs of my own soon!

You can see the full range of Wilko Wild Bird Supplies online.

Win Outdoor Toys from Wilko #giveaway

It's nearly the summer holidays and we are looking forward to six weeks of fun in the rain sun!  One way of keeping the kids entertained out of doors is to invest in some fun outdoor toys.  Wilko stock a great value range of toys and we were sent some to review.

• Wilko Play Stunt Kite Nylon Multi-Coloured £4.00
• Wilko Play Boom Bat Set Multi-Coloured £4.00
• Wilko Play Gardening Set  £4.00
• Wilko Play Magic Bubble Accessories Multi-Coloured x 26 £4.00
• Wilko Play Cricket Set Multi-Coloured £4.00
• Wilko Play Catch 'Em Out Game £4.00

The toys are all colourful and fun with lots of kid appeal.  Freddy particularly loved the Magic Bubble jar that has loads of different shaped and sized bubble wands as well as a pot of bubble mixture. He loves blowing bubbles, then chasing them and popping them or watching them float to the sky.  The Boom Bat Set will help future Wimbledon champions hone their bat and ball skills!  The satisfying "boom" noise when the soft ball hits the colourful bats made Freddy laugh everytime!  The cricket set is a lovely colourful set complete with wicket and stumps to transform your back garden into a mini version of Lords!  Budding gardeners will love to grow their own using the gardening set or little ones could even use them in the sandpit to dig and build.  It comes with three tools and pots for gardening fun. The Catch 'Em Game is a lot of fun as you try to catch the ball on the velcro catchers.  Grown-ups seem to like this game a lot too, so it's definitely one to entertain the guests after a barbecue. We can't wait to try out the kite next time we go to the beach.

You can win your own box of fabulous, outdoor toys in this giveaway!

Simply fill out the Rafflecopter entry form below to be in with a chance of winning.  UK only.  Giveaway closes on midnight on the 10th July 2013.  See the full range of Wilko outddor toys here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway