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I got up out of my sick bed to post this, I hope you know. Our brief dusting of snow may have gone, but it was too grim and grey to go exploring in the garden after hibernating ladybirds or flat-backed millipedes. Instead, I ventured upstairs

, so the birds can feast in peace, I’m keeping the cats in for the couple of hours before dusk…Don't forget, by the way, that this weekend (26-27 January 2013) you can record sightings of garden birds in the annual RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch.

. At this time of year, I make sure the bird tables and feeders around the garden are always well stocked. Although peanuts have rocketed in price recently, they’re so popular with my local birds that we bought a whole sack of them a couple of months ago. I put

Birds not only use water to drink, but they also bathe in it, helping them fluff up their feathers to insulate themselves against the cold. Experts have also found that clean birds are more streamlined, so can escape from predators quickly. Our bird

skips for more wood and was experimenting with designs for robins, wrens and starlings. In the wild, birds nest in a variety of situations such as holes in trees and hedgerows, which tend not to be that abundant in gardens. A snug box with an appropriate

, which was a gift from Sid the blackbird. But they’re a long way off flowering and fruiting. Only the honeysuckle has a supply of berries, which isn’t much to sustain local birds.Small, manageable options for my garden include hawthorn, pyracantha

dove and other ground feeders below.5. Top up the bird bathA fresh water supply is vital for garden birds, so I keep my bird bath and other large saucers topped up with water. These become frozen on cold nights, so I pop out with the boiling water left

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Europe’s smallest bird. I would have expected such an occasion to take place in a pine forest or a large rural garden, but this chance encounter occurred on a scrubby piece of park just behind the Hackney Road

became too strong even for legality!”In summer the black-headed gull lives up to its name, but it is the winter-plumaged pale-headed form that now visits gardens attracted to bird tables and scattered scraps on the lawn. There has been some consternation

, and the almost iridescent six-spot burnet (Zygaena filipendulae). Moths are also incredibly important in the garden ecosystem, because they provide food for so many species, including birds, hedgehogs and bats (which eat the adults).The best way to help moths