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and stand it on the patio instead.I remember the Big Freeze of 1963 very well - enjoying deep snow as a young boy - and do recall finding dead pigeons in our garden that must have frozen to death! Quite how any birds survive outside during such cold weather

With so many people reporting sightings of unusual birds in their gardens - and observing some pretty odd behaviour - I'm struggling to entice anything other than pigeons to my plot. I don't know if I should even take part in this year's RSPB Big

the wiser.I only get pigeons regularly visiting my garden. Last winter I made efforts to entice smaller, hungrier birds, and managed to attract a desperate pair of wagtails, a blackbird, a robin and a blue tit. They disappeared as soon as the ice thawed

birds each year in the UK. I admitted that my two sometimes bring in mice, rats and birds, but the fact that I've seen kestrel and sparrowhawk in my garden and peregrine falcon in central London was, I hope, proof that there are enough birds to go round

the discomfort).But if I'm still cold beneath so many layers, I shudder to think how the poor birds must be faring. Their tiny, almost flesh-free legs must be frozen. I do what I can for them, and my bird table is currently laden with large quantities of crushed

would come to his hand - and to ours if we stayed still enough.After that I became a bit blasé on the subject: birds were just things that flew about and, in certain incarnations, tasted good.Today we get quite excited by the birds that visit this garden

Follow Chris Beardshaw's advice on helping garden birds in spring. He explains the different feeding requirements of young and adult birds, how birds can help with pest control and offers tips on positioning nesting boxes.springMore on garden birds

of the Disappearing Fruit'?My gardening resolution for 2012 is to actually eat one of my own peaches, so I need to think of a way to build some sort of netting screen around my small peach tree. This is easier said than done, as previous efforts trying to protect

's Big Garden Birdwatch – from a safe distance. It might be quite dull, as most other birds have now found pastures new, but if anything dares encroach on Our Sid's territory, there will be quite a show.The RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch 2011 takes place

and Their Haunts by the Rev. C.A. Johns, was published in 1862 by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, on the back of his success with Flowers of the Field (1851). Both books were in print for over a century, and it's easy to see why.To start, Johns