Have you noticed how the birds are starting to sing earlier in the mornings?

This is a true sign that the welcome spring is on its way. I really do enjoy hearing the first solo song of a bird, which is then followed by the full dawn chorus.

I'm sure that if we spent more time listening to nature's natural sounds we'd be more relaxed. Such sounds can help as a distraction to other modern day noises such as road traffic, trains and aeroplanes.

Birds are very useful in the garden and can help keep down the population of unwanted insects, including slugs and snails.

My father keeps several white doves and they do a magnificent job of cleaning up the small black slugs around his strawberry patch.

However, when fruits start to form it is best to net them in some way to stop the birds eating them instead of the pests although leaving a few fruits for the birds is one way to encourage our feathered friends into our gardens.

One of the reasons why our gardens have become invaded by so many slugs and snails is that our towns have become over-developed which, in turn, has unbalanced the natural environment of the wildlife.

Around this time natural food sources are a bit depleted for the birds, so why not encourage them to become regulars in your garden with some extra food and water? Buy a bag of mixed wild bird food, provide a birdbath of some sort using a container which has sloping sides and then pull up an armchair, turn off the television and be entertained for free, courtesy of Mother Nature.

Beside, there's nothing more wonderful than having a resident robin in your garden keeping you company.

Blue tits are very useful little birds as they eat several unwanted insects in the garden and one way to encourage these sweet little birds is to put up nesting boxes for them. Either buy or make your own, but make sure that the entrance hole is small to prevent larger birds moving in and protecting the eggs and new hatchlings from predators.

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