magazine
November gardening tips, from bird feeders to bird protection
Balcony bird feeders, window stickers to protect low-flying birds and vegetables to harvest from your potager
A bird balcony restaurant
Readers who are keen to feed the birds this winter but do not have a garden can still keep their feathered friends nourished thanks to this ‘Poteau pour balcon’ (balcony post), made in France by Natures Market.
Whether you live in an apartment or on an upper floor of a house, simply fix the post to a railing (maximum thickness for attaching the screw-on section: 4.5 cm) and hang a feeder. Choose food that will be 100% eaten, so it does not leave any mess or waste behind: try shelled peanuts, shelled sunflower seeds or vegetable fat blocks or cylinders.
The manufacturer recommends using a feeder with a small rim so that larger birds such as pigeons cannot perch on it.
Price: €29.95.
Protect low-flying birds
Founded in 1912, France’s LPO (French League for the Protection of Birds) says collisions with windows and other fixed objects are one of the biggest threats to bird populations, accounting for around 7% of birds admitted to rescue centres.
To help protect garden birds such as blackbirds and tits – among those most affected – fix two-sided anti-collision bird silhouettes to your windows. The white side is designed to be placed on the outside of the window so that birds can see the obstacle, while the coloured side shows the details of the bird – in this case, silhouettes of peregrine falcons, kestrels and red kites.
Price: €9.90 for six, with other bird silhouettes from LPO.
Potager jobs for November
There are plenty of vegetables to be harvested this month: Swiss chard, the last of the broccoli, carrots, cabbages (curly and headed), Brussels sprouts, spinach and lamb’s lettuce.
