Sacha wrote in message k...

They are *extremely* tame not to say downright over-familiar! They whizz
past our noses, literally inches away - a chaffinch nearly hit me on the
head yesterday as we both went through the same doorway! Two years ago, my
stepson left his fleece hanging from a wire in the greenhouse and forgot it
overnight. Next morning, a wren was building a nest in the collar, so he
couldn't use that for a while. And another wren built a nest in some bits
and pieces of equipment stored a couple of feet above a potting bench where
there is always someone at work.
These last two years a wren has built her nest *under* a potting bench in
one of the houses and happily flits in and out, whoever is there.
The small double has a lot of stuff actually planted in it, and one side is
a great long bank of Fuchsias. People are walking up and down past them all
day choosing bedding plants etc. and those Fuchsias get many nests in them.
Cake and bread crumbs from the tea room go into a cardboard box in the big
double and birds flock to that. It's only inches away from the till and
there are people moving around constantly, walking past it, watching the
birds and so forth.
They hop onto tables while customers are eating - some flap them away - most
watch in fascination. They hop onto the table in the greenhouse when the
staff are having their morning coffee and cake and if you put your cake down
for a second, they're onto it like lightning! The water trough in the
garden has a small fountain in it and customers sitting at the tables nearby
often find themselves taking part in some bird's bath time, like it or not!

Apart from their own kind, there are no predators here, no cats and those
that visited were seen off by our Jack Russells. In fact, one of the
comments we get so often from customers is what pure joy it is both to hear
the birdsong and see them come so close to people. It does give a huge
feeling of privilege.


I haven't used any chemicals in my garden for several years now, my
nearest neighbours are over 400 yards away, so not likely to be
affected by whatever they use. I often find greenfly on my roses, but
wihtin a week they are clear, only thing that I do have problems with
is gosseberry sawfly, but then the plants recover and the fruit is
untouched. Having blue-tits nesting in a box next to a big rose bush
is useful as they dont have far to go when feeding young.

Mike