The bird feeder in our backyard fell apart so we replaced it with one of those feeders that sticks to the outside of your window. They’re made in the UK by Meripac. I stuck it on the window yesterday and within hours there were birds there. Here’s a picture of it with three birds (the third is flying away at the bottom left):
This is the view from my desk. The birds are still a bit wary of me. Some of them fly up to it, see me, then fly away. If I make any sudden movements they also fly away. At one point there were four birds on it all at once. I saw some yellow birds and small birds with black feathers. I’ll have to get a book on birds because I have no idea what they all are. The wildlife here is very different to where I grew up. I’m sure when we get a cat it will enjoy watching the birds through the glass.
Today it was announced that we’re all going to get 50% off eating out. How fantastic is that! This is part of a range of measures announced by the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak today. The government is also cutting VAT on hospitality from 20% to 5%, they’ll pay businesses a £1000 bonus for every staff member kept on after the furlough scheme comes to an end, there’s a temporary end to stamp duty, a £1.6 billion package for the arts and heritage sector, and the government will pay the wages of trainees aged between 16 and 24 for 6 months.
rachel.blog 
You grew up in Australia, is that correct?
Yep! The birds are very different in Australia. Much louder too 🙂
Love the bird feeder! I’m tempted to get one, but we just had all of our windows and doors replaced – if I dare mark the glass with anything, my other half will string me up 🙂
It’s just a suction cap. I don’t think it will leave a mark. There’s no glue or anything.
I love the bird feeder! And I hope the incentives help the suffering hospitality sector 😊
That reminds me that I was on someone else’s blog from Canada a few months ago and it was only then, having passed the grand old age of 40, that I realised that the Americas have different birds from the UK. Most notably the robin is different and they don’t have blue tits.
I saw a proposed scheme for vouchers to help out on the High Street. I think I would have preferred a scheme that specifically helped small business owners rather than chains like Wetherspooons, but I guess it’s all the economy and like it or not share prices are important. And it would probably be difficult to administrate something more targeted.
Is it only the big chain stores that will benefit from the vouches? That is a bit disappointing if that’s the case.
Birds in Australia are unlike any anywhere else in the world. There are kookaburras and parrots and cockatoos and lorikeets. They tend to be quite a bit larger than the robins, tits, and sparrows you see here.
I just think it would be better if the scheme favoured small businesses who won’t have as much resource and are in danger of going under. I am seeing a Facebook meme going around to that effect and I hope people take note.