A group of budding young twitchers took part in a workshop at the weekend designed to help out our garden bird population.

The Manx Wildlife Trust organised a bird food and feeders making session at St Paul’s Hall, Ramsey on Saturday, and those who attended got stuck in with activities that included helping to identify what birds like to eat which foods and the types of food that aren’t as good for our feathered friends as we think.

There was also a chance to find out how certain birds prefer to eat on the ground, or hanging upside-down from bird feeders.

Then the serious work began of turning empty bottles, a pile of twigs, a couple of rotten apples and some pine cones into a selection of multi-purpose bird feeders.

Around 15 children took part in the workshop, and they all rolled up their sleeves and mushed lard and birdseed together, coating them over large pine cones and hollowed out-apples, to be suspended from trees.

‘This is a great way to use old apples,’ said Dawn Dickens, the trust’s biodiversity education officer. ‘You fill them and cover them in lard and bird seed, so the birds that prefer to eat hanging off things can enjoy them. When the apple rots, it falls to the floor, and the ground feeding birds can feed offthem too. And as an extra for the birds, the apple will attract insects, which will bring a load more birds into your garden.’

‘All of the children really got into the spirit of the workshop,’ she said. ‘It’s great to see that so many young people are taking such an interest in the wildlife that you can find just in your back garden alone.’