Chirping birds where art thou?

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FOR many years I avidly spent time feeding garden birds in my tiny garden in Central.

Alas, no more. I have removed my feeders and sugar water bottles. From having anything up to 20 or more birds chirping and feeding around in the shrubs at various times, I now have silence.

No bird life whatsoever.

The hilarious spectacle of a half dozen mousebirds dangling from the water bottle, the barbet ripping chunks of fruit from whatever I happen to put out, the Cape white-eyes and dozens of bronze mannikins are gone.

The early rising bulbul is no more. No more doves, sugarbirds and Cape weavers. Sad.

Readers who participate in this rewarding hobby may have some advice for me in that a neighbour's cat has forced me to desist from attracting birds.

Finding bird feathers on the lawn below the feeders almost daily made me realise that by luring garden birds, I am really pleasuring myself while putting the birds at risk.

I Googled and searched for some method to stop the carnage, but found no sensible solution.

One person expressed this view – which one can only agree with – "As a pet owner it is your duty to ensure that your pet does not cause an inconvenience to others. Be it barking dogs or cats defecating on someone else's property".