One of the good things about having a husband who accepts the necessity of 100 daffodil bulbs is that he also comes up with interesting inventions I can write about. Such as his bird feeder.

We have a virtuous bird feeder. Its function is to give the birds a treat, not give them enough food to tempt them to stay here when they should have migrated or make them nutritionally dependent on us. Admittedly, the rosellas grab the living room window frame in a not-so-subtle hint to put out more seed but, as the seed is put out irregularly, we don't have a crowd waiting for their breakfast instead of foraging for it.

Bryan's bird feeder is only really comfortable for two birds at any one time. Any more and the feeder lurches wildly. Which doesn't stop birds new to the system trying to cling on, to the amusement of any humans watching and I suspect to the more experienced birds, too.

The bird feeder is also carefully designed so that birds don't scrabble about in their droppings. The larger birds can only cling to the outside rim, their tails facing outwards. Droppings fall to the ground, not the feeder. Smaller birds can get into the middle of the feeder, so they don't get as hassled by the larger birds, but most small birds prefer the seeds from the various local grasses.

As you'll see from the accompanying diagram, the bird feeder is made from an old plastic flower-pot and it's base. Ours is suspending from the crab apple tree. The crab apple shades the solar panels and deposits dead leaves in the gutters. It survives because there's nowhere else to hang the bird feeder where we could see the birds from the living room windows - and because in a few weeks there'll be blooms stunning enough to justify its existence for another year. The birds will eat the blossom, too, and the apples. And we will watch it all.

Bird Tempters

■ Water that is out of cats' reach, fresh and kept cool in summer.

■ Thickets for small birds to nest in - rambling roses are the most popular for nesters here, followed by Chinese star jasmine and then Bursaria spinosa.

■ Tall trees from which birds can survey their territory.

■ Tree hollows, as long as the tree or branch isn't going to fall on the house or next door's car.