A few months ago, one of our customers was super excited to have spotted a Wood Warbler. They are around 15 miles from where we live so we have been keeping a watchful eye! I can now say, after many hours of checking what I was seeing to confirm we have now got a Wood Warbler visiting us. These birds, are smaller and finer looking than the size of a Siskin. In our opinion they look a very light grey with a rather pointy beak. It was rather hard trying to identify them as they look very much like a ChiffChaff - but with lighter legs. It's incredible the different species we are now attracting by providing a high quality toxin free bird feed. Our birds, vary what they like to demo at our feeders as the season changes and depending on what they are up to and what nutrition they are seeking to support them. The J&J Summer Blend is still our birds favourite.

Super pleased to report this morning we spotted 2 male & 1 female bullfinch. I'm not sure where they go each year or why they seem to reappear. But what I can say is I'm super excited to see them back. These birds have always been a favourite of ours and its been sad to see a decline in numbers over the years. They where common when we where young but this is no longer the case. We spot these birds every year from May through to July but will monitor this more regularly to keep you up dated.

So Granny G was enjoying watching our bird feeder in Clachaig when she got very excited as had spotted a new species on the feeder. She tried to get me to come and look however, I was beavering away in the garden & to be honest, I thought she was seeing things as I had not seen any new species recently. When she explained what she had seen, I was like yep, trip to spec savers is needed. 🔎 Wee bird with red/pink on its head 🙄 She attempted to get a picture of it on her phone but the image was too blurry. When I did come to look, this 'new' species was no where to be seen! So I didn't believe her. A few hours later I had to eat my words and apologise as YES, we have got another NEW SPECIES! To be honest I couldn't believe my eyes as it was a strange looking bird, rather like a brown siskin, but with this red/pink hat on. It was like a wee acrobat enjoying hanging up side down and standing its ground and pushing the others of the feeder. It also appeared to have a mate, who was not as brave keeping in the bushes. After a good ol google, we found this bird to be a Lesser Red Pol. The joy of seeing this new species for us was amazing and especially as it is listed red with the song bird survival. https://www.songbird-survival.org.uk/lesser-redpollhttps://www.songbird-survival.org.uk/lesser-redpoll It's strange as one of our regular bird feeders, also mentioned to me that they had a new species enjoying the Johnson & Jeff Summer Blend mix seed. When I went back to her and ask again the name of the new species it was also a Lesser Red Pol. Perhaps it is the time of year (End April/Beginning May) or they have heard through the song bird grape vine about the high quality bird feed we have been providing locally in Argyll. Moral of the post, always listen to Granny and keep feeding the birds they need our continued support.

As a thank you to all who follow us on Facebook page, we managed to get our hands on 6 dog chocolate Easter eggs and decided to gift 3 of them to our followers. All you had to do to enter was post a picture of your dog in the comments on the post and our son Charlie on 1st April 2021 picked his 3 favourites. Say hi to the winners below!

We have been spending a lot of time enjoying our beloved wild bird population and I am so happy to say this week, a new species introduced itself to our feeder. It was much smaller than our regular female chaffinches so it caught my eye. With its spotty tummy and beautiful shades of green/yellow it truly was a wee stunner. My heart said, its a Siskin - but I want to be sure. So after a few photo's of it and thanks to the wonders of the Internet. I can confirm it is a Siskin. What brought this new species to my garden, is it the time of year? Is it a non-resident passing through? Or is it our new found product? I like to think it's the latter of the questions I raised. As you know we are so passionate about our wild bird's and we wanted to make everyone aware of a new company we have come across in SCOTLAND Fat Birds Feed. Being based in Scotland and wanting to help support the Scottish economy, we have been searching for bird feed manufactures. This particular company is small and supports ethically sourced ingredients. They are called Fat Birds Feed, based in the Scottish Borders Selkirk. Every cake they sell they donate 4p to Songbird Survival. Initially I thought, oh another fat ball product - BUT oh I was wrong! This seed cake really is attracting more birds to my feeders. Maybe because it contains no animal fat? Most fat balls do contain animal fats. Can the bird's smell this? Who know's. Does this make it a Vegan friendly? Because it is a locally & ethically sourced product, price wise, it is slightly pricy, at £8.99 for two giant seed cakes. BUT give them a go! Personally we have found it has introduced Siskin's to our feeders. It lasted 14 days which makes it an ideal feed to use when life begins to go back to the new normal and we may not have as much time to observe as much. For me, our seed feeder is emptied daily - if for what ever reason - I don't have time to remember to top the feeder on a particular day I won't feel guilty as 'Fat Birds Feed' have my back. Also great for 'WHEN' you can go on holiday and relax without worrying about if the birds are OK or if your friend is topping up your feeders everyday. Once you start feeding, you shouldn't stop, as your birds will be dependant on your continued support for their survival.

😂 well this is one of those subjects I never thought I would be looking into - but yes FAT BALLS! Since opening our country store I have become even more enthralled with our local wild life and bird population and my driving passion into educating myself and others about how we can help keep our birds healthy. We decided to add fat balls to our choice for our customers and as usual there is a mixed message and price associated with this. After further investigation it has now become clear that perhaps by wanting to help the birds and not spending too much money, we opt for the value choice. Hands up - I have also brought the bucket of balls for around £8-10 what did I notice - in my garden, they appeared to encourage the larger birds like, pigeons & sea gulls which wasn't my aim. They would greedily eat 4 balls a day, mess would be all over the floor (which I then had to try and stop my dogs from eating) and to be honest it was no longer enjoyable. Not knowing the difference with the fat balls, I just gave up on them. What I have since found out is that the budget balls contain a high volume of wheat husks/grain cases/grain chaff as a bulking agent. Some are even reported to include dust and scrapings from the floor! They may not be using the best fat source suited for our beloved wild birds. They may even be made by an unethical organisation which is purely trying to make money out of what is their waste. Not wanting to join this band waggon, we set about finding what we feel is the best quality product with the best value for money price. This took me to Bucktons Superior Fat Balls. In our option, these balls are great quality (ethical, clean & highly nutritious & made for our wild birds). Cost, around 20p a ball however, we have found them to be long lasting, not making a mess on the floor and generally giving us a feel good ego boost - Supporting local, supporting British & supporting our wild life. On my fat ball feeder at home the Blue Tit's seem to like them the most, which for me is wonderful as they are my personal favourite - what birds does your fat balls attract?

I've taken up a big interest lately enjoying the local wildlife and more importantly helping support there survival. I have been experimenting with different types of food and seeing which birds come in and feast, snack or pop in. 🐦 I think Gold finches are beautiful, so vibrant and full of beautiful colours and make fab little noises. If you want to attract these into your garden, I would high recommend our Johnston & Jeff Niger seeds - We sell these in large bags 12.75kg or 1kg bags. If your starting out and are also limited on space the 1kg bag is ideal for you! By introducing Niger seed, within a few short hours I now have 6 regular gold finches on my feeder. I like to say they are the wee bullies of the small wild birds - well mine definitely are, they sit on the feeder stuffing themselves until they can not eat any more while their pals wait by for there shot! Its like a bunch of kids sometimes squabbling for their shot haha it makes me giggle.

Good Morning, Happy Sunday (if you are reading this now). I've discovered how to spark a wee bit of joy and put a smile on my face for the cost of a bottle of wine! What is it? Feeding the birds! Trust me, I'm currently mesmerized standing at my kitchen sink watching the wee birds enjoy their new food with a silly smile on my face. Before opening Croot's Country Store, I will be honest and say I've not really looked into wild bird food before. I would mindlessly buy the cheap stuff and wonder why it didn't get eaten (ungrateful things), spilt everywhere made a mess and hate to say but bring unwanted rodents into the garden. With our new store, we wanted to provide wild bird food so our local customers can get this from us, instead of another faceless company who is overtaking the delivery internet world. As with all the products in our shop, we like to offer quality products at affordable prices. With this as my goal off I went into the world of wild bird food. What did I find? Well, it appears that NOT ALL WILD BIRD FOOD is as good for our wee darlings as we thought. A lot of unmarked brands do not identify where it comes from? If it contains TOXIN'S? (Really - I was shocked about this) Is it clean? It's OK DON'T PANIC - I have found the solution to your new fear of helping our local wildlife - Avian Nurtrianlist Johnstone & Jeff. Johnstone & Jeff provide all these checks so you don't have to worry about it anymore (we have enough to worry about as it is!). I did a wee experiment, cheap food versus J&J - Well I can honestly say, it's worth the few extra pounds. For me, I noticed less mess, less waste, and MOST IMPORTANTLY I attracted LOADS of birds to my new food source. Being the sad loser I am, I had tears in my eyes from the joy I have brought to these beautiful creatures for the cost of a bottle of wine - AMAZING! Do you self a favor next time you're looking at spending £5 in the supermarket on cheap booze - put it down - get some decent bird food instead - IT WILL make you feel just as happy AND if you purchase it from a local business they usually do a silly little dance when you leave (but you won't see it - hopefully anyway haha). Have a great day Love Susie AKA Crazy Bird Lady PS who else thinks when they see a Robin it's someone who passed watching over us - or is that just me?

Joe has been so excited to tell everyone about this product, it is a seriously impressive bit of kit! Check out he wee review on it.

We spoke with the wonderful 'The Purple House Soap Kitchen', about possibly providing our horse lovers with a soap, which they can use all year round to help keep the ponies smelling sweet and fresh without removing their natural protection oils. So has made this amazing soap on a rope! It creates a fab foam and rinses so leaving your horse soft and shiny. Here is my wee video showing it, its also available to purchase with us on-line.

We are Joe & Susie Croot. We love high quality products that deliver for good prices. Our new extension into Croot's Country Store, is to help locals and online shoppers get what they are looking for. Using our extensive experience from being in the country has allowed us to carefully select items that will do what they are meant to do! Obviously, you have to look after your purchases, but they should perform and do you well. We felt Dunoon was missing a good general country store, providing a one stop shop for dog & pony lovers, clay shooters, deer stalkers, bird watchers and anyone who loves the countryside! Take a look at our you tube channel as we like to upload wee videos of the shop & our products. Here is a wee video, taken before we our gun room was completed.

We all 'hear' that we should shop local. We all get swept up in the convenience of shopping online with the big companies to save a few pennies! But, have we ever really thought about the affect this has on our local community? These COVID lock downs have given many more of us time at home to enjoy our local areas. With this, it has also made us more grateful of our community and provided us with more time to reflect on life, business, health etc. When you shop with a large company on line, does it make you feel good? Other than being pleased with yourself that you saved a fiver! No, in short is the answer to this.. Have you ever thought for a moment, the effect your spending may have if you where to support local small businesses? Well let's be honest, this was not at top of my things to do! COVID, has given me time to think about others more than normal. It has made me realise the error of some of my ways. Dunoon, is one of the most beautiful areas in Scotland, we are truly blessed to live here and be able to enjoy it. So how can we support our local area? Did you know, that by spending £10 locally has a ripple affect on the local community bringing back into it £50? Lets use this time to reflect on this, who would you like to see flourish Amazon? Morrison's? Or small local businesses in your local area... that by spending your hard earned income with them has a ripple affect across your local community...

These local producers, truly love what they do. Karen, the soap maker, is passionate about reducing plastic use and only using high quality ingredients and pure essential oils. I cannot explain how wonderful it feels to use this soap. Every time I use it, whether its at my kitchen sink or on our pets, it makes me smile to know that we are supporting local businesses and you can feel the love that went into making them. Sure, you can buy commercial soap cheaper. But, trust me! Have you ever used a soap from the super market that made you smile? This soap literally brightens my day and I hope it does yours too. Geranium Rose sent is my favourite.

Due to the new covid restrictions coming into place we are going to be offering Dunoon and the surrounding area with FREE delivery on spends over £20.00 during January 20201. Spends under have a charge of £3.95. We have added this to the website, so fingers crossed, you can now get your bird food delivered to your door. Lets shop & support local. Remember, when you place an order with a family run small business, these truly make our day especially during these unusual times.

We are now pleased to be using Johnson & Jeff quality peanuts - small bags 2KG available in store for £5.99. You can pre order a 12.75KG or 20KG bag - get in touch with us to do this. https://www.facebook.com/crootscountrystore/posts/151408770114515