Nigel Lloyd built 'For The Birds' during his 1983 residency, on the forest road which winds its way south-east from Grizedale Tarn. Lloyd described the process of working at Grizedale to Aspects Journal and explained how 'For The Birds' came about after he had been working on 'Monument To Satterthwaite':​

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"During the making of the first piece, which took six weeks, it felt as though all my senses were becoming much more attuned to the forest environment; working outside every day, one became accustomed to seeing and hearing things which I am sure most walkers passing through wouldn't notice. Early mornings, when the mist was just rising, one would come across roe deer grazing, oblivious to my presence; rabbits and red squirrels were an almost everyday occurence. My sense of hearing opened out, the squeaks and screech of birds and buzzards wheeling on the thermals overhead never ceased to amaze me. I was fortunate that the summer of 1983 was one of the best the Lake District had experienced for years, for almost twelve weeks the weather was hot (almost too hot to work) and clear blue skies were the norm. This made working an absolute joy and spiritually, very uplifting. This 'opening out' of one's senses also affected my work. I hope it became much more subtle, less brash, more in keeping with the forest.

For the second piece, the choice of site took a long time. I wanted to work in the old 'oak forest' again in a small gladed area. The choice of working in the oak plantations was twofold - one: the forestry commission have a policy of trying to keep oak as long as possible, so tree felling only occurs every ten to twenty years. Secondly, the quality of light was much better than in the conifer areas - much more open and more evocative.