Find space for your feathered friends amidst your garden
Robins are a particular favourite in British gardens(Image: Colin Lane/Liverpool Echo)
Looking to attract more birds to your garden? Want to hear bird song every time you go out to look after your green space? Don’t know where to start? That’s all good!
We’ve rounded up some expert advice courtesy of Gardening World to help you get your space nature-friendly for your feathered friends. Even a small garden can become a haven for birds by providing them with food sources such as insects, caterpillars, seeds, and berries, along with shelter from cold weather and predators, as well as suitable nesting materials and sites.
Creating a bird-friendly garden doesn’t have to mean it looks unkempt or wild. However, it is crucial to avoid using chemicals, as these can harm beneficial insects that are vital to the food chain.
Birds are natural pest controllers, so rather than using sprays, allow birds to help manage your garden’s pests.
Trees play a crucial role for birds, offering essential cover, nesting sites, and a variety of insects and fruits to eat. Native tree species, such as silver birch, hawthorn, hazel, alder, and field maple, are particularly effective at supporting a range of insects.
Dense shrubs also provide valuable shelter, nesting sites, and food sources, especially berries. Plants like holly and pyracantha are excellent choices due to their abundant berries. You can explore a selection of plants that produce berries for birds.
A dense hedge can function as a natural nesting site and also provide useful food sources. If your hedges are native and dense, they will be particularly beneficial. Avoid pruning hedges between March and July to protect nesting birds.
Lawns can serve as important feeding grounds for many birds, including blackbirds and song thrushes, which are attracted to earthworms. It’s best not to treat your lawn with chemicals; care for it organically and don’t worry about weeds. The seeds from dandelions and plantains can actually provide food for birds, and longer grass offers shelter for the insects they feed on.
Not cutting the lawn too short is helpful too. Allowing the grass to grow just a little wild is good for other wildlife like bees, so you can help two birds with one stone.
Climbing plants contribute cover, nesting sites, and food. Honeysuckle is a good choice, while native ivy is especially beneficial; it offers protection from predators, is favoured by wrens and robins for nesting, and supplies food for the insects that birds eat. Blackbirds and other species are drawn to the ivy’s berries, too.
Flowers can attract insects and caterpillars that birds may consume, and many flowers, especially annuals and biennials, produce seeds that birds enjoy. Teasels, sunflowers, globe thistles, and miscanthus are excellent options for growing bird food in your garden.
Birds require water not just for drinking, but also for bathing, which helps them fluff up their feathers for insulation against the cold. Position a birdbath carefully, ensuring it is safe from predators and surrounded by plenty of cover. A pond can also provide water, as long as it has shallow edges.
Every garden can accommodate a nest box. Place it in a sheltered location, away from predators and strong winds. The type of nest box and its placement will depend on the bird species you wish to attract. Consider watching a video on the various types of bird boxes for guidance. You can also convert a nest box into a winter roost by clearing and cleaning it in autumn and adding cozy materials, like sheep wool insulation.
Creating a dead wood habitat or log pile from logs, branches, and twigs is an easy way to attract a wide range of insects that will nest and feed there, in turn attracting their predators, such as wrens and robins.
Remember to provide food throughout the year, not just during winter, so birds can rely on a consistent food source. Offer a variety of seeds to cater to different bird species. Position feeders near dense bushes, allowing smaller birds like blue tits to dart in and out for feeding, safe from cats and other predators.