With gardens in Britain occupying more space than nature reserves, you shouldn’t underestimate the importance of your garden as a natural haven for birds and wildlife and the contribution you can make to wildlife conservation.
Provide a welcoming environment and you'll be rewarded with regular visits from Bluetits and all kinds of other wildlife
Birds and wildlife sometimes need an extra bit of help to survive in their environment and providing food, water and shelter for birds also means you can sit back and enjoy a bit of backyard bird watching all year round.
Creating a sanctuary for your little visitors by providing shelters, bird feeders, bird baths and nest boxes will help birds such as Finches and Tits breed and thrive naturally. By watching your little feathery friends you can learn about the behaviour of different species, the type of food they prefer and the beautiful diversity nature has to offer.
Keep an eye out for:
- Robins
- Greenfinches
- Bullfinches
- Bluetits
- Wrens
- Wood Pigeons
- Great Spotted Woodpeckers
You can attract a wider variety of birds and rare species by providing seed and insect mixes in bird tables and bird feeders. Peanuts are a firm favourite for most birds and also attract rarer birds such as Woodpeckers and Nuthatches.
Crab apple trees are certain to attract the attention of Robins
The type of plants you grow will also help your garden’s ecosystem thrive. Colourful berries and fruiting bushes will attract beautiful wood pigeons and black birds and fruit trees such as crab apple trees will catch the eye of most bird species, particularly Robins, Starlings, Greenfinches and Thrushes.
Most garden birds such as House Sparrows and Robins also enjoy a variety of insects as part of their diet particularly if they are feeding chicks. Naturally abundant plants such as brambles are particularly useful in creating a flourishing ecosystem as the flowers provide nectar and pollen for most insects and the blackberries are perfect for insects to lay their eggs in.
Bird feeding tips:
- Keep feeders away from windows to avoid fatal collisions. The safest place to keep feeders is near a tree or bushes so that birds have quick get-away from predators.
- Change feed regularly and keep the feeder clean to prevent the build up of mould and bacteria.
- Provide a fresh water supply for smaller birds. Garden birds appreciate a deep bird bath to bathe in and drink from.
- It’s best to buy a ready made mix of seeds to provide the greatest variety for different preferences. These tend to contain the most popular seeds such as sunflower seeds which are oil rich and high in energy to keep feathers waterproof.
- Provide seed hearts in the winter such as sunflower hearts as this will save smaller birds vital energy in opening the husks to get to the juicy middle.
Remember not to forget about more secretive wildlife visitors such as squirrels, hedgehogs, badgers and bats. You can encourage them out of their hiding places by leaving out spent greens from the kitchen and a shallow bowl of water.
Find out more
Why not visit the RSPB website to find out more about ways you can help to conserve birds and wildlife in your garden
If you want to learn more about ornithology the British Trust of Ornithology (BTO) website provides information on bird populations, movements and ecology and you can help support their efforts by signing up as a member or even by volunteering
