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I’m determined to encourage birds into my garden this year -any tips welcome.
QuintanaRoo · 19/03/2023 08:03
So I have bought a bird feeder hanger which I’ve put a few feet away from a little apple tree where I sometimes see sparrows sitting.
I’ve bought a seed holder which has three chambers for three different types of seeds. I bought niger seeds and also some”no mess” quality mixed bird seed. I’m now thinking the Niger seeds was a mistake as I’ve never seen finches before……but maybe the Niger seeds will encourage them.?
the feeder holder has a mesh flat tray part so I was thinking of putting suet or maybe mealworms on this.
I see blackbirds in the garden sometimes, also sparrows, wood pigeons. There are crows on the house roof most days.
what else would be good to put out?
thefinaltwist · 19/03/2023 08:59
Bushes for cover. We have our feeder right at the edges of the bushes.
I put out seed, peanuts, mealworm, fatballs, fat cakes and we also make home made fat cakes. These are extremely popular! The peanuts are popular with the bluetits.
Bird bath or at least a source of water to drink we have a small one big enough for a drink but a proper bath aswell
We get a good variety of birds robins, sparrows, starlings, wren, bluetits, great tits, long tailed tits, wagtail, blackbirds and a very fat pigeon that appreciates any bread offerings
I love feeding the birds and get huge pleasure out of watching them. I have a window feeder that the robin uses daily. Its a full time job keeping up with the feeding but I love it
Careerdilemma · 19/03/2023 09:18
Meal worms appear to be like bird crack in our garden.
Re the nesting boxes. Check out if they're appropriately positioned. They have to face the right way, be in the right position in terms of foliage etc. I can't remember the details but read up on it when we positioned ours.
Redebs · 19/03/2023 09:54
thefinaltwist · 19/03/2023 09:47
@LucyLucyAppleJuice
No I've never had any bird poo to clean off. I bury mealworm under the seed the robin picks them out, their his favourite
Adorable!
You might try planting a small cherry tree on dwarf rootstock. We have lots of birds coming for ours.
Agree that cats are a major problem, even if you don't see them much. They often hunt at night, picking off new fledglings. I suggest fence spikes and prickly deterrents at every gap.
LennyThePenny · 19/03/2023 10:02
My garden is absolutely rammed with birds and the singing is delightful. If you want to encourage birds the single best thing you can do is let your garden go a bit wild. I stopped cutting mine through lockdown and now it's super over-grown around the boundaries (facing in). I noticed a massive difference in the amount of birds. I also have several water bowls & plants/trees with berries.
RobinSong · 19/03/2023 10:06
Don’t keep your garden too tidy. As others have said, you need plenty of shrubs for cover. Definitely a bird bath - watching them drink and splash about is great, and they clearly love it! Keep it fresh & topped up.
I have a fat ball feeder, and a hanging tray. Both get heavy use. I scatter food across the patio for the ground-feeders. We have a dog who chases, so cats don’t come in our garden.
Our previous NDN had a cat and I was always hearing her complain about the dead birds it brought in. It made me so sad to hear.
We seem to be home to a large mob of sparrows, some robins and blackbirds, and a wren. Visitors include ringed doves, starlings (in summer), pigeons, a woodpecker and some blue-tits.
Cherrysoup · 19/03/2023 10:06
Water-we have a small pond with a waterfall which is used as a shower by all the birds with bare earth next to it which they use as a dust bath, plus lots of shrubs/perching places. They seem to have certain times they use the ‘facilities’, so the flock of spuggies all come for ages, then the starlings, then pairs of fat wood pigeons. We have a lot of goldfinch/bluetits too. I think what you get depends where you live/what’s already about. The only ones that use the feeders are the spuggies.
CoffeeLover90 · 19/03/2023 10:08
Love the idea of a window feeder. RSPB have instructions on how to make your own fat balls. I crush them up and put them in a seed tray too as not all the birds eat them from a hanger but they all eat from the tray. I get a few greenfinch, wood pigeons, collared doves, blackbirds and now and again dunnock and Robins. Our David Attenborough said birds are more attracted to gardens that blend in with the wild, so trees, shrubs rather than neat grass, decking etc. I have bee friendly plants scattered around. I love seeing the activity in spring/summer.
Cherrysoup · 19/03/2023 10:13
CoffeeLover90 · 19/03/2023 10:11
This is my kind of heaven.
Cherrysoup · 19/03/2023 10:09
Dust bath to right, spuggies appear to live in the shrubs covering the back bit/arch.
Hmm, it’s looking rough currently due to two bouncy young dogs, despite a new bit of lawn, but it’s a great set up for birds. I think I have wrens too, they like to crawl up the brick wall outside the lounge.
grayhairdontcare · 19/03/2023 10:16
I only have a concrete yard but have had success with bird feeding this year.
I have the fat balls and coconut, a couple of feeders and every day at the same time I put mealworms out on the wall.
The starlings and robins are now waiting for the mealworms.
The wagtail love the coconut and the wrens just come and go as they please
WeAreBorg · 19/03/2023 10:18
Thanks for thread OP, me too!
My problem is I can attract the birds well enough (brag) however then the rats come and hang round the bird feeders, I get inundated with pigeons who seem to drive away the little birds and shit everywhere, and then the cats come along and scare whoever is left.
Any tips for only attracting cute wee birdies and not the riff riff? I’m thinking probably not haha
TriangleSquareCircle · 19/03/2023 10:22
That's a lot of lawn, which is not great for biodiversity.
What about encouraging insects to your garden through creating a wilder area of long grass? Or a planted area.
Lots of birds eat insects and this is a more environmentally friendly way to attract birds than using purchased bird seeds (which will have a significant carbon footprint associated with production, packaging and transportation).
Hollyhocksandlarkspur · 19/03/2023 10:22
Love your hedges for nesting OP. Agree with little waterfall and shallow pond for washing if possible, if not birdbath. To deter rats (we do have them though) mint is meant to put them off also having to run across exposed ground. Might work in different environment to us. Solid weighted squirrel proof feeders so if heavy bird or squirrel lands the spaces dispensing seed shut off. Soften edges as much as possible with shrubs and flowers. Bring in more insects and you will definitely get more birds.
We are about to put up four new nest boxes. Old ones need disinfecting every year. Good luck, breat project.
CC4712 · 19/03/2023 10:27
Don't forget that it might take a few weeks for birds to realise the feeders are there. We recently moved our feeder from the front garden to the back. The woodpigeons found it within the 1st week, then the black birds and weeks later- the robins and other smaller birds.
TriangleSquareCircle · 19/03/2023 10:29
One of the best things I accidentally did to feed birds was to leave a broccoli plant growing long after it had ceased to be productive. It was full of caterpillars which ate the leaves and these were like crack for the tiny birds that would visit and peck them off every day. It was a joy to watch.
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