small tree recommendations for teeny London garden

[IDidntChoseThePondLife]

Hi there,
I have recently moved to quite a green part of London where a lot of my neighbours seem intent on cutting their trees down. I have seen quite a few sparrows around, and would love to provide a new tree for them and other birds.

I have a small garden 35ft long and about 20ft wide. it tapers off towards the end and is a strange sort of skewed triangular shape. At the end of the garden is the side wall of the house round the corner, and neighbour to the right has large leylandii trees (tops now lopped off) and to the left fig trees. I've linked to a previous thread I started about my garden when we first moved in so you can see plans.

I have planted 3x cotoneaster bushes and 2x pyracanthus for berries, and also nectar rich plants for bees and insects so hopefully there will be food for the birds in the winter.

I would love a birch tree but think the maximum height I should go would be 12 ft high and the ones I have seen grow taller than that. My next two choices would be either a hawthorn or a rowan as they are native trees and (I think) better for wildlife.

I really like cottage garden plants so wouldn't want anything that looked tropical.

Can you offer any suggestions/recommendations? Thanks in advance!

I had a garden about the same size as yours and planted sorbus Joseph rock. The birds loved the berries, it was a gorgeous tree in spring, wafty leaves in summer so didn’t shade the garden too much anD beautiful in autumn. I miss that tree!

It didn’t get too big and stayed in an upright shape.

The branches didn’t suit the cats.

I’d try and make one border bigger in your garden at least.plant some ivy, and Sow some borage foR the bees. Lavender in my new garden is still covered with bees.

Maybe put a v small pond in too.

I think your Sorbus suggestion is my favourite so far mrsgolightly, I need something airy and swishy, and it doesn't look like it grows too big.
I just need to find one now!
I do have lots of nectar rich plants (borage seeds for next year) and the flowers are mostly covered in bees, and I have a little pond too, so am doing what I can on the insect front.

The Sorbus is definitely small, we have had ours about 2-3 years now and it has not grown that much, the branches are also thin and not too bushy. National Trusts with garden shops sometimes have them, we got ours from a garden centre, it was about £50-60