Create a bird-friendly garden

There is nothing quite like the simple pleasure of watching wild birds visit your garden and with such vast potential for native and migrating visitors how can we make our gardens more appealing to winged guests?

Nature’s larder

When you grow fruit, berry and seed-rich plants it creates edible treats for birds, just as long as you don’t cut them down in autumn. Ivy is often undervalued but is in fact an incredibly beneficial plant producing pollinator-friendly flowers in summer and nutritious black berries from autumn through winter. 

Teasel, evening primrose and sunflower seed heads burst with protein and fat-rich seeds and many shrubs and trees like rowan, pyracantha and cotoneaster are laden with juicy berries. Leave rose hips unpruned and windfall apples and pears on the ground for birds to feast on. 

Install a bird table or feeder

Primarily birds visit gardens looking for food and there are many ways we can fulfil that need. Installing a bird table or a variety of bird feeders will give birds options. 

Site the table or feeders in a quiet, sheltered spot. Strike a balance between positioning them far enough away from bushes so predators cannot jump across and attack but close enough for birds to take refuge. Be wary of placing feeders near windows as birds may fly into glass.

Feed the birds

Richard Jackson Garden stock a full range of energy-rich, high-fat, high-protein bird food and suet balls to keep birds healthy this winter.

Hang fat balls close to trees and shrubs so birds can easily take cover. Birds like tits, sparrows, starlings and goldfinch like to perch while feeding whereas blackbirds and robins are also happy ground feeding, hoovering-up fallen seed.

Add a bird bath

Like all wildlife, birds need easy access to water so install a bird bath. Place the bath in an open area away from long grass; in hot summers move it to a shady location. Line the base with gravel to create a non-slip surface and semi-submerge larger stones so birds can drink without getting wet. 

There are endless designs but you do not have to spend a fortune, a simple dinner plate will do the job or for a quirky feature an old frying pan provides perfect depth. 

Large shallow saucers with graduated sides allow birds of all sizes to stand on the edge of the bird bath and drink or bathe and will even provide a water source for insects.

Refresh the water regularly and give the container a thorough scrub to remove algae, pests and diseases and once temperatures plummet remember to break the ice on frosty mornings!

Install a nesting box

If your garden has a tree, fence or wall add a nesting box and have birds returning year on year. Autumn is a great time to site new nest boxes, they might be used for roosting and will be ready for spring.

Position the box about three metres off the ground, in a sheltered spot pointing slightly down, away from prevailing wind, rain and bird feeders, with a clear flight path into the entrance, away from the prowl of predators.

Give boxes a good clean in autumn ready for birds in spring. Wear gloves, remove old material and wash with boiling water only. Let the box dry naturally. Pop a few wood shavings in the bottom, you may even attract some furry friends who need a spot to hibernate over winter.

Create natural habitat in your garden

Birds love to forage for mini beasts so create habitat to attract these creatures. A simple log pile can support a tremendous amount of life from woodlouse and spiders to worms.

Adding a pond will not only provide a natural water source for drinking and bathing but encourage a myriad of pond life to reside which is potential food for birds.

Plant trees and shrubs

Garden trees and shrubs offer shelter and protection. Trees not only host nesting spots, song posts and habitat to hide in, but are also a natural, sustainable source of food: insects. Trees support an entire ecosystem of insects from caterpillars, grasshoppers, moths and flies to ants, beetles and spiders.

Choose a tree to suit your garden’s space and conditions. Consider the ultimate height and spread ideally with a mix of evergreen and deciduous species. Whatever the size of your plot, find a space for a tree even if it’s in a large pot. 

Silver birch (Betula pendula), rowan (Sorbus aucuparia), crab apple (Malus sylvestris) and wild cherry (Prunus avium) will have birds and insects flocking! Juneberry (Amelanchier lamarckii), holly (Ilex aquifolium), Cotoneaster lacteus, blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) and hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) are also all immensely useful berry producing trees for birds.

Organic gardening and diversity

Providing a variety of different food options will ensure that you attract a greater variety of bird species. Organic gardening will benefit the entire food chain right down to the soil, keeping plants free of pesticides that could disrupt the delicate fabric of garden life. 

All birds have different needs and so planting a diverse collection of trees, shrubs and pollinator-friendly plants will turn your garden into a wildlife oasis for your local bird population from robins, wrens, tits and blackbirds to thrush, finches, dunnocks and wood pigeons.