Make your home a destination for birds
by Katie Reed (Outdoor Answer)
This is part of a series of guest posts being published throughout June. Find out more about Katie Reed of Outdoor Answer, who wrote this article, at the end of this post.
I am not a competitive person in many areas of my life, but whilst I was sitting at home in 2021, staring out of my window, I noticed all the birds in my neighbour’s gardens. And the serious lack of birds in mine. Something in me was stirred.
I live on a terrace row, so none of us have sprawling acres, but I noticed that we were barely getting pigeons in our garden, whilst others were welcoming a plethora of wildlife. The competition was on, but I had little idea on where to start…
After listening to Mya-Rose Craig's Get Birding podcast episode with Susan Calman, I felt I was ready. Susan's advice is to “make your garden the destination”. If you create an environment birds want to come to, they will visit. Then they’ll tell their friends.
The competition was on, I wanted our garden to be the stand-out event of our street. The Tiger Tiger in a street filled with Wetherspoons, if you will. I started, as all great events do, with food. As it was difficult to get to the shops, I started with what I had in the cupboards, using scraps. However, I found scraps attracted the wrong audience: rats, cats and huge birds. Not the cute sparrows, robins or blue tits I had envisaged. I tried again as soon as I could and, due to a lack of trees, I bought a stand with a range of feeders and an area for water. I tried out a mixture of seeds but found a mixed variety was the most popular and encouraged a range of birds. I also learnt a valuable lesson: don't leave the bag of seeds outside or it will all be eaten in one night!
Being kind to nature does not have to be expensive. Bird feeders can be created out of old milk cartons or beer bottles. Water can be left out in an old bowl or a yoghurt pot. I found a birdbath and the cutest duck bird feeders at my local charity shops, which make the birds happy and add a pop of colour to my garden!
It turns out that birds are great guests. They need food and some water, but do not mind the mess. In fact, they love somewhere to hide from predators and sticks to make their nests. Keep the food and drink topped up so the birds know you’re reliable and they’ll keep returning. Then you can sit back and watch who turns up to the VIP queue at your bird table!
How to make your home a destination for birds:
Provide some grub - Old teapots can make great feeders and you can even put lard and seeds in an old toilet roll tube. Feeders should be kept out of direct sunlight and refilled often, where possible.
Serve drinks - Ensure there’s clean water available for drinking and bathing, especially in times of extreme heat. In the winter, water may freeze - putting a ball in the water will allow the birds to continue drinking.
Go bespoke - Window feeders are great for people with balconies or if, like me, you have no trees, stands can be a great alternative. Different types of feeders have differing hole sizes to keep large birds or squirrels away, if needed. It is definitely worth experimenting with a range of seeds and nuts, depending on who is visiting (or who you want to attract) - goldfinches like niger seed, for example.
Get to know your guests - We have named our returning pigeons Pete and Penny Pigeon, it helps us build a connection with the nature in our garden. We always say hello to them and get very excited when they bring friends! We used Lucy Lapwing’s bird song identification videos to find out who was turning up on our feeders too - it’s surprising how quickly your ears tune in to the regulars.
Provide some privacy - Birds like bushes and trees to perch on (and maybe even build a nest). It’s a good idea to put your bird feeder near some foliage, if you can. If you have space in your garden, you could even grow plants and trees with birds in mind (such as rowan, which produces berries blackbirds and others love).
Don’t tidy up - Birds such as goldfinches, house sparrows, bullfinches and linnets enjoy dandelion seeds, so if you have some growing in your garden, consider leaving them to go to seed so thy can be munched on happily. Birds also like somewhere to hide from predators, so keep your bushes untame to allow them somewhere to escape.
But do keep things clean - Just like us, birds are susceptible to diseases and the best way to combat these is to wash out feeders and get rid of any leftover food, regularly. This guide from RSPB will help.
Pay attention to the weather - If it’s really hot, put out water in a range of depths so birds can drink and bathe. In cold weather, feed birds more regularly as they will be unable get through the frozen soil to eat worms etc. Some will be getting ready to migrate, so will need their energy levels to be high for the long journey.
Check the guest list - If you have cats, putting a bell on them will help to alert birds of their presence. Keeping food high up and away from the floor helps keep away mice too.
If you have any other tips for attracting and caring for wild birds, please leave them in the comments!
About Katie Reed (Outdoor Answer)
This article was written by Katie Reed, an enthusiastic and passionate advocate for the benefits of nature and the outdoors for all. She is a qualified Forest School Leader and runs sessions within schools and at venues across the Midlands. Follow Katie on Instagram at @OutdoorAnswersUK for nature-based ideas and inspirations to embrace nature.
Get in touch with Zabby (by replying to this email) if you’d like to become a Nature Notice Board guest writer.
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Love this! Getting birds into our tiny little yard is a challenge… maybe I’ll try a stand sticking out the gravel 👌🏻