Suitable for...

The advice given here is for encouraging garden birds. A good population of birds in the garden are part of a healthy garden. There is some evidence that a garden with a good population of birds will have fewer invertebrates that can damage garden plants. 

When and how to feed garden birds

Choosing feeders and providing water

• Use wire mesh feeders for peanuts and seed feeders for other seed
• Specially designed feeders are required for the small niger seed, which is a favoured food of goldfinches
• Food placed on wire mesh held just off the ground will entice ground-feeding birds such as robins and dunnocks
• Place fat blocks in wire cages. Plastic nets around fat balls must be removed as birds, such as woodpeckers, can get caught up in the mesh. Create your own fat blocks by melting suet into moulds such as coconut shells or into holes drilled into logs
• To help limit the spread of infections and diseases keep feeders clean, refill little and often (1-2 days worth of food) and, if possible, change their position in the garden to avoid fouling the ground underneath. Find out more about research indicating disease risks from bird feeding.

Water is essential for bathing and drinking throughout the year. Provide water in a shallow container, preferably with sloping sides and no more than 5cm (2in) deep. During frosty weather, remove the ice so birds can continue to have access to water.

Preferred foods

Use different foods and recipes to entice a range of birds. Although fat is important, particularly in winter also provide a grain mix or nuts to maintain a balanced diet. No-mess seed mixes are more expensive but the inclusion of de-husked sunflower hearts means there is less waste and debris under the feeder. Inferior mixes are often padded out with lentils and wheat.

Many birds have ‘favourite’ foods, so choosing certain types can effect what you see feeding in the garden. These are just some of the preferences:

• Insect cakes for tits
• Berry cakes for finches
• Finely chopped animal fat and grated cheese are welcomed by small birds, such as wrens
• Sparrows, finches and nuthatches enjoy prising the seeds out of sunflower heads. Also, leave seed heads on herbaceous plants overwinter
• Niger seed is liked by goldfinches
• Peanut cakes for starlings
• Fruit is favoured by thrushes and blackbirds. Scatter over-ripe apples, raisins and song-bird mixes on the ground for them. Consider planting berrying shrubs and trees, including favourites such as Malus, Sorbus, Cotoneaster and Pyracantha
• Mealworms are a favoured food of many garden birds

Nesting sites and bird boxes

Each bird species has different requirements for nesting sites. Many birds nest in dense vegetation including shrubs, hedgerows and trees. Holes in trees provide a natural nest site for several species. Bird boxes can provide additional nest sites in gardens and are often used. Advice on bird boxes can be found from the BTO and RSPB. 

Problems

It is difficult to exclude bigger visitors such as magpies, pigeons and squirrels from a traditional bird table. Feeders give more control over what you attract and most designs can be fitted with squirrel guards or have the feeder enclosed by an outer cage that keeps out larger animals. These structures can also affect which birds visit. 

Bird boxes can also be affected by predators, metal entrance surrounds can be used to exclude these animals. Nest boxes can be cleaned out once a year in autumn. Sometimes bird boxes are used by tree bumblebees. 

Dead and diseased birds in gardens

Like all animals birds suffer from debilitating diseases and can become injured. Occasionally a dead bird may be found in a garden. These can be reported to the Garden Wildlife Health (GWH) project. The project aims to monitor and assess diseases in British wildlife. Keep feeders clean, refill little and often and change position of feeders often to help reduce the risk of disease spread.

Plants for encouraging birds

There are many garden plants that provide food in the form of berries (B) or seeds (S) a selection are listed below:

Cultivated plants 

Berberis spp. (B); Cotoneaster spp. (B); eating and crab apples, Malus spp. (B); firethorn, Pyracantha spp. (B); mountain ash and whitebeams, Sorbus spp. (B); holly – female cultivars, Ilex spp. (B); privet, Ligustrum ovalifolium (B); Daphne mezereum (B); honeysuckles, Lonicera spp. (B); some single-flowered ornamental cherries, e.g. Prunus avium, P. cerasus (B); some rose species, e.g. Rosa rugosa, R. moyesii (B); Viburnum betulifolium (B); Oregon grape, Mahonia spp. (B); Photinia davidiana (B); thorns, Crataegus spp. (B); sunflower, Helianthus annuus (S)

Native plants

Blackberry, Rubus fruticosus (B); elderberry, Sambucus nigra (B); hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna (B); alder, Alnus glutinosa (S); birch, Betula pendula (S); holly – female plants of Ilex aquifolium (B); ivy, Hedera helix (B);  yew, Taxus baccata (B); guelder rose, Viburnum opulus (B); wayfaring tree, Viburnum lantana (B); purging buckthorn, Rhamnus catharticus (B); alder buckthorn, Frangula alnus (B); wild roses, e.g. Rosa canina, R. rubiginosa (B); mountain ash, Sorbus aucuparia (B); whitebeam, Sorbus aria (B); musk thistle, Carduus nutans (S);  field scabious, Knautia arvensis (S); devil's bit scabious, Succisa pratensis (S); greater knapweed, Centaurea scabiosa (S);  teasel, Dipsacus fullonum (S).

Get involved

There are several projects where you can record your garden bird visitors

Big Garden Bird Watch - RSPB
Garden BIrd Watch - BTO
Garden Bird Feeding Survey - BTO