Garden Birds

[Theland1]

I know nothing of our garden birds, except that some are Robins. The rest? Sorry .....
Anyway, I like them, and would like to attract more into the garden, by providing nest boxes, food, etc.
So any advice appreciated, type of food, where to put nest box, away from cats / squirrels etc.
At present all I do is throw bread in the garden, but I'd like the birds to come closer so I couls see them better.

[LoftyLottie]

What I would do initially is to provide a mixture of a good wild bird seeds and peanuts and get a bird table somewhere away from any hedgerows where the cats etc. are visible to the birds. I would also get a bird bath on a stand. You can improvise by placing a large plant pot saucer on top of a large upturned flowerpot. Much cheaper. Supply the food on a regular basis and keep the water changed regularly.

You should also look at planting lots of things in your garden that provide food for the birds and that also draw insects into your garden (more bird food).

I could go into lots of detail but I'm being lazy and have found this excellent advice on the web:

http://www.greenfingers.com/articledisplay.asp ?id=388

Good luck.

[vehelpfulguy]

There is a lot of information here on the RSPB site

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/wildlifegarden /

Note that different birds like different types of food, and also birds like to eat food in different places (some like it high up while others like to eat on the floor).

The important thing is once you start feeding them dont stop. They need a lot of food each day to survive and if they get used to you feeding them, and you stop, it could kill them.

[vehelpfulguy]

Also, as LoftyLottie says, dont just see putting out food as the only help you can give.

Birds love eating berries and fruit from bushes so look to plant shrubs etc that have berries and fruit birds like.

Also they love incects so look to do things that encourage incects, like have wood on the floor (in flower beds) that will rot and encourage incects.

Also different birds require different type of bird boxes (size of hole and position of box) so see what types of birds come to your garden then buy boxes that they will use.

[vehelpfulguy]

Final thing, if you have a lawn dont just mow it short all over.

Maybe mow a path through it but leave the rest long. This will encourage wild flowers and also incects, which in turn attracts birds.

This sort of thing

http://www.mjausson.com/2006/img/14Apr06/10daf fodilwalk.jpg

[LoftyLottie]

Veryhelpfulguy - great advice.

[LoftyLottie]

And finally get yourself some binoculars and a bird book. Ours are kept on a window sill at the ready. You will soon learn a lot about birds and will begin to recognise them easily.

Have fun.

Lottie

[cruella]

I can only echo what the others have said. Plenty water, seeds, nuts, fatballs in winter and lots of bushes.
Our garden is full of all types of birds and wildlife.
They bring a lot of pleasure.

[madboutcats]

you should come and sit in my mums porch theland she has a blackbird and a starling that comes in and pinches the outside cats dinner.

[cruella]

madaboutcats
We have birds that do that at my work. We feed a feral cat, have done for 19 years and the blackbirds bring their family every year for cat food. haha. Freal cat actually leaves some food for them.

[dustypuss]

iv got two grater spotted wood pekers swinging on my feeders they seem to love fat balls

[ethandron]

we've recently really got into feeding birds and attracting them into our garden. it's amazed me just how many we get. i've got 4 peanut holders, 2 of which are squirrel proof, 4 fat ball holders as well as hanging individual fat balls in the trees, and a small square mesh bird feeder which i put sultanas in and which blackbirds and thrushes love. and 2 birdbaths which i fill every day. i've had a count up and we've had 18 different species in our garde at one time or another over recent months. at the moment there's a family of blue tits, about 8 or 9 or them, and another of long tailed tits. we also have a nuthatch and a pair of greenfinches who regularly visit the nut holders. it's better than watching the telly, seeing them feeding the babies.

[madboutcats]

cruella the other day i went out into the porch not realising one of the birds was in and gave him a fright, i managed to open the porch door which slides open,and sam the cat walked in and completly ignored the bird and yet it was in jaw grabbing distance. the birds definatly have a death wish.

[madboutcats]

to right ethandron who needs soap operas when the birds can entertain us. i was sitting watching the birds in my mums garden the other day, mr woody was sitting in his bird bath, when a starling started to chase a crow away from where it was trotting about on the grass, whether the starling had young with it i dont know, but woody had noticed all the commotion, flapped out the bath and hot footed it over to where the curfuffle had all started, i swear that pigeon was going for a nosey.

[bensmum]

I spend ages watching the birds in my garden. Can't add to any of the advice - agree with it all especially not manicuring the lawn. If you can let a little bit of your garden go a bit wild and let nettles and weeds grow you will attract lots of insects. Birds love shrubs and there are all sorts of bird food on the market now. I buy cheap scones from the supermarket - they love those along with some grated apple.

[Cetti]

You probably know more birds than you think, Theland. Apart from the Robin I bet you can name the Blackbird, Starling, House Sparrow, Wren, Song Thrush and of course the mighty Wood Pigeon - plus many more.

Arm yourself with a small ID book (the Dorling Kindersley RSPB Pocket Book is a brilliant starter) D plus a pair of bins as Lofty Lottie says, then prepare to lose (or waste!) an hour or two very easily!

A word of caution about net bags. These now are considered dangerous, as many birds have become entangled in them, breaking little legs or suffocating, so remove peanuts and fat balls if poss to a safe container.

[LoftyLottie]

I wonder why those net bags aren't banned now Cetti. Surely the fat balls could be produced without using them. I get so mad about them when I have to keep cutting them off. They then have to be disposed of very carefully to stop wildlife getting to them.

I still see people hanging them up on string in their net bags.

[LoftyLottie]

Ha, ha Bensmum - buying them scones from the supermarket. I love it. I can see you cooking them a roast dinner very soon ;o)