Birds play an important part of British wildlife, and what better way to enjoy them by making them feel welcome in their garden. So sit back on your new bench and enjoy watching the little birds flutter past.

Bird Feeding

While we always encourage people to feed birds in the winter when it’s harder for them to forage, it doesn’t mean you should stop when summer comes back around. Over time birds build their homes near places where they can get a secure source of food. This means when you regularly make food available all year round they will be nesting nearby.

Different birds have different feed needs and feeder requirements. So if you are looking for a variety of birds in your garden, make sure you have a variety available. However, we know that many people would like to discourage some birds like pigeons and magpies, so why not keep an eye out for other birds that are coming into your garden and target your feeding just for them.

Research the birds before you go ahead and target them, some will prefer tiny seeds, whereas others will prefer fat balls.

You may also need to consider your feeders, squirrels will take all the nuts and seeds they can get to, so if you want to solely feed the birds look at squirrel proof feeders.

Bird Tables

Bird tables also make a great place for you to spread out some seeds and allow any size bird (or squirrels) to help themselves. But did you know that it also makes a great place to offer your birds some bedding?

When it comes to nesting, birds will spend a long time searching for the best bedding they can find. By using a bird table with a roof you can supply them with an offering of dry bedding. It also means that again they are likely to nest nearby, which is great if you have birdhouses up.

Bird Houses

Just like bird feeding, bird housing will vary greatly depending on the types of birds that you get in your garden. Smaller birds will often avoid larger birdhouses as they do not feel as safe, and some birds just prefer nests over houses. Again, we recommend keeping an eye out on your garden to find which birds you are attracting and choose your house accordingly.

There is a common misconception that you put a birdhouse in your garden and they will come. Sadly, it also takes a bit of patience and feeding before birds will happily nest in a new house. Birds are very weary over going into a new birdhouse in case it is already occupied. So they will often scope it out over a long period of time before making the move to go inside and look around. So keep up with the feeding, offer the bedding, and in time they will come. Don’t get disheartened if it takes a long time.

Bird Baths

They’re well-fed, they are housed, what’s next? Somewhere to bathe. During warmer or drier weather birds will look for somewhere to splash around and will even use puddles if they need to. Offering them a bath will help them to enjoy your garden and return time and time again.

If you have pets we do recommend that you raise your birdbath off the floor, or take a look at our hanging birdbaths.

Call in and visit us to see our full birdcare range. Keep an eye out for blogs with more information.