Five Quick Ways To Attract Wild Birds

The bulbs are beginning to come up, there are buds on the magnolia, and the hellebores are producing their gorgeous blooms. All promising signs of the year ahead in the garden. But perhaps what excites me most on these often dull, drab days is the bird activity. The birds are at full tilt. Rushing to our bird table, swinging on the feeders and generally using the patio as if it’s a play area. I absolutely love them. To top it all we have a Greater Spotted Woodpecker which seems to have taken up residence. So when the people at Vine House Farm, kindly offered me some quick tips to attract wild birds to the garden, I couldn’t resist.

And when I say quick – I mean it. Their suggestions can each be done in 20 minutes. So we’ve no excuses not to do one of more of these.

1.Attract Wild Birds With Feed

I guess the most obvious tip is providing bird feed. But according to the people at Vine House Farm it’s not just a matter of volume. Variety matters too.

One of the most important things to bear in mind when feeding birds is that different species of birds prefer different foods. Birds with pointed, sharp beaks – can crack into harder seeds like sunflower seeds, millet, or niger seed, In contrast, soft-billed birds, like Robins, Song thrushes, and Blackbirds, are more likely to feed on de-husked seeds and softer food, such as worms and insects.

That’s why it’s important to include a variety of food types in your bird food selection; such as mixed seeds, suet, and live foods. 

If you only have 20 minutes and no bird food in, soak some currants – like sultanas or raisins – in warm water for 15 minutes (or overnight if you can) and then put them out.  This is such a simple tip – and so easy.

We rarely allow biscuits or cake to reach the stale stage, but if you have them, stale bread, cake, and biscuits will also be readily eaten by many birds. However, be careful not to overdo it. This kind of food provides very little nutritional value beyond energy. As a result it should never be a long-term substitute for other bird foods like seeds. When putting these out, make sure they are broken up into tiny pieces. That way smaller birds can safely eat them, too. 

Ideally, food is best placed in feeders. But if you do not have any bird feeders you can put food in large open plates on the ground, or hang open pots from trees for perching birds. 

2. Think Heights

In just the same way that different species of birds prefer different kinds of food, they also like to feed in different ways. Some birds, like members of the tit family, perch while they eat, while others, like Robins or Chaffinches, also graze from the ground.  I’ve definitely experienced this first hand. I have a lovely Robin which dances across the floor of my patio feeding. He seems to scavenge the bits and pieces which fall from the bird feeders. The Pigeons do this too but I’m less keen on them, as they seem to breed relentlessly in my garden!

To attract a variety of wild birds into your garden offer a range of options – ground feeders, bird tables, and hanging feeders.  

If you only have 20 minutes, try adding one bird food tray to a bird table and one to the ground to cater to all tastes. 

3. Attract Wild Birds Through Your Garden Choices

My regular readers will know that I’ve written a lot about gardening in a way which attracts wildlife. It often involves being rather a wilder, less tidy gardener. This suits my gardening style down to the ground! Just as I’m not the world’s best when it comes to housework, I’m equally not that keen on tidying the garden.

But even if you are a really neat gardener you can still promote ecosystems to form in your garden by including as many native flowers, plants, and shrubs as possible. 

Plant Choices

Grass makes a big difference here; if you can provide longer grass, this is ideal. Even if you don’t have long grass, trees, shrubs, and bushes are great places for birds to perch, feed and build nests, so these are also a great addition. You can find a good list of garden plants to attract birds here.

But to help you get started, Hawthorn, Honeysuckle, Ivy, Pyracanthus are all good for providing food and or shelter. For instance, I’ve read that some pyracanthas such as Saphyr Rouge and Teton have a brilliant branch structure, ideal for nesting, especially when grown against walls. They are very disease-resistant and their pretty white flowers are followed by berries. I’d like that in my garden even if the wild birds didn’t love it!

Ivy may be boring to some, but to birds and the insects many birds feed on, it’s brilliant! I have ivy running along the top of a wall and it’s a definite nesting site for many birds including Sparrows. This is because it provides both dense cover and fruits.

I also have a different ivy smothering my potting shed. I appreciate that to many, all this ivy might sound a bit dull. But with the right kind of planting in the foreground, I think it looks rather good.

Ultimately, the more native plants you can include the better when it comes to supporting wild birds; plant life leads to insect life, and where the insects are, the birds soon follow.  Attract and sustain the insects and you attract the wild birds. It’s that simple.

Beyond Plants

Another way to support insects is through having a pile of branches, twigs, and other garden waste. You can keep tucked away in the corner of your garden somewhere. It doesn’t need to be a design feature thankfully. You’re simply trying to create a space which will allow insects and other invertebrate life to thrive, which will in turn help attract and feed wild birds.

Or you can create a bee or bug hotel using simply a drill and an old block of wood.

Easier still, if you only have 20 minutes, you could use existing potted plants to create a makeshift wildlife ‘hub’. Bring your plants together into one area, such as on a garden table.

These will encourage insects – like bees and butterflies – to congregate in this area, which will in turn attract birds.

4. Attract Wild Birds With Water

I think this is such an easy tip to forget – especially in the UK where we seem to have an abundance of water! But providing clean water for your birds is just as important as providing food, even during the wetter and colder months of the year. 

Water sources have two main uses for birds. The first is hydration; birds need to drink clean water throughout the day and year, as well as consume moisture-rich foods in order to function. The second use of water for birds is bathing. Keeping their plumage in tip top shape is highly important as it ensures they’re able to fly properly and therefore aids their chances of survival. 

An easy source of water is a bird bath. I’ve experienced the difference just one additional bird bath can make first hand. Mr F-W bought me this gorgeous old mortar for our patio area. It took a while for the birds to acclimatise to it. However, now that it’s a familiar part of the scenery on our patio, it’s oh so popular. I just need to remember to check it’s not iced up, with all the cold weather we keep having! I also need to regularly top it up as the bathing birds quickly splash the contents everywhere!

My mortar is lovely, but any old bowl will do as a bird bath. If you only have 20 minutes, put clean water in a spare washing-up bowl and place this on a garden table.

5. Nesting in Time for Spring

A great way to support and attract wild birds is to ensure that your garden offers good nesting opportunities for them. 

The nesting season starts in early March and goes well into the summer months. While some birds prefer nesting in tree cavities, others create nests in the ground, under hedges, or in other undisturbed nooks. 

You can help nesting birds by:

• Providing nest sites in external nooks of buildings. For example, ‘swift bricks’ are built into walls for swifts and other small birds to build their nests in. 
• Leaving leaves, twigs, and branches unraked in undisturbed piles under hedges and in other nooks. This gives birds plenty of materials to start building their nests. 
• Waiting until Autumn to prune and trim bushes and trees, when bird nesting season is over. 
• Build your own nest box by following this easy technique developed by clever old Mr F-W

So that’s it. Some really easy-peasy ways for us all to attract wild birds into our gardens. Happy gardening (and birdwatching).