Aim to include these four elements to crate a garden which will attract a variety of birds:
Shelter – Plant trees, hedges or shrubs
Food – Provide bird feeders with a range of different seeds – different birds prefer different foods. Also, plant an assortment of flowers and vegetation to attract insects and plants with seed heads and berries to provide natural food sources
Nesting sites – provide nest boxes and plant long grasses to provide nesting materials.
Water – Provide a space for water such as a shallow bird bath which is cleaned regularly
Songbirds eat a variety of foods with different species favouring and needing different foods. The most common forms of nutrition include:
Insects including bugs, spiders, ants, bees, slugs, butterflies and worms
Buds, pollen and grasses
Fruit, Berries and nuts
Grains
Providing a natural supply of food through the plants in your garden will be a great source of all year round nutrition. In addition to shop bought food you can also try some of these:
Fruit - chop up fresh or over ripe fruit
Bacon rind (chopped up small)
Rendered beef fat – mix in oats, seeds etc for DIY fat balls
There are lots of different types of seeds and foods on the market and the ones you choose will determine which birds you will attract. Buying a small bird mixture or high protein mixture will attract the most variety into the garden. To attract more specific species here are a few ideas:
Peanuts – loved by all but use in a specialist peanut feeder or chopped up to avoid risk of choking especially in juveniles
Mealworms – place on a flat table to be enjoyed by blackbirds, tits, thrushes, wrens, dunnocks and especially robins
Nyger Seeds – a favourite of finches
Fat Balls and Suet Balls – ideal in winter and also easy to make yourself
Aim to buy a high quality mix to minimise the ‘junk’ content which can be used to fill out cheaper mixes and which is not beneficial or often liked by the birds.
Providing water in the summer months, rather than supplemental food, is the best way to help songbirds. Supplying extra food during winter is useful as birds need more fat and energy to keep warm during colder spells, and natural food sources are in shorter supply.
The most important thing about feeding birds is being consistent with when you put out food, especially during the winter months when expending extra energy can be the difference between life or death.
There is a lot of mixed information and research conducted that is for and against feeding your garden birds. Providing birds with water is always a good idea, as fresh water can be in short supply, especially in the hottest and coldest months of the year.
The providing of food is a great way to connect with nature, and at this time we are still advocating for people to feed their garden birds where possible until new research suggests it is not in the best interests of our garden birds.
Many species are suffering through a lack of food supply, due to the insect decline, changing climate and agricultural intensification, so supplying food can help to mitigate these pressures on our birds.
We recommend if you have particularly vulnerable or at-risk species in your area that you target your bird feeding towards these birds, providing food that most closely matches what they would naturally eat. We also strongly recommend gardening with birds in mind, so there are natural food sources available in the garden wherever possible.
If you believe there to be any chance of illness or disease in your garden birds, it would be wise to stop feeding for at least a fortnight, and make sure all your feeders are cleaned thoroughly. For more information on diseases that can affect garden birds, click below.
Concentrate on providing healthy diet choices to provide the energy and nutrition the birds need. The following should always be avoided:
Bread – birds need food with high nutritional benefit and bread is bulky, it fills them up with with ‘empty’ food and doesn’t give them nearly as much nutrition as they need
Desiccated coconut - will swell inside birds' stomachs and kill them
Turkey fat - interferes with bird's natural waterproofing and cause them to become sick
Raw meat – although many birds are carnivorous avoid providing this as it can spoil very quicky and grow dangerous bacteria
‘Old’ birdseed – always check your seed is dry and fresh – do not use if clumpy or mouldy
Milk – birds are largely lactose intolerant and cannot ingest large quantities of milk
Salt or chocolate
Grey squirrels can be an unwanted guest at your Bird feeding station. Here are some ideas to help deter them:
Use feeders with a cage- this will limit how many can get to the food – not perfect but it will help keep larger ones away
Position feeders where a squirrel cannot leap directly onto it and add a cone and/or grease on the pole – remember they can jump several feet horizontally
Try fixing a cone or baffle above the feeder to limit access
Provide additional food
Invest in a feeder with a squirrel stopper on the pole
Offer food which the squirrels don’t like – they love sunflower hearts and peanuts but are not so keen on nyger seeds or millet so try and tailor the menu
A squirrel stopper on the pole
If all else fails try having a separate feeder just for them which will divert them, and fill this with inexpensive food
By observing the size, shape, colour and habits of the bird you can start to refine what sort of bird it is.
Our songbird A-Z should be a great help for you to decide exactly what species it is:
First, wait. Often the bird is simply stunned and will recover quickly. Stay nearby and make sure that it does not become a snack for a cat or other predator while it is incapacitated.
If it does not seem to recover quickly you can pick it up, very gently, and put it into a cardboard box with a loose cover. This dark, safe place may help the bird to recover further and it may start to revive and you can let it go.
Meanwhile we recommend you phone your local animal rescue centre for more advice and perhaps take the injured bird to for medical care.
Before you do anything else make sure it is in a safe from danger from predators and if not, move it immediately to some cover such as a shrub. What you do next will depend on the age of the bird and if it is a nestling or a fledgeling. Follow our flow chart to help you make the right choices.
Pick it up, very gently, and put it into a cardboard box with a loose cover. This dark, safe place may help the bird to recover further and it may start to revive and you can let it go.
Meanwhile we recommend you phone your local animal rescue centre for more advice and perhaps take the injured bird to for medical care.
Most songbirds pair up in the spring; finding mates by singing, dancing and making nests to impress.
The busiest time between March and July but the earliest species such as Robin, Blue tit and Blackbird may start preparing for nesting in February.
You can help birds by providing nesting sites or artificial nesting boxes.
Whilst the hedgerows regulation doesn’t govern hedgerows in gardens, guidelines recommend that Hedges and shrubs should not be cut during nesting season to avoid damage or disturbance to nesting birds, or while there are berries and other fruits available for food.
February is a good time to put up a nest box and to clean out existing ones ready for a busy season of house hunting by your garden birds.
There are many different types of nest box, each suited to different species, and some tips for attracting the perfect residents are here:
It depends on the type of nestbox and what species of bird will use it:
The best place to site a bird box with a hole is 2-4 metres from the ground either on a wall or tree.
For an open-fronted bird box for robins and wrens is low down (under 2 metres), hidden in vegetation but be careful that it is somewhere safe from predators.
Terraced boxes for sparrows should be attached high up under the eves of your house or shed.
Mount your nestbox out of any prevailing winds and out of direct sunlight so any occupants do not get chilled nor roasted.e a space for water such as a shallow bird batch which is cleaned regularly.
Try to find a place with vegetation below the nest to protect any wobbly fledglings if they fall. Consider protecting your nestboxes by mounting within vegetation like ivy or jasmine on walls or fences to really make birds feel safe to use them.
Finally, birds will need a clear flight path to the entrance and if you tilt the box slightly forward, it will help stop rain driving into the nest.
In spring, birds will be looking for suitable nesting material to help build and line their nests with.
Pet fur is ideal as its soft and warm but please don't use it if you apply topical/spot on flea treatments to your pets as this can be dangerous for birds.
You can also use hair, nesting wool, small twigs and even feathers that you may find around the garden.
Why not make your own nesting material dispenser using our free download and a few simple household and garden items
Before you do anything else make sure it is in a safe from danger from predators and if not, move it immediately to some cover such as a shrub. What you do next will depend on the age of the bird and if it is a nestling or a fledgeling. Follow our flow chart to help you make the right choices.
Information coming soon.
There are lots of options out there to help curb your cat’s hunting behaviours.
Our top tips are:
Play with your cat for 5-10 minutes each day to ‘sate’ its hunting desire
Feed it a diet high in meat protein
Fit its collar with a scientifically proven BirdsBeSafe collar cuff or another bird-safe collar like StopCat collars to deter your cat from making a meal of your garden birds
Keep cats in for at least some of the day, especially at dusk and dawn when birds are most active and during the breeding season when fledglings are vulnerable
Invest in a catio to protect wildlife
Visit our cat research page for even more information on the research we have conducted into cats and their hunting behaviours.
To ensure that nests are protected in your garden, you can do several things to keep them as safe as possible:
Don’t cut trees, bushes, and hedgerows during breeding season
If you have house martins, house sparrows or other species that live in the eaves of your house, do not disturb them when nesting
Consider providing nest boxes or swift bricks for our feathered friends to take up residence.
You can affix predator guards to existing nest boxes to stop predators accessing the nests
You can also use bamboo canes, hanging CDs and Guard’n’eyes scarecrows to keep larger avian predators away
Birds, eggs, and their nests are protected through the Wildlife and Countryside act 1981 and causing intentional injury or harm to any of the above is an offence and punishable by UK law.
Do not approach nests or eggs as disturbing the area could negatively affect the chicks.
If you are concerned that someone is disturbing nests in your area, contact your local wildlife crime unit.
Aim to include these four elements to crate a garden which will attract a variety of birds:
Shelter – Plant trees, hedges or shrubs
Food – Provide bird feeders with a range of different seeds – different birds prefer different foods. Also, plant an assortment of flowers and vegetation to attract insects and plants with seed heads and berries to provide natural food sources
Nesting sites – provide nest boxes and plant long grasses to provide nesting materials.
Water – Provide a space for water such as a shallow bird bath which is cleaned regularly
We don't recommend the use of any pesticides or hebicides in your garden. Our research has shown that gardens which use these chemicals have a much reduced population of songbirds.
Aim to include these four elements to create a garden which will attract a variety of birds:
Insects including bugs, spiders, ants, bees, slugs, butterflies and worms.
Buds, pollen and grasses
Fruit, Berries and nuts
Grains
What are the best plants to grow for birds? Think about having a range of plants which between them attract insects, provide food through berries and seeds, provide nesting material and provide shelter. Our top 12 include:
Hazel
Dog Rose
Jasmine
Wildflowers
Butterfly Bush
Hawthorn
Long Grasses
Brambles
Honeysuckle
Sunflowers
Nasturtium
Rowan
Do you have a question about how to help songbirds? Send it to us at: advice@songbird-survival.org.uk
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