Wildlife Gardens by Bridgewater Alan & Bridgewater Gill

Author:Bridgewater, Alan & Bridgewater, Gill
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: IMM Lifestyle Books
Published: 2016-01-19T16:00:00+00:00

Adult feeding on a worm

ATTRACTING BIRDS

The best way of attracting birds to your garden is not to fill it full of peanut feeders, fat balls, nesting boxes and so on, but to increase your planting – lots more vegetables, berries, seeds, flowers and trees – so that you have a broad range of species that flower and fruit right across the seasons, and a good number of possible nesting sites. To put it another way, if you make sure that the food cupboard is well stocked, and there are plenty of nesting sites, then you can be sure that birds will come in. Do not forget, though, that you can only expect to attract bird species that are common to your area. You will not get reed warblers if you live in a high, dry area well away from water and reedbeds.

Once your planting is such that good numbers of birds come into your garden, you have to welcome all comers. Be aware of the fact that some large birds prey on smaller birds. So, for example, if your garden becomes a nesting place for small birds such as tits and finches, then larger birds such as crows and magpies will come in specifically to feed on them. This is natural.

Research suggests that our intensive agro-chemical farming methods are responsible for a 40 per cent drop in bird numbers, so the least we can do is give birds a home in our gardens. This may mean that you have to sacrifice a few seedlings and vegetables, but the rewards are well worth it.

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