Birds and Your Garden Enhance the Natural Environment for Its Intrinsic Value, the Wellbeing and Enjoyment of People, and the Economic Prosperity It Brings

Natural England works for people, places and nature to conserve and enhance biodiversity, landscapes and wildlife in rural, urban, coastal and marine areas. We conserve and Birds and your garden enhance the natural environment for its intrinsic value, the wellbeing and enjoyment of people, and the economic prosperity it brings. www.naturalengland.org.uk

ISBN 978-1-84754-011-9

Catalogue code NE19

Written by Steve Berry. Designed by RR Donnelley

Front cover image: Robin on blackthorn blossom. Dave and Brian Bevan www.naturalengland.org.uk Birds come to gardens to feed, breed, as tits and woodpeckers also include Birds and your garden nest and rest. If water is provided, they vegetable food in their diet and will also visit to drink, bathe and preen blackcaps are also very partial to You probably enjoy watching the brings birds to gardens or tried to their feathers. For a relatively small winter fruits and berries. birds that visit your garden. You look at your garden through their number of birds, gardens may supply Correspondingly, in the first week or so most of their requirements for most of of their lives, the nestlings of most may already be making efforts to eyes? This leaflet is not a field the year. More commonly, however, seed-eating birds need the protein entice them there. The money guide but will help you see your gardens offer a stopping-off point – provided by insects and other spent on food for garden birds has garden from a bird’s perspective. somewhere to spend part of the day or night, or part of the year. Having a increased by 500 per cent in the We hope it will inspire you to do greater appreciation of what birds last 15 years while recent sales of what you can to make your garden, need from gardens (and when) will enable you to provide for them to a bird nest boxes and bird tables whatever its size, even more greater degree. have soared. But have you ever attractive to birdlife. thought seriously about what Test the suggestions in this leaflet and let us know what success you have!

Make a note of all the bird species that come to your garden and a separate list of those that nest.

Put as many of the recommendations here as you can into practice and repeat the survey at yearly intervals.

Let us know what seems to have worked and what has made no difference. See page 37 for contact details. Like many birds, chaffinches switch from eating mainly seeds to a diet of insects in the spring and summer. Chris Gomersall invertebrates, such as spiders. Food The ideal garden for birds should Although garden birds can be grouped therefore be able to supply both artificially into broad categories such animal and vegetable food matter as insect-eaters and seed-eaters, the throughout the year. This has a number reality is less simple. Insectivores such of practical implications. Blue tits on window feeders can be watched at close quarters. Chris Gomersall

2 3 The use of pesticides should be kept to away dead and dying perennials visitors like redwing and fieldfare, will a minimum or, better still, stopped in the winter – these can shelter make short work of any windfalls, and altogether. Almost all invertebrates many useful hibernating creatures blackcaps like them too. If you are provide food for some bird or other and can be left until the weather lucky enough to have a garden suitable and very few constitute much of a warms up again. for large trees, then many birds may be threat to garden plants. Some of those • Try developing at least part of drawn in by species such as oaks (jays, that can cause damage, such as your lawn as a wildflower nuthatches, woodpeckers and aphids, are actually among the most meadow – these areas will be woodpigeons) Scots pine (coal tits and valuable food sources for young birds. attractive to many small insects. If you stop spraying blackfly, greenfly Most birds eat some vegetable matter and other pest species, you will find and much is known about the that, eventually, natural predators will preferred foods of individual species. keep their numbers in check. Cutting out pesticides saves you time and Goldfinches love the seeds of teasel, money and you have the added bonus lavender and sunflower. Alder and of being able to enjoy the sight of silver birch trees may attract common lacewings and ladybirds, as well as redpolls if they are in the vicinity. house sparrows and blue tits, feasting Starlings are fond of rowan berries and on aphids. cherries, but will also eat the small The following is a list of other tried black berries of Virginia creeper when and tested ways of ensuring a plentiful really hungry. Bullfinches like the buds supply of invertebrate food for your of forsythia and the seeds of forget- birds: me-not. • Maintain one or more compost Mistle thrushes don’t just go for the heaps. berries of mistletoe from which they • Keep dead wood, perhaps in a log take their name: they will try and take pile. possession of any fruiting holly or • Allow leaves to rot down naturally rowan tree and defend it fiercely from rather than bagging and removing competitors. Members of the thrush family enjoy apples, especially in harsh weather. Top: blackbird. them in the autumn. Robins eat the attractive dual-coloured Mike Lane/Natural Image • Plant a wide variety of trees and Above: Fieldfare. Robert Dickson/Natural Image berries of the spindle tree, while ivy shrubs, especially native species berries are a vital food source for goldcrests) and beech (chaffinches). If such as willow, oak and birch blackcaps, blackbirds and wood you live near a beech wood you may Top: Redwings are among the many birds that which support many caterpillars. eat hawthorn berries. Chris Gomersall pigeons, especially late in the year even see bramblings visiting your • Choose annual and perennial Centre: Woodpigeons go to great lengths to get when there may be little else available. garden. at ivy berries! Chris Gomersall plants attractive to nectar-feeding Every gardener should try and make Smaller gardens can still be made Above: Up to two million bramblings may insects. overwinter in Britain. In gardens, they go for room for some apple trees: members appealing to birds by planting shrubs, • Don’t be obsessive about tidying premium seed and peanut granules. of the thrush family, including winter for example exotics like cotoneasters Paul Keene/Avico Ltd

4 5 (but not cotoneaster Conspicuax conspicus ‘Decorus’ – birds ignore the berries for some reason), pyracantha and berberis, or natives like wild privet, guelder rose and dogwood. The berries of some ornamental plants like amelanchier and leycesteria are so attractive to thrushes that they may be stripped as soon as they are ripe. Lawns, whether traditionally close- A flat stone on a lawn makes an ideal anvil for a song thrush. Mike Lane/Natural Image mown and weedfree or those in which clovers, dandelions and other ‘weeds’ Cats are more tolerated, are ideal hunting Many gardens are visited by cats grounds for blackbirds, robins and and it is important to help guard starlings. You might also see song your birds against their thrushes in search of earthworms and unwelcome attention. Position leatherjackets; pied wagtails looking bird feeders and tables away for small flies and, in more rural areas, from the low cover in which cats green woodpeckers seeking ants (their may hide and also provide favourite food). Cats look innocent but kill around 50 million garden birds each year. Those with bells or sonic devices perches nearby – vantage points kill 40% fewer birds than those without. Dave and Brian Bevan from where birds can detect an approaching cat. Anecdotal How many species? would have to be fairly evidence suggests that the more Even very small gardens may be knowledgeable to identify them all. birds that visit a garden, the lower visited by 10 to 20 different species The exciting thing is that almost any the chances of a cat being able to of bird during a year. In an ordinary species may turn up in a garden catch any one individual – suburban garden, 40 or 50 species sometime, somewhere. The red kite probably because there are more would not be uncommon and even has been reintroduced in some parts pairs of eyes looking out for this number can include a few of the country and is now regularly Lawns are perfect hunting areas for blackbirds. potential threats. Sonic cat surprises, especially in hard weather seen in gardens along the M4 Mike Lane/Natural Image deterrents can work well but when birds like kingfishers may turn corridor and the Thames Valley; here Song thrushes are great garden allies should be moved around the up in search of unfrozen water, or some birds have been known to steal as they eat large numbers of snails, garden on a regular basis so that perhaps woodcock or snipe looking clothes from washing lines to first smashing their shells to get at the the cats don’t learn how to avoid for soft ground for foraging. For decorate their nests! In January 2006, animal inside. To help them, make sure the triggers. If you are a cat gardens near a coast or a prime bird one was seen in a garden in inner your garden has a suitable ‘anvil’ in a owner, consider attaching a bell habitat or those on a migration route, London, a sight certain to become place where thrushes have a or sonic bleeper to your cat to sightings of 80 species or more are more common if the expansion of reasonable chance of seeing an warn the local wildlife of its possible, although many of these will the red kite population continues. approaching cat. A paving slab or rock approach. simply be passing over and you placed in the centre of a lawn is ideal.

6 7 Food supplements Other household foods like dried fruits, cheese (preferably grated) However you manage your garden and porridge, apples, half coconuts and whatever its size, there will be times crushed unsalted nuts will also be when the naturally available food it welcomed. normally provides is scarce or absent. Under these circumstances, birds will move on to feed elsewhere if they can. Small birds, especially, need to spend most of their waking lives either in search of food or actually feeding (90 per cent of the time in the case of the coal tit and effectively 100 per cent in the case of goldcrest). Weakness caused by hunger comes upon small birds very rapidly and prolonged food shortages, particularly those in hard weather, can often prove fatal.

You can increase the survival chances of birds by feeding them. If you choose to do this, try to ensure that you provide food regularly and reliably. ‘Your’ birds may come to depend on your generosity and may suffer if this is only intermittent. It is also important to provide appropriate food. Some leftovers can be very nutritious, including cooked potatoes (other than chips), pastry, suet and even brown bread. Top: Great tits are fond of coconuts. From top: Red kites are now seen over some Dave and Brian Bevan gardens in the Chilterns and elsewhere and are Above: Long-tailed tits have now started coming steadily extending their range. Chris Gomersall to peanut feeders. Chris Gomersall

Redstarts may visit some gardens on migration. A huge range of bird seed mixtures is Mike Lane/Natural Image commercially available these days, all Coots can turn up in gardens if there is water of which have some value. However, nearby. Paul Lacey/Natural England Top: Chaffinches, greenfinches and coal tits are among the species that will come readily to bird many consist largely of grains of barley The chiffchaff makes its presence known in the tables. Dave and Brian Bevan or wheat and are not very suitable for spring by its persistent and repetitive song. Above: Goldfinches love nyjer seeds. Paul Keene/Avico Ltd Chris Gomersall small birds like finches or tits.

8 9 Generally speaking, the more sometimes take a while to find this Food and feeding preferences of 50 of the species most expensive foods are the best. Many treat. Sunflower hearts and black commonly seen in gardens companies will deliver bulk supplies by sunflower seeds are favoured by many mail order and buying this way can seed-eating birds and can be fed to help keep down the cost. If you have them year-round. Species Food Feeding method goldfinches in your area, then a special seed feeder filled with nyjer seed (tiny, Keep it clean! Blackbird Berries, apples, raisins, mealworms, Ground feeder but rich in oil) will bring them to your peanut granules, breadcrumbs, grated Bird tables need to be cleaned garden eventually, although they may cheese, etc. Earthworms; other regularly. Uneaten food should not be invertebrates. left to go mouldy or rot. One of the best ways to avoid this happening is to Blackcap Apples, bread, cheese. Invertebrates, Ground feeder provide no more than the birds will eat berries. in one day, brushing your bird table Black-headed Scraps. Invertebrates, plant material. Ground feeder down each evening and putting out gull new food the next morning. Special leaflets on feeding garden birds and Bullfinch Sunflower hearts, black sunflower seed, Hanging feeder hygiene and disease are available free seed blends. Ash, elm and other tree from the British Trust for Ornithology seeds; flower buds of fruit trees; seeds (BTO), see Contacts, page 37. of nettle, dock, dog’s mercury, fleshy fruits; insects.

Blue tit Peanuts, fatty treats, blue tit seed mix, Hanging feeder sunflower hearts, black sunflower seed. Caterpillars, aphids.

Brambling Peanut granules, seed mixes. Tree seeds, Ground/hanging esp. beech mast and conifer seed; fruit. feeder

Chaffinch Seed blends, sunflower hearts, peanut Bird table/ground granules. Caterpillars, flies, a wide feeder variety of seeds.

Carrion crow Scraps. Grain, carrion, eggs and young Ground feeder birds, invertebrates.

Left top: If you live near woodland, nuthatches Chiffchaff Mainly insects, some fruit. Trees, ground feeder are much more likely to visit your garden. Paul Keene/Avico Coal tit Peanuts, fatty treats, seed blends, Hanging feeder Left: Bird tables can be turned into attractive sunflower hearts, black sunflower seed. features by imaginative planting. Dave and Brian Bevan Tree seeds, caterpillars. Above: Remove uneaten food from bird tables each evening and keep them clean. Collared dove Seeds, bread, fruit. Cereal grain, insects. Bird table/ground Dave and Brian Bevan feeder

10 11 Species Food Feeding method Species Food Feeding method

Dunnock Nyjer seeds, peanut granules and seed Ground feeder Kingfisher Scraps (when desperate!). Small fish, Bird tables; normally blends, grated cheese. Invertebrates, amphibians, aquatic invertebrates. feeds in shallow water small seeds. Long-tailed tit Peanuts and peanut cake, grated cheese, Hanging feeder/ Feral pigeon Omnivorous; grains. Ground feeder/bird fat balls. Spiders and other small bird table table invertebrates.

Fieldfare Apples, berries, earthworms, insects. Tree and ground feeder Magpie Scraps. Invertebrates, young birds and Ground feeder eggs, small mammals, fruit, seeds, berries, Goldfinch Nyjer seeds, sunflower hearts, peanuts. Hanging feeder carrion. Small seeds, eg those of alder, birch, dandelion, ragwort, groundsel. Marsh tit Nuts. Insects, spiders, seeds, berries and Hanging feeder/ fruit. bird table Goldcrest Cheese, bread, peanut cake. Tree seeds, Bird tables invertebrates. Mistle thrush Berries, eg those of holly, mistletoe, Tree and ground feeder cotoneaster etc. Insects. Great spotted Peanuts, meaty scraps. Moth larvae and Hanging feeder, trees woodpecker other invertebrates, seeds, eggs and Nuthatch Peanuts. Insects, spiders, acorns, beech Hanging feeder/trees young birds. mast, hazel nuts.

Great tit Peanuts, fatty treats, seed blends, Hanging feeder Pheasant Seed mixes with cereals. Berries, seeds, Ground feeder/bird sunflower hearts. Caterpillars, acorns, insects. table beech mast. Pied wagtail Fat, seeds, bread, nyjer seed. Midges and Bird tables/ground Green Mealworms, fruit, ants. Ground feeder other flying insects. feeder/aerial feeder woodpecker Redwing Apples, fresh or dried fruit, berries, Tree and ground feeder Greenfinch Sunflower hearts, black sunflower seed. Hanging feeder insects. Large seeds, eg those of rosehips, elm. Also, seeds of dog’s mercury and those Reed bunting Seeds, insects. Ground feeder of crucifers, daisy family. Ring-necked Seeds, peanuts. Fruit and other plant Bird table/hanging House martin Small flying insects including aphids. Aerial feeder parakeet material. feeder

House sparrow Sunflower hearts, mealworms. Seeds, Bird table Robin Mealworms, peanut granules, sunflower Ground feeder/bird invertebrates. hearts, grated cheese, breadcrumbs, table fat balls. Earthworms, larvae, other Jackdaw Scraps, fruit. Moth larvae, flies, carrion, Bird table/ground invertebrates. seeds. Rook Scraps. Earthworms, larvae, beetles, grain. Ground feeder Jay Peanuts, scraps, bread. Invertebrates, Bird table/ground/ acorns and other seeds, nestlings and eggs. hanging feeder Siskin Peanuts. Seeds of alder, birch, evergreen conifers. Hanging feeder

12 13 Species Food Feeding method

Song thrush Fruit, raisins, mealworms. Caterpillars, earthworms, snails, slugs. Ground feeder

Sparrowhawk Birds up to the size of wood pigeons. Bird table (!), ground

Spotted Insects, woodlice, snails, fruit. Aerial feeder, trees flycatcher

Starling Seed blends, fatty treats, peanut cake. Bird table/ground Earthworms, leatherjackets, seeds. feeder/hanging feeder

Swallow Flying insects. Aerial feeder

Swift Flying insects, airborne spiders. Aerial feeder

Tawny owl Small mammals, earthworms, frogs, Ground feeder beetles.

Treecreeper Fat balls, suet. Insects, spiders, tree Trees; bird tables seeds.

Tree sparrow Millet seed, fat, peanuts. Wide variety Ground feeder/bird Bird feeders may attract sparrowhawks as well as song birds. Dave and Brian Bevan of seeds, insects. table/hanging feeder Breeding and nesting spend money on them if such species Whitethroat Insects, fruits. Shrubs and trees are unlikely to come to your garden. Be Not all the birds visiting your garden especially wary of nest boxes Willow tit Invertebrates, seeds. Hanging feeder/ during the year will view it as a bird table advertised as being suitable for possible nesting place. Many species treecreepers as current designs seem may nest in gardens, however, and in Woodpigeon Bread, seed mixes with cereal grains. Ground feeder ineffective. Avoid nest boxes attached Wide range of plant material including the case of some birds, gardens now to bird feeders. These are normally seeds and berries. support a significant percentage of useless as birds will not nest anywhere their total population. Yellowhammer Seeds of grasses and cereals. Ground feeder subject to constant disturbance. The Some species are far more fussy about safest course of action is to buy only Wren Grated cheese, mealworms, peanut Ground feeder where they nest than others. Blue tits those nest boxes approved by a bird granules, fatty treats. Small beetles, and great tits are the most likely to use conservation organisation like the BTO spiders, moth larvae and other nest boxes. The increasingly scarce or the RSPB (see Contacts, page 37). invertebrates. spotted flycatcher may also adopt an Boxes should not face strong sunlight open-fronted nest box as home, as and should also be positioned away may robins and pied wagtails. There from the prevailing wind. North-facing are now specialist boxes available for entrances may be best. species like tawny owls but don’t

14 15 Nest boxes need to be cleaned. Do this nest on houses, the only exceptions swifts eat only flying insects and have only between 1 August and 31 January being a few colonies on cliffs and come to depend on humans for nest to keep strictly within the law. Cleaning under some bridges. Artificial nests sites. Whereas house martins build old nests out of nest boxes encourages may attract them but a local source of their cup-shaped structures of dried birds to use them again the following mud, their essential nesting material, mud under the eaves of houses, swifts year. As well as removing old nesting may be more important. need access to roof spaces for their material it will also be helpful to douse Like house martins and swallows, very basic nests. The design of many the inside of boxes with boiling water modern houses, however, often to kill bird parasites and their eggs. excludes swifts and the numbers of Virtually all British house martins now these astonishing and most aerial of all birds are falling in many areas. It’s been estimated that UK population of swifts has fallen by a third in the last 12 years! You can help reverse this process by erecting special swift nest Ivy provides nest sites as well as late-season food boxes or, if you have an older house, for birds and insects. Dave and Brian Bevan Among native shrubs not previously mentioned, hawthorn, blackthorn, gorse and juniper offer both. Thick ivy is especially favoured by wrens for their small, domed nests and is also suitable for treecreepers.

From time to time, some birds will choose to nest in apparently very unsuitable places which are subject to continuous, if accidental, harassment Swallows also appreciate our help with nest by humans. Despite this, a few will construction. Dave and Brian Bevan occasionally succeed in rearing at least some of their brood. However, far more making sure that in the course of frequently, a lack of disturbance is the modernising it, you don’t deprive critical factor in nesting success. If you swifts of access. For information about can manage your garden with at least swift nest boxes contact ‘Concern for one quiet corner, perhaps overgrown Home-made nest boxes are perfectly fine if they Swifts’ or ‘London’s Swifts’ (see with elder or nettles, then you may be are well designed. Top left: Box for nuthatch with Contacts, page 37). rewarded by a nesting dunnock, mud entrance. Dave and Brian Bevan chaffinch or even one of the warblers Top right: Open-fronted box for robins and House martins need mud to make their own nests Many species appreciate dense cover spotted flycatchers. Dave and Brian Bevan such as a blackcap, whitethroat or (top) but may sometimes be attracted by a for nesting since this provides shelter Above: Boxes for hole-nesting species like tits. prefabricated version (above). chiffchaff. Dave and Brian Bevan Bob Gibbons/Natural Image and some protection from predators.

16 17 If you have no room for trees or bushy Ideally, plant them out in the autumn and goldfinches. Examine your garden shrubs, but have a garden wall or a allowing at least half a metre between with a critical eye and use reference fence, then try combining this with a each shrub. Plan for the hedge to be at books (see Further information, page trellis to provide nesting opportunities. least one metre thick although if you 38) to decide which species may be Erect a trellis – supported by thick have the space, a wider hedge will be most likely to nest in your garden – stakes on either side – about 20 cm (8 even more valuable. The following then try to create conditions suitable inches) away from the wall. Plant fast- spring, cut them back severely to for them. It’s best to be very realistic. growing, vigorous climbers like encourage growth near the base. It may Only the birds that you commonly see honeysuckle, clematis or wild rose and be hard to bring yourself to do this, but in your garden, or neighbouring ones, these will soon form a structure thick when you see the results you will be are likely to nest. enough to support nests of species like glad you had the courage! In two to goldfinch or blackbird. Cut them back three years, your originally spindly Have your ever wondered what plants will be bushing out nicely. In goes on in your nest boxes? It’s five years you will have a thick hedge now possible to find out, with and in six or seven you may need an boxes fitted with cameras. electric trimmer to keep its growth Although relatively expensive (basic black and white camera kits start at around £90) they can give you a fascinating insight into the comings and goings of parent birds and the growth of their chicks, all relayed into your front Top: Wren’s nest in garlic. room. Howard Lacey/Avico Ltd Above: Wren’s nest in coat pocket. Howard Lacey/Avico Ltd Rest and shelter hard each year to encourage renewed Although advice traditionally Spotted flycatcher. Howard Lacey/Avico Ltd and sturdy growth. The addition of ivy concentrates on the provision of wren (below) Dave Bevan/Avico. Both are Hedera helix will benefit a whole range species that may nest in dense ivy. Wrens can Gardens can offer a huge range of feeding and nesting sites for birds, good roosting of invertebrates and provide extra nesting opportunities for birds. also choose very unconventional nesting sites! sites are just as important for a bird’s cover and shelter for birds. Paul Keene/Avico Ltd survival. Few birds actually build within reasonable bounds! Cut the To form an even denser garden themselves a structure for the night but hedge back each year in early February boundary, with still better nesting nest boxes are often used as nocturnal before birds have started to nest. potential, plant a hedge. Hawthorn shelters. Boxes will give life-saving should be the main species but mix Much maligned evergreen species, protection from the weather to small this with other berry-bearing shrubs including the notorious leylandii, birds like wrens and great tits but and climbers. Very young plants – make excellent roosting places and cannot accommodate larger species. In whips – can be cheaply obtained and may also be used as nest sites for really cold weather, many small birds will establish themselves quickly. greenfinches, robins, dunnocks, wrens may squeeze into nest boxes together

18 19 mesh around the hedge, providing a Drinking and bathing safe retreat for house sparrows when All birds need to drink. They also they are threatened by the local need water to help keep their sparrowhawk. feathers in good condition. Many birds roost communally, Relatively few gardens offer birds including sparrows, pied wagtails, safe drinking and bathing facilities starlings, blackbirds and even pigeons, so whatever you can do will help. If crows and, in a few parts of southern you can, dig a pond. Even very England, ring-necked parakeets. Long- small water bodies can be excellent tailed tits (normally part of an for wildlife but the pond should extended family) actually huddle have shallow edges so that birds Small birds may use nest boxes like this for together closely on one perch. can get to the water easily. For shelter in cold weather. Dave and Brian Bevan details, consult the Natural England While other species don’t generally do to keep warm. One box is recorded as booklet Garden ponds and boggy this, mere close proximity in a bush or having held no fewer than 61 wrens! areas: havens for wildlife (see hedge may help to reduce heat loss, Further information, page 38). Climbing plants growing on garden especially for those at the centre of the walls or houses are very useful roost. Roosts may also act as centres Bird baths are the next best thing. roosting and nesting sites. Walls often for information exchange in ways that They can be small or large, but a offer protection from prevailing winds we do not fully understand. shallow dish shape is what’s and may retain heat from the sun. If required – with a thin layer of Trees are important as observation and you have an established hedge, why gravel at the bottom if the material song posts, too, so try and provide at not encourage wild hops to scramble is liable to be slippery. The water least one somewhere in the garden. over it? When the hop leaves die back needs to be at least 2.5 cm (1 inch) in winter, the bare stems will form a deep but ideally the container Dunnocks feed on the ground but sing from a prominent perch. Mike Lane/Natural Image should be large enough to offer a range of depths up to 10 cm (4 inches) to meet the needs of differently sized birds. Place the bath in the open, away from cover where a cat might hide. Clean the bath regularly to remove any algae or bird droppings. Keep it unfrozen in cold weather. There are various ways of doing this including solar- Top: Ponds are a magnet for birds and even a powered water heaters (see the sparrowhawk may turn up for a dip. Chris Gomersall Middle: Juvenile greenfinch drinking. RSPB website www.rspb.org.uk for Dave and Brian Bevan suggestions) but never use salt or Even a simple elevated bird bath (above left) can bring anti-freeze. in visitors like this jay and also add interest to a garden. Dave and Brian Bevan

20 21 Predators and prey Clearly, this does not happen. The harsh reality is that most young birds Ten ways to help birds in your • Don’t forget the needs of The number of young produced by will die within their first year, falling garden ground-feeding birds like songbirds takes account of the fact victim either to hunger, cold or to a dunnocks, robins and wrens. that most will not last long. A pair of predator, whether cat or bird. • Grow more trees and shrubs to blue tits, for example, might rear as Surprisingly, none of this predation provide food, nesting areas and • Put up trellises next to walls many as 10 chicks in a season. If all seems to have an effect on overall bird shelter; develop a meadow and fences, or plant a hedge these were to survive and breed the populations despite the fact that cats area in the lawn. for shelter and food. next year and if all their offspring did take an estimated 50 million birds a the same, the original two birds would year in British gardens. • Provide water – ideally a pond be the great-grandparents of more – and ensure there is mud for than 1,000! nesting material in spring.

• Put up nest boxes – but of the right kind and in the right places. These may also be used for shelter in hard weather.

• Keep a corner of your garden undisturbed if possible. Young birds like this juvenile great tit should be These eggs could in theory give rise to 1,000 blue • Consider the needs of nesting left alone if found in your garden. tits in a few seasons! Dave and Brian Bevan Paul Keene/Avico Ltd birds like swifts, starlings and house sparrows before Six of the best installing uPVC bargeboards Six species frequently seen in gardens and soffits. are blue tit, collared dove, house sparrow, robin, starling and blackbird. • Fit your cat with a bell or sonic collar. Blue tit

Structures like this can help to protect bird • Allow plants to go to seed to The acrobatic blue tit is a favourite tables from cats. Bob Gibbons/Natural Image provide food for finches and with many people. There are around Baby birds sparrows. 3.3 million pairs in Britain. Like many other garden species, its original home If you find young birds anywhere in • Install a variety of hanging bird was woodland and that is where most your garden calling for food, the best feeders and a bird table, safe blue tits still live. They need holes to advice is to leave them alone. Their from cats and squirrels; ensure nest in and in the absence of natural Blackbirds can lose eggs or whole broods to parents are likely to be close by and they are regularly filled and cavities will use whatever artificial predation from birds such as magpies but their will take care of them far better than overall numbers are unaffected. cleaned. ones they can find, in walls, pipes, old Dave and Brian Bevan you can. flowerpots or even letter boxes. The 22 23 nest is lined with hair, down or moss. Collared dove Up to 16 eggs can be laid, although The now very familiar collared dove is blue tit pairs in gardens rarely primarily a seed-eater and comes produce clutches of more than eight. readily to bird tables. Like many other The peak feeding activity is in May members of the pigeon family, it when these birds have to search makes only a very flimsy nest, almost ceaselessly for insect food for consisting of a platform of sticks, their young. Caterpillars are preferred sometimes grass-lined. Nests are made but spiders, aphids and other in trees or buildings, usually four invertebrates will also be taken, metres or more above the ground. including butterflies. Originating in India, collared doves Young blue tits eat vast numbers of caterpillars. Dave and Brian Bevan have been extending their range for centuries. They were no further west than Hungary in the 1930s and unseen A house sparrow living up to its name. Chris Gomersall in Britain before 1952. The very first pair House sparrow including hedges and climbers may be to nest here did so in a Norfolk garden used as communal roosting sites. No single factor is likely to be in 1955. Now, there are about 250,000 responsible for the dramatic decline in pairs in Britain. Breeding has been Robin house sparrow numbers but the stark recorded in almost every month of the facts are undeniable. In 30 years, the The robin is consistently voted Britain’s year but is most common in spring. breeding population has plummeted most popular bird, perhaps because from 12 million to around half of that we enjoy its oddly endearing habit of The collared dove has gone from rare vagrant to familiar garden bird in 50 years. number, and the bird is now altogether nesting in strange places like Bob Gibbons/Natural Image absent from some of its former urban discarded cans or abandoned cars. strongholds, even including parts of There is even a record of a robin London. Happily, house sparrows are starting a nest in an unmade bed, still familiar garden birds in many parts while its recent occupant was having of the country but we can’t assume breakfast! More conventionally, nests they will be so for ever. Although they are made in banks or depressions, are natural seed-eaters, house from ground-level up to three metres sparrows will take all sorts of food high. Robins lay clutches of around including kitchen scraps. Insects are five eggs but may rear three broods vital food for young sparrows. Unlike during the course of a long breeding many small birds which are quite season that can stretch from March to promiscuous, established sparrow July or later still. They are fiercely pairs may remain together for life – territorial birds and will even attack although it has to be said that the life other species they see as competitors, of any bird this size tends to be rather including dunnocks. Very occasionally short! All sorts of dense vegetation a fight between robins will result in

24 25 will come to expect – and even Going up... demand! – their ration. Blackbirds can be very intolerant of the presence of Greatspotted woodpecker other species in gardens when they are This handsome starling-sized bird is feeding, sometimes being so intent on one of those currently enjoying a big depriving others of the chance to eat expansion in range and numbers that they miss out themselves. Gardens across Britain. It now breeds even in are hugely important for blackbirds, the heart of London. It is fond of seeds with perhaps one quarter of the and peanuts and has begun to visit population living close to human bird tables far more frequently than settlements. The cup-shaped nest can before. Its taste for the eggs and chicks be made in a bush, in ivy against a of smaller species, like blue tit, is wall, on buildings or in trees. Its grass perhaps less well-known but all birds lining normally distinguishes it from have to eat! More usually, young Above: Robins may nest in very odd places. the mud-lined nest of a song thrush. Howard Lacey/Avico Ltd woodpeckers are fed on moth larvae Right: Although young birds lack the red breast of the and other invertebrates. adults, they are still somehow recognisable as robins. Jill Pakenham/Avico Blackcap the death of one of the combatants. nest in holes in trees or in gaps and Robins love mealworms and will eat spaces in manmade structures. Easily-recognised, the blackcap is them from your hand if you are another recent arrival in many gardens sufficiently patient. Blackbird where it searches out winter berries, Like robins, blackbirds can be fearless Starling close to people and may take dried Like house sparrows, starlings are fruit from your hand. If you can feed faring rather badly, with numbers them at the same time each day, they having fallen by 75 per cent since the late 1960s. Those who can still watch Female blackbird with cherries. large parties descend on their lawn or Mike Lane/Natural Image bird table and clean up all the available Ups and downs food in seconds may find this surprising, but the collapse in the The population and distribution of population is now causing concern birds is changing constantly, with among conservation bodies. In some species flourishing and others complete contrast to the solitary and showing steep declines. While some of aggressive robin, starlings are very these fluctuations are perfectly sociable birds throughout the year, natural, many can be linked, in one

nesting in colonies and sometimes The male starling in breeding plumage is a very way or another, to environmental Great spotted woodpeckers are flourishing in roosting in huge concentrations. They handsome bird. Mike Hammett/Natural England changes caused by human activity. Britain at the moment. Chris Gomersall

26 27 especially the red ones of firethorn, will also feed on apples left on trees, cotoneaster and berberis. Like other especially those damaged by insects, warblers, blackcaps migrate here in the and on windfalls. spring from Africa, returning from September onwards. At the same time, Magpie however, ringing studies have shown If magpies were rare, we would that other blackcaps from central probably prize them for their great Europe are arriving in Britain to take beauty. As it is, they are unpopular advantage of our milder winters – as with many householders because of well as the generous hand-outs of their nest-robbing habits. Magpies householders. When the berry supply have adapted very successfully to has gone, blackcaps show a fondness urban environments and, following a for cheese and other fatty foods. They reduction in persecution, have in the

Blackcaps may nest in mature gardens with enough cover. Peter Wilson/Natural Image

Magpies are another current garden success story. Dave Bevan/Avico Ltd last 50 years colonised even the southern and eastern England before centres of large cities. They will eat scientists discovered that pesticides almost anything including such as DDT were responsible for their invertebrates, grain, fruits and carrion – decline. Persistent toxic chemicals as well as small mammals and the eggs caused adult birds to die and also and chicks of songbirds. However, resulted in breeding failure through there is no evidence that they have eggshell thinning. These poisons were contributed to the declines in the then banned and the subsequent numbers of other species. Together recovery of sparrowhawk numbers is with species such as coal tit, nuthatch one of the great success stories for and jay, magpies share the habit of post-war nature conservation. In hoarding food, in their case burying recent years, however, numbers have items in the ground in a hole excavated begun to decline again – a worrying for the purpose. trend. Sparrowhawks predate on many small birds but their absence from In the balance... gardens for 20 or so years did not lead to an increase in songbirds; in fact in Sparrowhawk some cases they actually declined Sparrowhawks were almost extinct in markedly over this period. The current

28 29 population of sparrowhawks cannot, 30 years. The reason for their decline Bullfinches once had a price on their therefore, be affecting songbird on farmland is fairly clear: a reduced heads, with a penny awarded for every numbers. Female sparrowhawks are food supply linked to the one killed, because of the damage they twice the size of males and can take intensification of agriculture. There has were alleged to cause to fruit crops. birds as large as wood pigeons. been a similar decline in gardens but it Now, however, they have become is not clear whether this may be scarce in some parts of the country, indirectly linked to the use of slug probably because of the huge loss of pellets and lawn treatments which hedgerows. However, numbers coming reduce the supply of molluscs and to gardens seem to be increasing and worms available for young birds. they are showing a newly-developed taste for sunflower seeds. Bullfinch Tree sparrow

The number of tree sparrows has been unstable for a very long time. It’s not yet clear whether the current crash in Male sparrowhawk on the roof of a bird table. the population – down 87 per cent in Vic Parsons/Avico Ltd the 24 years to 1996 – is part of a Everyone hopes to get a waxwing in their garden Going down... normal cycle or, as is thought more one day! Paul Keene/Avico Ltd likely, an anomaly that should be a Song thrush cause of great concern. Tree sparrows, Waxwing – a regular exotic visitor close relatives of the more familiar to look out for Although song thrushes are still found house sparrow, still come to some rural in many gardens, their numbers have gardens and may nest in roof cavities Every few years, there is a huge dropped by nearly 60 per cent in some or other holes, but in many parts of the autumn or winter influx of these country they have become great beautiful birds from the conifer forests rarities. of northern Europe. When this happens, waxwings are as likely to turn up in gardens as anywhere else in their search for berries. In the south of England at least, they sometimes prefer those of the guelder rose but rowan are also favoured. Early in 2005, waxwings arrived in thousands on the north and northwest coasts and filtered south. This was unusual as they normally reach the east coast first and then move west. Birds were still present as The decline of the song thrush may be linked More bullfinches are now coming to gardens. Tree sparrows are now a rarity in many areas. late as May in some areas. with the use of slug pellets. Chris Gomersall The male is shown top. Jill Pakenham/Avico Ltd Tommy Holden/BTO

30 31 Watching and recording garden birds

Britain’s birds are as well studied as those of anywhere in the world but new discoveries are being made regularly. Birds are extremely adaptable creatures and their behaviour changes to meet new challenges or take advantage of new opportunities. All this means there is always something to look out for. Blue tits learned how to drill holes in milk bottles to reach the cream in the 1950s. Siskins had never been recorded feeding in gardens until 1963, but 40 years later were visiting one garden in every 10, favouring peanuts in orange- Blue tits (left) were the first species to be seen feeding from milk bottles but the habit was later coloured string bags. acquired by the great tit (above). Dave and Brian Bevan Ring-necked parakeets escaped from aviaries to breed in tiny numbers in the 1970s. Now, their numbers are counted in thousands and they have become regular visitors to gardens in parts of south-east England. Chiffchaffs were once rarities in gardens but now, like blackcaps, are frequently seen there in winter. For whatever reason (the most likely is food shortages in the countryside caused by intensive farming) even more species are now being seen at feeders, including long- tailed tit and brambling, while others like willow tit and reed bunting are turning up in gardens in greater numbers or on a more regular basis.

Right: This male siskin may be about to ward off competitors! Dave and Brian Bevan

32 33 Let us know whether you have found come to your garden as a result? We’d this leaflet useful or how we can like to know what you think. improve it. If you have adopted any of Call 01273 407956 or e-mail the suggestions here, have more birds [email protected]

Ring-necked parakeets may become a threat to native hole-nesting species. Mike Lane/Natural Image

Observations of garden birds by tens of thousands of people give organisations highlighted the increasing use made like the British Trust for Ornithology of gardens by some species and have (BTO) invaluable information on trends helped researchers to understand the in bird populations. Only with this reasons behind the declines of others. knowledge can we work out plans to A free enquiry pack is available by conserve our birds for the future. If you writing to GBW (NE), BTO, The can recognise the common garden Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 2PU, birds you can help too. or by visiting www.bto.org/gbw.

Start recording birds and help The RSPB Big Garden BirdWatch. The with their conservation Big Garden BirdWatch takes place once a year during late winter. It involves many thousands of The BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch. This observers recording the birds seen in year-round survey (sponsored by C J their gardens over the course of one WildBird Foods) involves more than hour. Although it does not give the 16,000 garden birdwatchers, all same level of detail as the BTO/CJ collecting simple information on birds Garden BirdWatch, it provides a very and how they use gardens on a useful snapshot of the regional weekly basis. This information has Top: Green woodpeckers often visit garden lawns variation in garden bird populations. allowed researchers at the BTO to find in search of ants. Paul Keene/Avico Ltd For details go to www.rspb.org.uk/ Above: The nest of the long-tailed tit is an out how birds use gardens and how birdwatch, or contact the RSPB (see amazingly elaborate structure and may contain this use changes over time. Garden 2,000 feathers! Dave and Brian Bevan Contacts, page 37). BirdWatch results have already Right: There are few finer sights in the garden than a goldfinch in flight. Dave and Brian Bevan

34 35 Contacts Bird food, nest boxes and other bird products Natural England 1 East Parade There are now dozens of suppliers. The Sheffield, S1 2ET companies on this list also supply Enquiry Service: 0845 600 3078 catalogues with helpful information [email protected] about feeding birds. www.naturalengland.org.uk C J WildBird Foods Ltd British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) The Rea The Nunnery Upton Magna Thetford Shrewsbury, SY4 4UR Norfolk, IP24 2PU Tel: 0800 731 2820 Tel: 01842 750050 www.birdfood.co.uk www.bto.org Jacobi Jayne & Co Royal Society for the Protection of Living with Birds Birds Freepost 1155 The Lodge Herne Bay, CT6 7BR Sandy, SG19 2DL Tel: 0800 0720130 Tel: 01767 680551 www.livingwithbirds.com www.rspb.org.uk Ernest Charles Concern for Swifts Freepost 5 Bury Lane Copplestone Haddenham Devon, EX17 2YZ Ely Tel: 0800 7316 770 Cambs, CB6 3PR www.ernest-charles.com www.concernforswifts.com Jamie Wood Products London’s Swifts 1 Green Street Old Town www.londons-swifts.org.uk Eastbourne, BN21 1QN Tel: 01323 727291 The Wildlife Trusts www.birdtables.com The Kiln Waterside Mather Road Newark, NG24 1WT Tel: 01636 677711

Herons are always grateful for an easy meal. Dave and Brian Bevan Herons are always grateful www.wildlifetrusts.org 36 37 Further information Golley, M., Moss, S., & Daly, D. The Stocker, L. The complete garden bird. complete garden bird book. New Leopard Books. 1995. This is one of a range of wildlife Holland Publishers (UK) Ltd. 1996. gardening booklets published by Toms, M. The BTO/CJ Garden BirdWatch Natural England. For more details, Jackman, L. The wild bird garden. book. Thetford: British Trust for contact the Natural England Enquiry Souvenir Press. 1992. Ornithology. 2003. Service on 0845 600 3078 or e-mail [email protected] Johnson, H., & P. The birdwatcher’s garden. Guild of Master Craftsmen Natural England also produces Publications Ltd. 1999. Gardening with wildlife in mind, an illustrated wildlife reference. Originally Dave and Brian Bevan, Loomes, B. Bird on CD but now also available online, gardening. Dalesman Publishing Gardening with wildlife in mind has Company Ltd. 1993. detailed information on 800 plants and animal species often found in our Mackenzie, D. Bird boxes and feeders for gardens, and shows how they are the garden. Guild of Master Craftsmen ecologically linked. See Publications Ltd. 1997. www.plantpress.com Matthews, N. Garden for birds. School Other titles Grounds Company Books. 1992. There is a huge selection of literature on the subject of garden birds. The Moss, S., & Cottridge, D. Attracting birds following list is therefore extremely to your garden. New Holland Publishers selective: (UK) Ltd. 1998.

Baines, C. How to make a wildlife Moss, S. The bird-friendly garden. Harper garden. Frances Lincoln Ltd. 2000. Collins. 2004.

Couzens, D., & Partington, P. The secret Oddie, B. Bill Oddie’s introduction to lives of garden birds. Christopher Helm. birdwatching. New Holland. 2001. 2004. Soper, T. The bird table book. David & Du Feu, C. The BTO nestbox guide. Charles. 2006. British Trust for Ornithology. 2003. Spedding, S., & G. The natural history of a garden. Timber Press. 2003.

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