Did you know...?
There are over 300 bird species who are regular residents to the UK.
Birds are now categorised into three groups according to how under threat they are considered to be:
RED - globally threatened: 40 UK species including the House Sparrow, Starling, Turtle Dove and Bullfinch
AMBER - moderately under threat: 121 UK species including the Cuckoo, House Martin, Swallow and Mistle Thrush
GREEN - no threat identified: only 86 UK wild birds in this category
So, although the House Sparrow still currently perches at the top of the RSPB's top 10 garden birds, its numbers have declined by a massive 67% in recent years.
You can help support our struggling wild bird population by feeding them the right foods, providing water throughout the summer and winter, and providing sheltered and safe areas in your garden where they can nest and feed.
Below are some tips from the RSPB and the experts at Notcutts on what you can do to help.
Identifying Birds in Your Garden
Through the Big Garden Birdwatch the RSPB have identified around 70 species of bird that are regular visitors to our UK gardens, below are the top 15 you are most likely to see in your garden, some of their distinguishing characteristics to help you recognise them and their current status.
| Blackbird | |
| Male: | Black, with yellow-orange beak and eye-ring. |
| Female: | Brown, often with speckles or stripes on breast. |
| Song: | Extremely complex and varied song, which they add to through mimicry. |
| Food: | Berries, scraps, apples and worms in your lawn. |
| Status: | Green |
| Blue tit | |
| Male & Female: | Both have blue, yellow and white plumage with yellow breast. |
| Song: | Song described as a "tsee-tsee-tsu-hu-hu-hu-hu" sound. |
| Food: | Caterpillars and insects. Seeds and scraps left on bird tables or the ground. Almost any garden with a peanut feeder will attract them. |
| Status: | Green |
| Chaffinch | |
| Male: | Black and white wings, green rump, pinky face and breast with blue-grey crown. |
| Female: | Black and white wings, green rump, sandy brown colour everywhere else. |
| Song: | Loud varied call. |
| Food: | Does not feed openly on bird feeders - you will often see chaffinches hopping about under a bird table or hedge looking for food. |
| Status: | Green |
| Coal Tit | |
| Male & female: | Grey back, black cap, and white patch at the back of its neck. |
| Song: | High-pitched sound. |
| Food: | Insects, seeds and nuts |
| Status: | Green |
| Collared dove | |
| Male & female: | Buffy-pink plumage, black neck collar and long, white tail with a black base |
| Song: | Cooing |
| Food: | Feeds on the ground, eating seeds and scraps from and around the bird tables. |
| Status: | Green |
| Dunnock | |
| Male & female: | Brown and grey with a slender beak. |
| Song: | Main call is a shrill 'tseep' sound. |
| Food: | A ground feeder, eating insects, spiders, worms and seed. |
| Status: | Amber |
| Goldfinch | |
| Male & female: | Bright red face, white and black head, soft gold-brown body with yellow wing patch. |
| Song: | Twittering song and call. |
| Food: | Seedeater that feeds on the ground, on the seed heads of garden plants and from seed-filled birdfeeders. Occasionally feeds from nut feeders, is partial to nyjer seed and will eat insects. |
| Status: | Green |
| Great tit | |
| Male & female: | Green and yellow with a striking glossy black head, white cheeks. The black breast stripe is wider on males. |
| Song: | A twitter sound. |
| Food: | Seeds and scraps either left on the ground or on bird tables and in nut feeders. |
| Status: | Green |
| Greenfinch | |
| Male: | Bright plumage of yellow-green colour. |
| Female: | Browner and may look like a female house sparrow until she flies and shows off the yellow in her tail and wings. |
| Song: | Described as a 'dzwee' sound. |
| Food: | Black sunflower seeds on the ground, bird tables and feeders. |
| Status: | Green |
| House Sparrow | |
| Male: | Grey crown, black bib, reddish-brown back streaked with black, grey breast and belly. |
| Female: | Have brown, streaky backs and are buff below. |
| Song: | Cheeps and chirps, constant mix of both. |
| Food: | Seeds, grains and scraps both from the ground and from bird tables. Also enjoy mealworms. |
| Status: | Red |
| Long-tailed tit | |
| Male & female: | Both are black, white and pale pink, with a distinctive white crown. |
| Song: | Gregarious and noisy. |
| Food: | Mainly on insects, long-tailed tits are increasingly visiting garden bird tables and nut feeders in winter when insects are hard to find. |
| Status: | Green |
| Magpie | |
| Male & female: | Appear black and white, however a closer view reveals a subtle blue and green sheen. |
| Song: | Harsh repeated chattering |
| Food: | Variety of foods, including scraps and small rodents |
| Status: | Green |
| Robin | |
| Male & female: | Bright, orange-red & white breast, brown back and dumpy shape. |
| Song: | Only garden bird to sing throughout the winter. |
| Feed: | Seeds, scraps, berries, insects and mealworms, both on the ground and on the bird table. |
| Status: | Green |
| Starling | |
| Male & Female: | Look black from a distance, but close up you can see they have green and purple glossy feathers, covered in white and buff spots. |
| Song: | Have ability to mimic calls of other birds and they will often drop odd mechanical noises into their song |
| Feed: | Scraps, seeds from feeders as well as worms and grubs. |
| Status: | Red |
| Woodpigeon | |
| Male & female: | Have small, round, grey heads with a white neck patch, pink breast, greyish backs, tail and wings. |
| Song: | Cooing call |
| Feed: | Grains, seeds, scraps, berries, buds. |
| Status: | Green |
Visit http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdidentifier/ for further information on identifying all UK birds.
Creating the right environment to attract birds
There are many things you can do to attract wild birds to your garden, here are a few suggestions to get you started:
Food
- Supply regularly, put in quiet places and . spread around on the ground, in hanging . feeders and on tables to attract different birds.
- Grow plants that supply seeds, berries and . insects - ask our experts in store for further advice.
- Put a mixture of foods out to attract different birds:
- Nyjer seeds for goldfinches
- Peanuts for greenfinches and the tit family (but always put in mesh feeder to prevent baby birds eating them whole)
- Fruit – for blackbirds and thrushes
- Mealworms – for all birds
- Fat balls – vital in the winter months
- Black sunflower seeds – excellent all year round
- Grated mild cheese – for robins and wrens
Water
- Birds are attracted to the sound of running water, so a water feature is almost guaranteed to bring them into the garden.
- Birdbaths containing fresh water provide essential hydration and aid feather maintenance.
Shelter & Nesting space
- Plant shrubs and trees for shelter, camouflage and nesting space.
- Put up nest boxes of various sizes in the autumn to allow potential residents time to settle in.
- Hang the boxes away from feeding stations, predators and direct sun or wind.
Keeping clean
- Birds like to clean their feathers and get rid of parasites with a dust bath - create . one in a sunny quiet spot in your garden.
Useful books:
- Creating a Bird-friendly garden by Michael Chinery
NEST BOXES
Nest boxes can be a great help to birds as their natural nesting areas deplete.
There are around 60 species of bird known to use nest boxes.
Who uses the nest box depends on three things
- where the box is located
- the type of nest box / hole size
- the boxes immediate surroundings
Here are a few tips from Notcutts' wild bird expert - Sally Goldthorp and the RSPB on installing nestboxes and bird tables:
- Face boxes in a north or east direction, south facing is too hot and west too windy.
- Make sure there is a clear flight path to and from the nestbox and it is away from human traffic.
- Tilt the box forward slightly to avoid rain getting in.
- Open fronted boxes attract robins and wrens; these should to be placed in low down areas (less than 2 metres) and hidden in vegetation.
- Flycatchers also like nests to be sheltered by vegetation, but must have a clear out look, place boxes between 2-4 metres from the ground.
- Woodpeckers need nest boxes to be secured to a tree trunk, about 3-5 metres up and away from any kind of disturbance (such as human traffic).
- Sparrows and Starlings live in loose colonies so several nest boxes situated apart on same wall is acceptable and will attract several nesters. These boxes should be placed in the eaves of buildings, as long as it is fairly quite and is not in a usual nesting spot of House martins.
- It is recommended that Nest boxes are put up in autumn to allow birds time to familiarise themselves with the box, this also gives them the opportunity roost in it over winter.
- You should remove and clean your nest box every year to avoid parasites infecting the young chicks that nest there the following year. However, DON'T use insecticide and flea spray to get rid of these infestations, just wash with boiling water and leave to dry out.
- Please be aware that un-hatched eggs can ONLY LEGALLY be removed from August to January and must be disposed of, not kept.
- Nests should be left well alone, so if you do want to monitor the progress of its residents why not invest in a Nest cam Box.
- To attract different birds put up different boxes like the ones mentioned.
BIRD TABLES
Tables should be placed somewhere quiet away from human traffic and places where predators can gain easy access (such as trees, fences and bushes) and as with nest boxes do not place in directly facing south and west directions.
Birds also like tables near a look out point so they can monitor its safety first and have a safe place they can easily get to. A bush 2-3 metres away will do the job.
Planting for birds
Plants, shrubs and trees provide shelter, nesting space and food both directly through seed and berry crops and indirectly through housing insects and bugs.
Here are a few ideas from Notcutts plant buyer Colin Dale to help you get started and make your garden attractive to birds.
- You don't have to let your garden become over grown to attract wild life, but if you can afford to let a small patch of grass grow taller, then you will provide a perfect place for ground feeding birds to feed in safety and a perfect place for insects and bugs to live (which the birds love to eat)
- Equally, a short lawn can be a great attraction for worm eating birds, help them out in dry periods by keeping the lawn wet so they can get to those juicy worms!
- Plant some butterfly and caterpillar attracting flowers and bushes, such as Buddleia (butterflies) and Primroses (caterpillars), which are a popular meal with birds, especially nesting blue tits and Great tits.
- Limited space? Why not plant some arable flowers such as poppies and cornflower. They can be planted in a seed tray on a windowsill and will be welcomed by birds. Climbers such as Ivy, Honeysuckle or Clematis can be planted in small spaces and attract insects for food and offer excellent shelter and nesting space.
- Sunflowers - the seeds are simply loved by birds and there are smaller varieties on the market for smaller spaces.
- Candytuft - can grow in poor soil and will attract a variety of animals - slugs, snails, caterpillars, bees, butterflies and moths.
- Alyssum - drought resistant and attracts amongst other insects aphids which birds love.
- Honesty and foxglove are also good seed bearing plants
- Fruit trees such as apple, pear, plum, and crab apple attract insects and supply birds with fruit. There are plenty of dwarf varieties available for smaller areas.
- Conifers offer and excellent dense foliage for birds to nest and shelter in.
- Native trees such as flowering cherry, horse chestnut and sycamore are not so good, they may look great, but they don't support the insects that birds can eat.
- Hawthorn - provides over a 150 insects to feast on and excellent shelter
- Dogwood - Robins and Thrushes are big fans
- Cotoneaster - the berries are very popular.
- The more varied you can be with height and plant type, the more varied the visitors to your garden.
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