Attract More Birds to Your Garden With These Simple Bird Feeding Tips

21st February 2022

No matter what sized garden you have, it is always a welcomed sight when wildlife comes to visit and with a few simple changes, you could increase this quite easily. If you enjoy seeing the birds or are a hobbyist birdwatcher with your own hut then you may be eager to bring more varieties to your green space. Here are a few bird feeding tips to attract more birds to your garden.

Feed All Year Round

Although winter can seem like the most beneficial time of year to feed the birds in your garden it is also important to continue this throughout the other seasons in order to give them a better chance of survival and to also keep them returning. If you reward them, they will reward you with their presence!

Choose The Right Food

Just as we need a good balance of protein, fats and carbohydrates, in our diet so do birds. They find most of their food in their natural surroundings – insects, worms, slugs, snails and caterpillars – but by providing good all-round supplementary food you can give them that little extra they may need. A few key examples include: sunflower hearts, peanut splits and a mixed bag.

Feeding Location

There are many bird feeder options available to us – tables, ledges, hanging feeders, wire feeders, eco-friendly feeders – but before choosing one you will want to consider a few things first. Issues such as cats who are predators or squirrels who are scavengers, the size of your garden, whether you have the use of trees, whether you have the option of height and not forgetting finding an ideal spot for birdwatching too.

Natural Feeding

In order to attract more varieties to your garden and to complement the bird feed you are leaving out you should also consider how they could also feed naturally when visiting your garden. By planting bushes, vegetables, flowers, you will also attract insects, bugs, butterflies, caterpillars and so on which are all rich grub for your birds and will have them frequently returning.

Water

Don’t forget to leave out water for your feathered friends. They will need this to hydrate and wash themselves. If you are short on space, a shallow dish will be just fine, otherwise, you could invest in a birdbath or create a wildlife pond which would also attract other wildlife such as hoverflies, dragonflies, frogs, hedgehogs and so on.

Birdhouses

And lastly, if you truly want to have birds in your garden all year round, why not think about adding some birdhouses too? Feeding visitors is one thing but having your own residents is quite another. You would be able to see how they come and go, watch them raise their young, help them to thrive with our above tips and really help to create a wonderful environment for them all.

Hopefully, these bird feeding tips have given you plenty of food for thought and now you can get out and begin to take care of your local wildlife.