Bird feeder newbie

Hi everyone!

I would really welcome any advice people can give me about where to put bird feeders in my garden. All the advice pages/forums I've read mention trees and shelter etc however I don't have any trees! My garden is south facing which is wonderful but it's mid-terrace and no one has any trees so will this impact whether we have any bird visitors? 

I have fences so I was thinking of hanging them off hooks that attach to the top of the fences? They would be somewhat sheltered thanks to the fence that way?

  • Hi, we have multiple bird tables and feeders and although we have dense shrubbery along the bottom of the garden, our main feeding station is nearer the middle of our back lawn. Our reasoning is that it will give feeding birds a 360degree view of any potential predators. Our next door neighbour also has a centrally placed feeding station, but no trees or bushes. We also scatter seed, mealworms and fat pellets etc on the lawn. It gets messy and fights break out, but it also attracts hedgehogs at night.
  • Personally, I wouldn't suspend feeders from a fence because cats can easily patrol along the top and could deter birds.
    As you've no shrubs or trees I would tend to put a pole type feeder out in the open as Border Reiver suggests. Start small with perhaps just one tubular feeder with sunflower hearts. Both finches and tits like those .but don't put out too much until you see what comes, Food can go mouldy if its not eaten. It can take a while before word gets out. Wintertime is when birds really need supplementary feeding.
  • I live in a terraced house with a relatively small, patio garden, no grass whatsoever. We have a large hedge behind our garden but whilst I have some shrubs in the garden itself, we don't have any trees or a massive amount of cover. We still get blue tits, finches, blackcaps, a huge colony of sparrows, starlings and blackbirds to name a few. Once the birds start to feel comfortable in your garden, they will keep coming to visit!

    You could also plant some bird-friendly, tall-growing plants in pots and place them near the bird feeders to provide some cover.

    I used to hang my feeders up on my fences before I purchased a bird feeding station (my garden is 100% cat free so the birds were safe). It worked well, but I would definitely recommend a feeding station if you can - it's lovely to see all the different birds in one place once you've been to refill the feeders in the mornings! Start with the feeders you have already and see what arrives :-)