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I am hoping that someone on here can offer me some advice on creating some roosting space or nest space in my garden....
I have an average size garden but no large trees or privet (or similar). I live in a terrace and the rest of my neighbours have large gardens but at some point half of mine was sold off to a neighbour and cleared of trees (by the neighbour). :(
I have 2 neighbours who have recently died (two doors either side of me) and I am very concerned that their lovely bird friendly gardens will be ruined if new neighbours move in and cut their well established trees down and dig out the privet.
I have an excellent selection of birds that come to my garden to feed (and I look after them very well) they are as follows;
Blue, Great, Coal, Long Tailed Tits
Greater Spotted Woodpecker
Blackbirds (6 males + females)
Dunnock
Black Cap
Bullfinch
Greenfinch
Wren
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
Thrush
Robin
I have planted a Budlea tree in my garden that they love and a small holly bush. (I am hoping to plant a Hawthorn or Elderberry tree this year too). My garden simply isn't big enough for lovely big trees (although I greatly wish it was! I would have a wood if I had room) and my neighbours seem to be very good at cutting their trees down which frustrates me greatly. However, I am hoping to create somewhere for them to live and sleep.
Another issue is that it seems as though every other house in my terrace has cats (inc. mine - I have 2 but they only go out at night as I birdwatch daily and won't let mine out in case they harm the birds). My neighbours let their cats out to roam all day and I scare them off my garden when the birds are feeding. (by opening the back door they run a mile)
Please can anyone offer me any advice???? I would be most grateful.
Thank you so much!! Xx Xx
Hi Charlee, thanks for posting i'll move this to the Homes for Wildlife section shortly!
Nesting space can be provided by nesting boxes located on the walls of yoru property, fences, sheds and garages. A mix of different shaps, sizes and locations could attract in a variety of species. Check out the info' here and here.
If there are any trees in the neighbourhood that are visible from a public space that provide a public amenity value then get in touch with yoru councils tree officer and suggest they be designated under Tree Preservation Order, this is the only way that mature trees can be afforded long-term protection. There are some good guidelines here.
As for planting, well given the cat issue I would say head along the route of dense prickly shrubs to start with such as berberris, pyracantha and even the humble gooseberry. You already have holly which is a great start. The benefits of these plants is that they offer shelter, year round cover and also berries. In flower they also attract in various beneficial insects. Hawthorn hedges are top notch for wildlife so again great idea!
Warden Intern at Otmoor.
There's another similar thread here
http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/wildlife/homesforwildlife/f/903/t/93609.aspx?PageIndex=2
Hawthorne is great... that's what most of our farm hedges are. We also have a lot of copper beech and beech, holly & blackthorn hedging. All great for providing cover, attracting insects with flowers and/or berries.
But with a medium garden and space more restricted you might want to consider the Berberis or escalonia apple blossom . Both can grow quite huge if you want them too but they're very slow growing and you can keep them trimmed right back and even plant and trim them just as a shrub rather than as a hedge. The escalonia apple blossom produces an abundance of white or pink flowers and mine is a mass of bees, butterflies and other insects. Good cover too... favourite spot for robins and wrens here.
But most of all I'd suggest you keep an eye out for your new neighbours and invite them round for a huge welcome: tea, cake and a chat about how lucky they are to have moved into a lovely friendly location with fabulous trees that are host to masses of fabulous birds.
A bird in the hand can make an awful mess!
Hello Charlie, I sympathise with your frustration with not enough space, and preditory cats about. An ideal cat to keep indoors is actually a Siamese (as long as they have never known and outdoor life), as they love people's company more than anything else - and are totally happy indoors. I have had mine for 16 years now. I have a very large garden, and love feeding birds, neighbours have dogs - so all is well. There are lots of small growing trees, which are berrying/flowering:- some are sister plants of the hawthorn, even a birch tree, although tall, is very slender in a small space - siskins, and red polls like their seeds. Crab-apple trees (some), are also wonderful for birds. As has been mentioned - Pyracantha, Cotoneaster, the wild Viburnum - opulus. For cover on cold nights, laurels are good, but they do get pretty big, and wide. Some conifers are good cover too.
Lots of interesting reading on the internet about all these beautiful shrubs. You see to already have a big family of birds, and so you must be doing something right!
Kindest regards
Thank you to everyone who replied to me!
I have been giving myself a headache lately thinking of the best types of plants to put in so I will go off now and look these one's everyone has suggested up.
Thank you to the moderator who moved my post too! I am new and getting used to the site at present.
I will look into contacting the council about putting a preservation order on the huge tree in my neighbors garden - it really must be a couple of hundred years old and the birds love it dearly to perch on. They wait up there and watch me fill up the feeders!
Again many thanks!! Xx