Encouraging birds to a paved urban garden

Unknown said:

 

Mint is a good plant to grow as birds will actually snip pieces off of leaves to use as a anitbacterial agent in their nests plus it attracts insects to its small flowers

Remember as mentioned to also find a place for a small bird bath. You'll be surprised how many more birds will turn u p for a drink or an early bath.

Good luck

Craig

Re ~ Mint = Could the same apply to lavender as the starlings prune my mature shrubs of fresh shoots :-)

Re ~ Water = Before I started feeding the birds after the last couple of bad winters I used to just provide water as no one else around me seemed to be doing so. My garden was full of birds having a wash the starlings had me in stitches most days with their comedy routines.

Hope some of the suggestions above have inspired you to have a go :-)

 Chris S.

Thanks again to everybody on this thread.

I have put the larger potted plants together next to the feeder and the budleia. Sparrows now regularly visit the feeder. I had the first blue tit searching the honeysuckle and the holes in the wall for insects.

A big success!

It's great to have birds in my garden after trying for so long :)

Check out the supermarkets at the moment, many will still have fruit trees in and possibly some others (I think they are £4-5) and these can be planted in large pots.  It is getting towards the end of the season for planting these so you might even get lucky with some discounted ones.  They aren't fully grown but some are a good 5 foot+ and will certainly provide good perching space and cover for your birds.  They provide cover, pretty flowers, nectar and in the autumn fruit too.  The pots for these will cost more than the trees themselves!  You can also plant the pot up with ground cover plants or alpiner strawberries, though I'd wait until the trees are settled in their pots before doing this. 

There are so many brill ideas. To help get height in my garden I bought a cheap arch and planted clematis montana which grows sooo quickly. The birds hide in it before hopping onto the bird bath or feeders. The fence is two pallets turned on there side free from a local company simply painted yellow. Have fun in your garden. The two bits of wood are pieces I found in the woods and the birds often land on it before feeding which gives some good natural shots.

i would suggest putting some artificial insects to attract birds. you can good good stuff at potterymarket.

clare b said:

Also if you have good fencing consider...

-  Hammering some nails in and hanging fat filled coconuts from them

- Getting one of those little bird tables which come with a bracket to attach to the fence. Position in near some cover & the birds might get a bit more confident.

- Using an old rabbit/guinea pig/hamster water bottle attached to the fence with a decent jar lid type perch underneath as a mini watering station for small birds.

- Most holders for square fatcakes will happilly lie flat against a fence if you hammer a nail in for them.

Meanwhile on your paved area...

- Plant up some pots and troughs and sprinkle the seed & fat nibblets in amongst the plants - dunnocks love that

-   For your planted pots get some of those little bowl shaped feeders on a stick. Get 3 - 4 and put different types of seed & fat nibblets or suet in each.

- Don't forget a bird bath, that could sit happily on your paved area & birds wil come to use that & hopefully notice your food.

- Plant a small fruiting tree/bush such as black or redcurrants in a large pot on your patio. Guarantee if you like eating it the birds will scoff the lot before you get there.

- Get a nice decorative stone for your patio, preferably with a reasonably level surface & invite the thrushes in to use it as an anvil for bashing snails. (we have one of these in a planted trough & hardly a day goes by when I don't see smashed shell around it.)

Whilst elsewhere...

- On the house wall you could put some hanging basket brackets & you could hang any variety of seed & nut feeders from them.

- You can also get various small feeders which actually attach to windows with suction pads. A few of those dotted around could bring the birds very close to you.

- Plant as many insect attractive plants anywhere you can (pots, hanging basket, border, etc.) & hope that the insect eaters follow the insects.

- Get or make some insect/mini-beast friendly habitats for similar reasons as above.

- A rotary washing line, if you have one, is good for hanging things on, if you don't mind the odd bit of poo on the laundry !

- Grow ivy anywhere you can...it's relatively cheap, it is evergreen, so it provides all year round cover, it is good for hiding & perching & quite a few bids love ivy berries.

- During the breeding/fledging season treat your birds to some live food (mealworms & waxworms at fairly resonable prices can be ordered on ebay). If the adults notice & use your garden to gather live food for their nestlings, they are likely to bring their fledglings in to your garden to feed too. Then hopefully when the babies grow up they will accociate your patch with food & satisfaction so will return more readily !

Not forgetting...

- Avoid getting rid of "pests" at all costs. Snails, slugs, ants, greenfly, spiders, caterpillars....they're all food for someone & although they might be a pain for you your feathered friends will enjoy them & you will enjoy your feathered friends, hopefully. In fact if you can bear it plant a few plants which caterpillars, slugs & snails are well known to attack...only one more short hop down the food chain & you've got your birds. 

- Don't be too tidy. Leaf litter bugs, longer grass living bugs, the seeds of weeds, mossy roofs & gutters...all good for birds. If you keep your garden & exterior of house too pristine you will eliminate some birds chances of finding the things they are used to looking for in the "scruffy" wild. Be scruffy & proud ! (Case in point: beautiful little wren rottling around in our very mossy gutter for insects for at least 10 minutes this morning...no moss = no insects = no wren !)

Blimey I've waffled on a bit...sorry. However all these things have worked for me in the past so I hope a few can be helpful to you. Good luck...keep us posted with progress !

Bella