5 reasons you’re not attracting birds to your garden bird feeding station this winter

Have you seen any birds in your garden lately?... There has been a countrywide decline in the numbers of many birds including many well known and loved species.

Even though the main brunt of damage is being done in agricultural areas, there are a lot of mistakes that are being made in the garden. As habitats are being reduced in the countryside, it’s getting more important to welcome birds into your garden.

In the post I’ll discuss the 5 main mistakes people make when trying to attract birds.

Mistake 1 - Your feeding station is in the wrong place 

Putting a feeding station in your garden is a really good way of attracting birds. It also provides them with a valuable source of food through the winter when food is more scarce. Different feeding stations suit different types of feed. Go for whatever fits your space best.

If  your feeders are in a poor location or within reach of cats, the birds you are trying to feed could become the food! Try and raise your feeders out of reach of cats and always put it in an open area where predators can’t ambush the feeding birds. Some birds such as Chaffinches, Blackbirds  and Thrushes like to feed from the ground - a ground feeding cage can help protect them from lurking cats.

Mistake 2 - You’re not providing clean water

Amazingly, even with our wet UK winters, finding clean water is a big issue for birds in urban gardens. In the winter when many water sources are frozen, birds can often struggle to find easily available sources of clean water.

A bird bath or pond is a really good way of attracting birds to your garden, along with loads of other wildlife. If a pond is too much of a commitment or you just don’t have the space for one then don’t worry - there are some really beautiful bird baths out there that can make a really stunning addition to your wildlife garden - environmentally friendly and looks good?! Perfect combination!

Find out more about Gardenwilds top birdbath recommendations:

Mistake 3 - You’re putting out the wrong food

So now your feeding station is in the right place, but what you are putting in it??...... 

• Seeds, cereal, bacon rinds, chopped apples, bread and biscuit crumbs all work well on a bird table.

• Fat and suet balls or blocks are great for feeding tits and can be hung from a tree or put straight on a bird table. Try to avoid netted balls as birds can get tangled up in them.

• Peanuts and seeds are usually dispensed in mesh feeding tubes. Fill with sunflower hearts and mixed seed to attract lots of different birds. And don’t forget - Goldfinch love Niger seeds!!!

• Mealworms are a great source of protein for birds such as Robins and Blackbirds

Remember to change the feed regularly to prevent food from going mouldy and to keep your feeders clean and DON’T put whole nuts out on bird tables during the breeding season as baby birds can choke on them.

Mistake 4 - You are using Chemical Pesticides 

Protecting your plants from pests with pesticides may stop the pest but it also affects all the animals that eat them. 

Birds will eat a large number of insects in your garden so if you use pesticides to get rid of them they have nothing to eat… It’s as simple as that. 

Also, if you use slug pellets it can affect birds, or any other wildlife that eat slugs. The poison in the slug pellet can transfer into the birds digestive system and make the bird ill.

The most eco friendly way to deal with pests is to encourage predators into your garden. This can be done by creating different habitats and getting your planting right.

Mistake 5 - your plants aren’t bird friendly

During the winter birds rely heavily on winter fruiting shrubs. Different shrubs will fruit at different time of the year and it’s important to try and provide a succession of fruit. Also perennial plants left uncut during the winter months provide a good source of food for seed eating birds. You can do this by making sure you have a diversity of fruiting plants in your garden. The following are some of the best sources of food for birds through the winter:

pyracantha (fire thorn)

You can grow Pyracantha as a shrub, hedge or against a wall. They flower in spring and early summer and have orange or red berries through Autumn into Winter.

The berries are loved by Blackbirds and Black Cap!

hedera helix (Ivy)

You can grow ivy up a wall or tree. Once they’ve flowered in the Autumn mature plants will go on to produce black berries. Normal saved until last, Ivy berries are a really high calorie food source for the difficult month at the beginning of the year.

Asters

Perfect for your borders, these Autumn flowering perennials are a great source of food for seed eating birds if left uncut over winter

So - there’s our top 5 reasons you are not attracting birds to your garden. We’d love to hear about your experiences though! We are always learning how to make our gardens more wildlife friendly. Please comment below and let us know your thoughts.