keen to encourage wildlife...but how?

Im excellent at getting spiders and ants into my garden :p but not a lot else. I have buddleia and next doors clematis that brings in the butterflies and bees, but I'd love to see more birds.

I have an elderberry in the garden, but the birds dont seem to touch it. I have another tree/bush type thing with what looks like double berrys on it, again, doesnt seem touched by the birds. However it was full of ladybird pupa so thats one sort of wildlife at least.

I've hung up a seed feeder but they dont seem interested. We found mr toad and friends recently I'm thinking of introducing a nature pond once its all sorted, I'd love frogs and I've seen newts already.

My garden is a total disaster site, its so overwhelming and ive started late, but I'm determined to get a functional garden that will benefit the local wildlife too! :confused:

 

Hi FMN I think yu are part there already with the wildlife after finding a toad and some spiders/ladybirds etc.:thumb:

We moved into a new build house in a new village being created from scratch in the middle of the countryside.Ok we had a small duck pond in the middle but that soon became conjested with weeds but at least we had one.I never thought we would see any birds but put out my bird table and feeders full of peanuts especially for birds and seed.No sign of birds for months and I had to keep replacing the seed and nuts but was determined to get some birds into the garden

Mr Kandy and I set about digging out some borders and planting trees like Rowan{Mountain Ash} Alemanchia {Snowy Melphis} Sygringia {Lilac}etc and also Shrubs like Buddleia and Pyracantha for the berries.We went away over Christmas and came back in the new year of that first year and where there had been alight covering of snow found some bird tracks in the back garden.At last,we had had a visitor of one little bird:thumb:

It gave us the encouragment to plant more plants trees and shrubs and gradually we managed to attract birds such as Robins,Blackbirds,House & Tree Sparrows,Wrens Pied Wagtails,Starlings,Collared Doves,Wood Pigeons etc.Our list is now quiet long and have even had a Greater Spotted Woodpecker, FieldFare, and an overwintering Blackcap the other year.

We also have had a frog but the cats were after it so had to take it to the pond.We also have a resident Hedgehog or two that comes to feed and then leaves their poo behind to let me know they have visited:D

So you see if you can put in the right plants and trees,flowers and shrubs and just keep being patient then I think you will soon have some visitors.:thumb:

 

aaaah wicked!! So there is hope yet! I'm looking into the flora for forna approach to gardening, hopefully, as I plant more trees and such I will have a bit of luck too. I dont ever imagine I'll get anything quite as amazing as you've seen but I'll be happy with any visitors at all

I can imagine you seeing the footprints in the snow

 

We get lots of robins, blackbirds, magpies, pigeons etc, and the odd green woodpecker, and tits and finches in the clematis. Red kites circle overhead but never seen one down in the garden. Think the cat frightens some birds away although he's old and lazy these days. Hedgehogs, bats and foxes visit often too.

We put out fruitcake when it's left over. Also found this recipe for bird cake:
1 Melt a solid fat such as suet or lard. This is easiest in a saucepan, although you can use the microwave if you do so in short bursts.
2 Stir in goodies such as bird seed.
3 Pour into a margarine tub, yoghurt pot or similar, or half a coconut shell, and refrigerate. By making a hole in the tub just wide enough and threading through a piece of string before you pour in the mix, you can hang it straight outside once it's set and turned out.
There are more ideas for what to feed the birds in this article: http://www.50connect.co.uk/home_and...e_gardening/change_your_nuts_to_attract_birds

I didn't realise that fat, bread and chunky food was bad for chicks.

Good luck with the planting.

 

It's unusual that birds don't come for the elderberries. Are they getting plenty of food from elsewhere?. Either from neighbours, where the birds are used to going, or from wild areas or farmland. I would persist, and the birds will ususally come, especially in winter, as long as there is nothing to scare them off. We put up niger seed to attract goldfinches, and it was months before they found the seed, but now they are there most days - winter and summer.
A pond is usually a big help - birds drink and wash there.

 

No-it`s the coconut halfs-they just can`t get them down their necks LOL.


Great link thanks

 

Having dead wood in the garden really helps, as it encourages insects that attract the birds. Get a few logs in and pile them up somewhere near to some shrubs or a bush, the birds initially use it for cover, rather than going onto an open area where they are in full sight. It sounds like you are well on the way to having an interesting wildlife garden, good luck with it and hope you are very soon rewarded with visiting birds. I am sure you will be. Jan

 

Hi, you dont have any cats do you? or cats living near you? I ask because that is what happened to my mums garden once she got a cat. The birds just disappeared, too frightened to come in because of terry (the cat).


Just a thought

 

Yes Willow, you have a good point! we know in our garden when the neighbours cat has been stalking, the garden goes deathly quiet for hours! Also, we have Kestrels and a larger Hawk that circles the gardens on the make! have been known to swoop down and get off quickly with a bird in their talons. Another really strange thing is that at weekends we often have 'quiet' days not seeing many birds, I can only assume that people in the neighbourhood who work in the week are putting out tit-bits at weekends? Jan

 

I have cats, and a dog. But the cats never really go in the back garden and as for the dog, the ones that do come in, he doesnt bother with, he's learnt he cant catch them lol

 

Same with my dog. She's probably scared of them anyway, I sometimes watch her looking into the pond and when the fish pop their heads up she jumps backwards :D

 

I'll have to get you guys a picture of my cat sat on the wall and the birds in the tree eating in the winter. I think at 20 my oldest cat has decided to call a truce with the birds, he sits and watches and the birds carry on so even if you do have cats, dogs etc; you can still have birds.

 

Yes I do agree, I had a lovely Ginger Tom for 11 years and he didn't bother with birds at all. he used to bring me slow worms, all in bits, lined up on the back step, other times it was a mole or two, and once he dragged a whole rabbit through his cat-flap in the utility room, it was stretched out dead and I couldn't open the kitchen door!
I ADORE cats. Alas my neighbours beautiful Moggy is a bird eater. Jan

 

My one cat Tilly is a bird, butterfly, mouse, anything eater. But as I say, she never goes into the back garden because she doesnt like the dog licking her to death. hopefully they'll come. Maybe if i put goodies out in the winter that will bribe them because of the lack of food elsewhere. Hopefully they'll remember me and come back

 

I'm sure they'll come into your garden eventually especialy if u have tasty treats for them. Just give them time