hedges for nesting birds

I am thinking of planting a hedge in the front garden, what is the best type for nesting birds to use. I am thinking of planting a mixed hedge of berberis darwinii, pyracatha and holly for the berries.

 

I would go for almost anything, but when I was planting, I would also think about pruning the hedge, as three prickly types of plants I know would do my head in when I was pruning it.

Have you thought of a native hedge mix, which is generally Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Field Maple, Hornbeam, and Holly.

Privet is also a good one, and a section of yew, both more evergreen, and not prickly!

Hope this Helps!

 

Wow thats good for its 3rd yr to :thumb:privet i think i've got and it must have been in when they built the house,80 odd yrs ago so its looking rough now,with the odd gap:(

you can see it a lot clearer in the bottom one.

and thats where my veg plots going right at the back.

 

my hedges look very thin and gappy this time of yr.Could i put some of this Bone Meal i bought yesterday for when i put my Tree Lilies in to help them on a bit or would it be a waste of time or will it damage them even more?they have had nothing since i been here !$yrs apart from some sheep poo i had in an old bin floating and but the liquid on the base from time to time.

 

Bone meal won't do the hedge any harm as it slowly releases phosphorus and not much else into the soil. But it won't do a great deal of good either. If I was feeding a hedge I'd go for something like fish, blood and bone which is fairly well balanced in its NPK ratio.
There's a basic explanation of NPK ratios in fertilisers here -
http://www.learn2grow.com/gardeningguides/fertilizer/basics/understandingfertilizernumbers.aspx
And here's a graph I made a while ago

 

cheers dave i have to do something cos its looking scrawny.I've used this stuff but dont know if i used enough of it???