How to attract birds to brand new garden?

Fran, I envy you! Our garden is still really bare and new, but we're working on it! I have a robin who comes to watch me at work, and get the grubs and worms, a few blue-tits that we've enticed over from the railway, magpies by the dozen, and lots of starlings! (And rabbits!!Grrrr!)I'm jsut waiting for all our wildlife-friendly planting (And chicken wire to stop the rabbits!) to take effect!

 

here is a list of plants which attract wildlife, I hope it helps:


http://www.letsgogardening.co.uk/Information/wildlife/wplants.htm

 

I rendered down fat mixed it with wild bird seed and hung them in the old apple tree. we got loads of tits all winter and even the woodpecker came to feed.

8 for a letter
9 for a kiss
10 is the bird you must not miss.

 

Dendrobium - sounds like you bin putting in a lot of work. Hopefully your bird traffic (not the rabbits) will increase as things establish.

Besides the sunflower hearts - the other bird attraction in my garden is the trees - not only the fruit trees I inherited or hangers over from next door - but Hawthorne - I planted whips about 10 years ago, and after some years without flower - are now great.

Just come back from a trip to the Suffolk coast - and one of the places I visited was Minsmere. Well worth a visit for both the birds and the scenery.

[ 29. April 2006, 12:21 AM: Message edited by: Fran ]

 

Fran, I think Dendy is away on her course now?

 

Thanks DAG

 

Hi I have just read the thread and I agree with the advice given, however if you have 8 magpies in the garden you will have problems getting the smaller birds to stay and nest.
I have a large garden with a large and varied bird community, but I had to banish magpies before the others would settle. Maggies are very nervous birds and can quite easily deterred from visiting.
Good luck
JC

 

touch wood weve never had a magpie in the garden.i know its daft but they make me nervous.1 for sorrow,2 for joy and all that.i think if i saw a few i`d be stood at the patio like a soldier salluting all day long! :D

 

Berry bearing bushes are a must and so is a clean bird bath for drinking and bathing. All sound advice so no need to repeat it, but just a mention that some birds are not vegetarian. Throw away the spray cans and other weapons of mass destruction. To get a variety of birds you need a variety of insects. Seriously threatened species like thrushes need unpoisoned snails. Starlings and blackbirds will remove leather jackets from your lawn and blue-tits will strip your roses of greenfly. You'll kill the birds if you spray the bugs.

 

Thanks Hornbeam - one of the reasons I planted Hawthorne and Dog Rose as hedge plants - besides enjoying the flowers.

Whilst I do feed the birds all year round, I haven't tried mealy worms - mind from the amount of birds on the ground at times, they are prolly getting enough live prey :D

 

Yes - I never buy in mealy worms or other live food. That just makes the birds lazy and what we really want is to encourage them to kill our garden pests.

 

Lots of birds, also lots of squirrels - not so pleasant and frequently scaring off the birds. The bird bath is an absolute must most varieties seem to enjoy a good bathe especially the blackbirds which are great fun to watch. Interestingly the woodpeckers are regular visitors to the 'peanut' cages but the green variety love the ants which live in the lawn..............

 

One for sorrow, Two for joy
Three for a girl, Four for a boy
Five for silver, Six for gold
Seven for a secret never to be told,
Eights a wish, Nines a kiss,
Tens a bird you must not miss,
Magpie.