How to Attract Birds to your Garden

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Ahead of the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch (BGBW), running from the 28th-30th January, we thought we’d share our top tips on how to attract a variety of birds to your garden and why it’s so important.

The BGBW is a wonderful opportunity for the whole family to get outside, enjoy the fresh winter air, and simply count the birds you see. Whether you decide to watch from your own garden, the local park, or just on your normal walk, everyone can get involved.

RSPB

RSPB, a charity dedicated to the protection of birds, are asking the public to count how many different bird species they see within a one-hour window across the whole weekend. This will provide them with a whole host of data, which will allow them to calculate what birds are struggling and if there have been any significant changes in the last year. Sadly, 38 million birds have been lost from our beautiful UK skies over the past 50 years, so let’s do our bit to support our feathered friends.

So, if you don’t already have a bird feeder set up, we’ve put together our top products to a attract a whole variety of birds to your garden. Blackbirds, one of the first calls you hear in the morning, there really is no mistaking one of our most common garden birds. They will eat a range of food from fatty nibbles to mealworms and are mostly ground feeding birds, so you don’t need to worry about not having the correct equipment!

Blue tits and great tits will eat from a feeder, so we suggest filling the feeder with seeds, suet, and peanuts. But make sure your feeder is a squirrel proof one, as sadly they will get there before the birds do. Check out our great range of feeders here >

Different types of finches such as chaffinches and greenfinches eat from either a bird table or a feeder, sunflower hearts are a big favourite, so we’re confident that a handful of these, you will be well on your way!

Once you’ve found the right feeder for your garden, we suggest locating it in a quiet, safe, and sheltered place for the birds to enjoy their whole experience. Don’t forget to keep the feeders clean too, as they can brew diseases and infections. When you are selecting your food, keep an eye out for quality mixes that do not include ‘fillers’ like dried peas and beans, as the birds are just like us and are fussy about their greens and beans. However, any leftover goodies (but that are not mouldy or salty) from the kitchen such as bread, fruit cake, dried fruit, unsalted pastry, and fruits like apples and pears.

Important to note that dried fruit can be toxic to dogs so do your research beforehand just to be sure!

Finally, whether it be on your phones, tablets, or professional cameras, while you’re counting it’s a great opportunity to take some amazing photos of the birds you see plus the other wildlife and the nature around you. Make sure to tag us, as we would love to see your photos! Instagram: polhillgc Facebook: Polhill Garden Centre

OUR TOP PRODUCTS

Super Suet Fat Balls 50 Box – £11.99
This medium size refill box contains our popular RSPB suet balls made with our own unique recipe using premium grade fat, sunflower seeds and cereals.
Sunflower Hearts 2kg – £8.99
Gardman No Mess Sunflower Hearts are a high energy and no husks bird food that attracts the widest range of species.
Honeyfields Nyjerseed – £6.99
These tiny yet exceptionally nutritious seeds are adored particularly by small beaked birds such as Finches that will happily eat nothing else if there is Nyjer available.
RSPB Favourites Blend 1.8Kg – £8.75
If the birds in your garden could speak, they’d probably demand this for their dinner! We’ve taken three of our best-selling, most popular ingredients, and blended them together into an irresistible, high quality treat.
Squirrel Proof/Cage Peanut Feeder – £17.99
Allow the birds in your garden to feed and stop squirrels from access. The Tom Chambers squirrel proof range is contructed from a thick guage mesh surrounding a feeder on the inside.