BIRDS

Helping garden birds

BIRDS

Helping garden birds

As their normal habitat and food sources are slowly being lost, it is important that if we are able, that we encourage birds to stay in our garden.

We can do this through food and water provisions, providing suitable areas for nesting or nest boxes, and increasing the availability of plants where they can hide and find natural food sources.

Food and water

When?

Feeding birds seasonally reflects the natural availability of food throughout the year.

Summer and Autumn (May to October):
During these seasons, natural food sources are plentiful. It’s best to pause feeding seeds and peanuts, as supplementary feeding offers limited benefit. Research also shows that the risk of disease transmission is highest at this time, particularly for illnesses like trichomonosis, which can spread directly between birds (e.g. adults feeding their young) and indirectly through shared feeders or water contaminated with saliva or regurgitated food.

Winter and Spring (November to April):
Food is scarcer, so it’s helpful to provide a variety of bird foods but always follow safe feeding practices.

What?

Sunflower seeds, nyjer seeds, fresh, unsalted peanuts, and net-free fat balls are excellent fat sources for garden birds, and can providea high number of calories. Meal worms or wax worms provide protein and minerals that are important for muscles, and fresh fruit such as apples, pears, and berries provide carbogydrates.

Hygiene
and
set-up

Feeding birds safely is essential to reducing the risk of disease.

  • Follow good hygiene practices and ensure feeders and water baths are clean to prevent disease transmission (wash them once a week with warm soapy water but make sure they are fully dry before refilling).
  • Move feeders around the garden and avoid feeders with flat surfaces to help prevent the build-up of debris which can harbour bacteria.
  • Avoid putting feeders where birds roost to help reduce the risk of contaminations from faeces.
  • Feed in moderation i.e. only put out enough food to last one to two days to prevent large quantities of food sitting in feeders where it can become mouldy or harbour bacteria.
  • Keep food as dry as possible as damp food will become mouldy quickly and harbour bacteria (so think about the types of feeder you use, try to use ones that limit water ingress or condensation).

Nests and nestboxes

Nest boxes and nesting materials provide shelter for, and aid in nest building for garden birds during their breeding and incubation times.

A range of nesting materials can be used by garden birds, and we recommend supplying natural fibre sch as sheep’s wool, as long as they have not been hemically treated in any way including flea and tick treatments, and plant matter such as mosses, grasses, and straw, or cut up leaves. When providig these materials, it is best to leave them nearby the nests, and above the ground in hanging baskets or on bushes.

If you have House Martins, Song Thrushes, or Blackbirds in your garden, an area of wet mud such as a puddle or the edge of a pond is ideal.

Nest boxes provide protection from weather and predators, but it is important to get the right nest box for your garden bird species.

Box types and suitable locations

Blue Tits

Blue Tits require a box, with a 25 mm hole, located 2-4 metres up a tree or wall.

Great Tits

Great Tits require a box, with a 28 mm hole, located 2-4 metres up a tree or wall.

Robins and Wrens

Robins and Wrens require a box, with an open top half at the front, located less than 2 metres off the ground and hidden in vegetation.

Sparrows

Sparrows require a box, with a 32 mm hole, located high up under the eaves, spaced out on the side of a building.

Starlings

Starlings require a box, with a 45 mm hole, located high up under the eaves, spaced out on the side of a building.

House Martins

House Martins require a cup made from sawdust and cement, attached to a piece of wood, with a 25 mm semi-circle hole, located high up under the eves. Make sure to keep other species’ nest boxes away from House Martins’ nest.

Swallows

Swallows require a cup made from sawdust and cement, attached to a piece of wood, with an opening 50 mm high and 70 mm wide to enter the building. The cup should be located high up inside a dark out-building, on a ledge or beam.

Swifts

Swifts require a box, with a 65 mm by 30mm entrance hole at the front on one end, located high up under the eaves, with an unobstructed flight path and out of direct sunlight.

Why do nestboxes matter?

British birds are short of nesting holes because many mature trees have been cut down and gardens, parks and woodland are tidier than they used to be, so there are fewer natural places for birds to nest.

Old buildings are also often taken down and new, energy efficient buildings do not always have holes.

The populations of many bird species, such as House Sparrow, are going down because of this.

The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) reckons that if all the gardens in Britain were rolled up into one giant plot, it would be an area bigger than Suffolk! Just imagine how wild birds would benefit if each of those gardens contained a nestbox or two, and plants and insects to provide food.

Why not try building your own nestbox with our nestbox activity?

When and how to put up your Nestbox?

  • Autumn because birds will be looking for roosting and feeding sites – they will likely use the same box for nesting the following Spring.
  • However, Tits will investigate nesting sites in February and March, so these nestboxes could be put up in Winter or early Spring.
  • Tilt the nestbox forwards slightly, so rain will bounce clear.
  • Wrap wire around the top and bottom of the nestbox and tree trunk and secure by twisting the ends of the wire together. Use a section of hose around the wire to prevent tree damage. Check trees for girth growth every two years and replace the wire if necessary.
  • Attach to walls with screws and Rawl plugs through the back board.
  • Seek expert advice if installing Nestboxes in house walls.

How do I care for my nestbox and its birds?

  • Watch and enjoy activity from a distance – disturbing birds whilst they are nesting is illegal and can lead to desertion of the nest and young.
  • Check carefully for, and remove any nests, in October or November.
  • Unhatched eggs can be removed legally between October and January and must be disposed of.
  • Use boiling water to clean the Nestbox and kill parasites. Do not use insecticide or flea powder. Leave the Nestbox to dry thoroughly. Once dry, a small handful of hay or wood shavings (not straw) can be put inside for birds and small mammals to roost or hibernate in Winter.
  • Gorse or rose clippings above and below will give some protection from mammal predators.
  • A metal plate fixed around the entrance hole might deter squirrels.
  • If bees, wasps, or earwigs take over the Nestbox, leave it in-situ, and put up another a few feet away.

Find out more about how you can help garden bird populations through the Manx BirdLife Garden Birdwatch

Please support our vital work

Please support our vital work