getting birds to visit my garden (1 Viewer)

Hi,I am by no means an expert on birds,but do have a considerable interest in them.However,since moving to to a town house with a 'yard' in Torquay from a house in Portsmouth with a large(ish) garden,I am so badly missing having ANY kinds of birds in my backyard,except herring gulls(which aren't quite what I was thinking of!!!). I was hoping that some of you guys with far more experience than I,could give me some pointers in what I could do to get even some sparrows here.
The main issue is that I have a quite high wall at the back and the floor of my garden is approx 6 feet below the ground level outside,which,obviously, makes the wall seem high.At present I have no shrubs or trees in here,but neither do any of my immediate neighbours.I will plant some if it is going to be beneficial,but due to my surroundings I'm thinking I could be fighting a losing battle.
I could sort out some pics if needed,but from my somewhat vague description,is there anything I could be doing.
Oh,I have seen a couple of wrens out at the front garden and the (very) occasional blackbird(my favorite),but these did seem to be passing through.
If anyone could help,I'd be immensely grateful.

If shade is an issue (assuming as much...being 6' below street level), shade tolerant plants eg Ivy,Laurel and Holly...along with peanut feeders might be a good starting point?

Cheers

Hello adee_ree and a warm welcome to Birdforum on behalf of staff and moderators.:t:

I would certainly agree that the introduction of certain native plants that would do well in your setting would be a start. This would bring in native insects and other invertebrates and would be a fine start to a mini-ecosystem in your back yard. Also plants that bear fruit that certain birds such as thrushes like to eat may help and if you were able to establish a bit of dense cover perhaps with a fast growing climber you may even get something nesting.

Good luck anyway and have fun establishing a mini-bird yard.:t:

There's lots of 'wildlife gardening' advice online if you search for it. Trees and shrubs are definitely a good idea if you have space for them - the more the better. Hawthorn and Silver Birch are both pretty good natives.

For anything flowering/fruiting make sure to go with single-flowered varieties, rather than overbred double-flowered types (e.g. ornamental flowering cherries) which are unlikely to attract pollinating insects and probably won't fruit. You can get young trees/shrubs bareroot very cheaply, e.g. young hedging plants, which will establish well and grow quickly - no need to buy expensive garden centre potted trees. You should be able to order now for delivery in the autumn when dormant (best time for planting).

You could get a feeding station, this will allow you to supply a variety of foods to birds, they are great and can be placed wherever you want, with my feeding station I managed to attract the following with the following items.

Mixed Seeds - House Sparrows
Sunflower Hearts - Greenfinch
Nyjer - Goldfinch
Suet Pellets - Black Caps

These were just hanging feeders, I also use a tray and fill it with mix seed, this attracts blackbirds, corvids, wood pigeons, collared doves and also dunnocks.

I'd try to avoid ivy, it gets everywhere and is a real pain, I'd recommend something such as Honeysuckle, it flowers and produces berries, I also have two gooseberry bushes, the blackbirds, house sparrows and wood pigeons have all been seen picking from it.

You need some weeds to attract birds. Consider some high flowers, in America sunflowers, zinnas and coneflowers fit the bill. The weeds will help until some trees start growing, it doesn't matter much what kind as long as they are native. Birds need cover of some sort.

My garden is quite big and is located about a mile from the sea but I've said here several times, it's usually bird free! Herring gulls and Magpies are the most obvious visitors but tit's and now Goldfinches are regular visitors to the feeders (it's taken 9 years for the later to show up!). Coastal areas are known for this, pending the location of course but they do have there benefits...

To make up for this dearth of numbers I've had some cracking species pass through during migration times, a much greater variety than I could have possibly hoped for in my London garden - which was packed with commoner birds!

I would certainly recommend planting some shrubs and hanging several feeders placed here and there - sunflower hearts seem to hit the spot with tit's and finches. A water container like a a large pot drip tray will also help. Winter time you'll definitely get some visitors if put food out regularly.

The main thing to keep in mind is that birds take their time to feel safe in an area, be prepared to wait, hopefully not for 9 years, but they will come :t:

Feeders and a fresh water source should attract some birds in the short term, whilst having a plan and doing some planting should further increase your garden's attractiveness to birds and make it a nicer place for you.

It's a good time of year to start planning, and in a couple of months do some planting.

It's also a good time to put up a couple of nestboxes, if you stuff some bedding material inside you may find Wrens use it for roosting if on a sheltered wall. Boxes also add perching sites for small birds, and who knows you may get something take up residence next year, by which time the boxes will be nicely weathered in.

Some trellis on a wall with common Ivy (Hereda helix) will provide cover and both food and nesting sites when established. If you put a couple of battens on the wall and attach the trellis to these it increases the space between the wall and ivy slightly, increasing the quality of cover and making it easy to stop the ivy damaging the wall.


Online links to garden planning and planting:
-BTO~ Perhaps the recommended book (£9.99) may be worth purchasing?
-RSPB