Advice for a novice in a tough garden situation (1 Viewer)

Hi all, sorry if I'm being the annoying new guy posting in the wrong place but have recently just got the bird bug and need a bit of advice for the situation I'm in:

I have a decent small/medium sized garden in South West UK which has recently been re-arranged/planted by a gardener. He's done a great job but it wasn't really done with being bird friendly in mind and I'd like to make as many additional changes as possible to attract birds to eat and (hopefully) breed.

The back garden has a shed, 2m wooden fence all the way around with trellises on but no trees or large bushes (bad I know). The Magnolia and Peach trees are still tiny. My issue is that I've left it too late for the climbing plants to grow up and from what I've read most small birds will be looking for places to breed already, if not already chosen somewhere. The trellis plants are still at the bottom but there are bamboo plants all along the West side of the fence that are already about 1.5m and growing/thickening fast. They could offer cover but not great for perching on. There are a lot of small flowering plants and a lawn which are attracting a lot of insects.

How over-optimistic am I being thinking I can still attract any small birds to breed, given that it's mid-April? I've put 2 nestboxes attached to the fence, one small one in the far corner and one slightly larger one in the middle at the back (both at the top, just under 2m up). Both facing North. I've attached some branches I found in the park (there's a big park about 500m away from our terraced street) to the top of the back fence about halfway along, slightly to the side of the larger nestbox.

I've put 3 feeders out, 2 with peanut/sunflower heart mix and 1 with RSPB mix on the side of the shed. I also put a makeshift birdbath on top of the shed and a feeding tray with a mix of all the feed I have + dried mealworms on the garden bench in the centre. I was throwing mixed feed on top of the shed but it just attracted Magpies & Pigeons and blew mess everywhere after a few days so stopped doing that. Have scattered some mix along the grooves of the top of the fence too and wedged fat balls in the fence in 3 places about halfway up. One of the feeders is attached to the overhanging shed roof, which also has lots of nice grooves and spaces underneath which look like small birds would like.

I see and hear a lot of different types of smaller birds flying around the neighbourhood but feel like they're ignoring our garden - could it be anything apart from the lack of trees/bushes? Anything I could do to persuade them Bamboo is OK? The neighbour nextdoor has an old cat that visits sometimes but can't do much except shoo him away. There are 4-5 Great (or possibly Blue) Tits that regularly come to the neighbours' garden 2 houses along (next to the guy with the cat) - I've seen a couple come to our back fence and have a look but they fly off and never seem to venture in or eat anything... I have seen another species in their garden too, I think (and hope) they were Goldfinches.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can suggest anything more I can do... I'm really keen to get any small birds in that I can and not hugely concerned about species at the moment!

Sounds to me that you've done pretty much everything you could do.

Remember, birds are very cautious and it might be Autumn before they take full advantage of what's on offer.

OK Thanks for the reply @grobble, that's what I thought but want to make sure I've done everything possible. I probably just need to learn some patience...

Hi and welcome! As you say, everything will take time, but it will be a fabulous trip.
One point I'd make is to keep the nest boxes as far from feeders as possible, as most birds won't be happy with others encroaching on their territory near the nest boxes.

Welcome!

You might like to look at our sister site Gardener's Forum which has a board dedicated to gardening for wild life and suggests plants for attracting birds as well as other helpful tips and advice.

If you've got any areas of flower beds you could consider growing various plants that will attract both birds and insects. For instance, annuals such as Sunflower and Cosmos both attract bees and produce seeds eaten by e.g. Greenfinches, Goldfinches. Teasel is very good also, although that's a biennial, and Fennel and Angelica. Obviously it's important to go for single-flowered varieties that will produce plenty of pollen/nectar/seeds, rather than over-bred double-flowered ones. Bird seed mix is a good source of cheap sunflower seeds for planting (whole seeds, not the extracted kernels).

Personally I find it a lot more satisfying to see birds and a lot of other wildlife using the garden because the habitat is good, rather than simply coming to feeders. A shallow pond is something else to consider.

Weather may be different in the UK from the US, but in Connecticut, my feeders were pretty much ignored after the end of April.
However, a little water drip was popular all the time. The feed was a small diameter hose from a drip irrigation setup, falling into a birdbath put flat on the ground.

Might not be too late to put up something aimed at swallows and the like, although be aware you may get house sparrows instead.

Water is essential to attract birds - we have two baths and a small shallow pond. They drink and bathe in them, and forage in the pond. Mud helps too. During summer, we get more visitors to the water than to the food.

Cover is important too. Tits are very nervous and will not want to eat in the open. You need twiggy bushes about 5 feet high - perhaps something like a buddleia or a rose that will grow quickly and support insects? If you can bear it, conifers are very good at providing cover and give an internal dry and twiggy corridor that birds can use to move up and down the garden without being obvious to cats or hawks. They can then pop out to strategically placed feeders.

Thanks everyone for the helpful replies! I will definitely review the species of plants we have growing and see if any of the ones you've suggested can be planted in any of the spare spaces we have.

@NearlyNoviceBirder Yes, I think water availability is one of the few things I can improve quickly. I have a large plantpot tray with some rocks in filled with water on top of the shed but as far as I can tell it's being ignored. I could buy another 1 or 2 of those and place them in other areas in the hope that will be effective.

I think in a few months the climbing plants will be most of the way up the fence so that will make a big difference, I am really looking for any changes I can make which could give fast results in the hope I may get some birds breeding this year.

Water in motion is the most attractive, whether from a drip, a mister or a pump. Do note birds were much more willing to enjoy their bath when the water dish was on the ground than when it was on a pedestal, even though the latter was only 30" high. So a high water feature is handicapped, even though much more visible.

Quick update: I've now added a second makeshift birdbath on the ground next to the bench where the mixed seed tray is. I've also moved one of the peanut/SF Heart feeders so that the 3 feeders cover a roughly rectangular shape across the garden. Trip to garden centre planned this weekend to look for additional flowering plants.

I noticed that the mix on the table had been disturbed during the day and just the 5-6 peanuts that were on top of the mix had gone (although peanuts in feeders didn't look pecked) and there were a few droppings around. I'm guessing this was the pigeons but the mess seemed a bit small for Pigeon - can anyone give any info on this? (see attached pic)

Also, It appears that something has pulled all of the petals off both flowers on our young Magnolia tree. From the little I know about Pigeons, this doesn't seem like normal behaviour. The bits inside the flower look a bit like Niger seeds so I'm hoping it was something more exciting! And finally there is a twig in the water bath on top of the shed where it could not have dropped or blown - possible Magpie behaviour?? (looked too big for a small bird to carry).

Looking forward to hopefully sharing any info on what seems to have been effective in attracting some smaller birds! Thanks everyone.

Hi, we used to live in a house in NW Bristol with a small very neat garden with little wildlife potential. The first year was very frustrating - planted loads of climbers, a few shrubs and one small tree - the rowan "sheerwater seedling" (because I read it was the favourite food of waxwing! - well you can dream can't you?) Put up two bird boxes, several feeders and two bird tables plus a small pond. The result - nothing! for ages! Couldn't even get a blue tit to visit.
It gradually dawned on me that despite the proximity of woodland the intervening "bird desert" of the surrounding gardens was a big obstacle for birds. But eventually things started to improve, and once the greenfinches and goldfinches discovered us other birds seemed to home in on the activity.
I bought every book I could find on "bird gardening" Wildlife Friendly Plants by Rosemary Creeser was quite useful.
One thing I'm glad we did was plant loads of scented varieties, Honeysuckle, Jasmine, Daphne, Viburnum, even a scented Clematis, these made the garden a much nicer place to be and attracted a lot of insects. We moved out before the garden had reached it's potential but I know the people who live there now and the garden is transformed - we never got blue tits to nest but they did a couple of years ago.
Never did get waxwings either (though they turned up a couple of streets away) - but one memorable winter redwings stripped the rowan of berries in a couple of days.

Despite the frustration it's such a buzz when you start to reap the rewards - but it can be a slow process!

All the best and hang on in there!

House Sparrows always attack Crocuses in my garden - particularly the yellow ones.

Update with small success!

For the past few days something had been disturbing the mixed seed on the table (although the only obvious thing eaten were the few peanuts in it) and eating all of the soaked mealworms I put out each morning.

Curiosity got the better of me and I set up a webcam before I left for work today. Checked as soon as I got to work and saw 2 tit-sized birds perched on the makeshift branches I've attached to the back fence, pecking at the seed scattered on top of the fence and the 2 high peanut feeders I've attached to the branches - so that's very exciting. The video quality is low so I can only guess what they are, possibly blue tits. I just hope I can tempt them into the garden more.

Also lots of Magpie activity, wolfing down the mealworms and stomping up and down the lawn. The Magpie also seems to rummage in the table mix tray, but not eat the peanuts - I'm hoping it was the smaller birds that took those in the past.

And of course a pigeon, who just sat in the birdbath on the shed for 10mins and then flew off. Notably, pigeon activity seems to have been a lot less since I stopped using standard seed mix and made my own with Sunflower Hearts, Black Sunflower seeds, Peanuts and Niger seeds. Have definitely seen Goldfinches in the tree 2 houses along so am hoping they'll pay a visit.

Would love anything to occupy one of my nestboxes, hopefully the tits visiting is the first step

More success! This morning the 3 Goldfinches I've seen in the area came into the garden for a few minutes. They didn't eat anything but seemed to be attracted by the hanging birdbath I've put up on the back fence, flying between that and the large birdbath on the shed roof. I have nyger seeds everywhere but they didn't seem to touch anything...

Also, the blue tits have been back a couple of times to each of the feeders I've put up, but only ever seem to take peanuts (all of my feeders have a mix in). However this is all in the 1hr or so I have before going to work, so am hoping they all visit while I'm not home, I just wish there was an effective way to tell what's going on :s

And also I saw a new species flying around the area (although they didn't come into my garden), I think they were Pied Wagtails - walked in a unique way and had a very specific call.

Very exciting!

Congratulations, it seems that your hospitality is beginning to be recognized.

Next year you'll probably be posting that the birds are eating you out of house and home.

Thanks @etudiant, I've had a steady few weeks of semi-regular visits now. Mainly Blue & Great Tits but the Goldfinches still come for water, still trying to tempt them to eat anything - the sounds they make are amazing! Have seen Sparrows a few trees down so hope they come in. The Magpie comes 4-5 times a day (attracted by mealworms I throw in the grass), but I quite like seeing him as he never stays for long and fights off pigeons (they are much less frequent now I don't put anything out on a tray, or seeds anywhere they can get them).

I also planted a Japanese Cherry tree that's almost as high as my makeshift branches on the fence, have only seen a Tit on it briefly though, they mainly seem to ignore it...