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Attracting More Feathered Friends (1 Viewer)

victor maynar

New member
United Kingdom
Hi everyone,


As spring approaches, I've been thinking about how to attract more birds to my garden. Currently, I have a couple of feeders filled with sunflower seeds and peanuts, but I’m considering adding a birdbath for drinking and bathing.


What plants would you recommend for attracting different species? I've heard that native plants are best, but I'd love to hear your experiences. Also, any tips on keeping the feeders clean and pest-free would be greatly appreciated!


Looking forward to your suggestions!

Best,
Vic
 
Hi Vic and a warm welcome to you from all the Staff and Moderators. Definitely native plants and bushes, a mix of those providing flowers, seeds and fruit, will keep them interested all/most of the year. Which you plant will probably depend on your soil type.

Definitely water in some form, for bathing and drinking.

For cleaning I suggest you ask about this in the Garden Birds, Bird Feeding & Nestboxes as the members concentrating their attention in that area will be more up-to-date on which products work best and what should be avoided.

I'm sure you will enjoy it here and I look forward to hearing your news.
 
Welcome to Birdforum. I hope you enjoy your visits.

Water is a necessity so a bird bath or similar is a good idea.

Plants which are good include holly (berries), ivy (attracts insects - good for birds), honeysuckle (berries), crab apples, cotoneaster (berries), sunflowers (seeds), mountain ash (berries), pyracantha (berries).
 
Hawthorn is a great all rounder also I love apple trees as you can just take as many as you need and leave the rest for the birds. I have a very large Cotoneaster in the garden which currently has hundreds of berries on and is fantastic when in flower for pollinators.
 
Hi Vic, welcome to the forum. I think you will find us a friendly and helpful group.
 
Best single bird attractor for me has not been my feeders but rather a 22" diameter 2-inch deep clay tray with fresh water. Birds use it for bathing and drinking and it sits on the ground so no worries about some critter knocking it over. I dump out the water every other day an clean with with a weak bleach solution every two weeks.

For plants I chose ones that are favored by birds for the seeds or berries and ignore the ones for butterlies as the population has been decimated by the farmers with their pesticides. I favor small trees which include Toyon, Blue Hopseed, and Pacific Myrtle and I have approximately 100 oaks on my property.
The shrubs provide insects for birds and also protective cover from hawks.

I have also worked proactively to discourage free roaming cats from around my area. I have a zero tolerance program for them.
 

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