Feeding Garden Birds

Location

Many birds are naturally shy and will be very
selective about the places they choose to feed. Your feeding table
should be clearly visible, with several entrance and exit routes so
that the birds can avoid trouble from any direction. If cats
occasionally pass through your garden, keep the table away from any
routes that they take and make sure that you don't position the table
where predators can easily stalk, out of sight.

You'll probably
want to have the table in a location where you can easily watch the
birds, but also have a good viewpoint of any potential predators
stalking the table. Birds are also usually most attracted to a source
of fresh water, so try to position both in a suitably safe place.

Habitat

If
you can provide a suitable habitat for your birds then you'll find that
your visitors stay for a lot longer than a few minutes at feeding time.
Some trees and bushes provide a great source of berries for birds
during autumn. Ferns and thistles provide great nesting materials.
Conifers and laurel give a good source of cover from the weather and
predators. Cotoneaster, pyracanthus and holly are some of the shrubs
your could consider planting as a source of natural food for visiting
birds.

Where to buy

You can usually find bird feed in pet
shops, superstores, garden centres and markets as well as a variety of
online stores. Wherever you choose to buy your seeds, make sure that
the products display the BSA standard as a sign that they are
guaranteed to be of good quality and free of mould. You needn't spend a
fortune on bird seed, but if you find some that is particularly cheap,
you should maybe think twice about the quality of the product.

Bird feeders

As
well as great quality food and fresh water, the type of bird feeder
that you provide may also greatly influence the number of birds that
visit your garden. Some of the anti-squirrel feeders can often be quite
unattractive to birds and they will only spend the time chipping away
at the almost totally unobtainable food, if they don't have anywhere
else to feed. As an alternative, you should maybe look at other ways of
keeping squirrels from your feeders.