[Picidae]

hi Mk

Good on you for trying - sounds like you're on the way to building a real wildlife garden.

As far as attracting birds, you've picked the hardest time of the year. There's plenty of their preferred natural food around and many of the youngsters have now fledged. This is a time where it will start to be quiet in the garden for lots of people when the adults go off to moult and the youngsters disperse to find new territories.

Keep with it though and by the autumn it will really start to pick up for you.

You should get some garden visitors through the summer with the excellent choice of food (bread probably isn't such a good idea, it can swell up and the birds get dehydrated as they are too full to drink water - I'd soak it first if you really want to continue with the bread and be certain to use wholemeal).

Most importantly, keep your feeders clean and put fresh water out regularly - this is also the time of year where risk of infection, especially to young finches is high.

Ps. If you are using the bought fat balls that come in netting, remove the netting and put them in a fat ball feeder - birds can get their feet and necks entangled and fatalities have occured.