What birds for roof garden?

[3creamteas]

My school ( inner London) has just completed some building works and we now have a roof garden approx 2 stories or 20m high. The area consists of u shaped area 20mx10m,3 walls to roof height and chest high 4th wall. The area is made up of decking and open garden beds (all planted with native species) with the chest high wall topped with planter boxes. It is all very new including the plants but we would like to attract some bird life other than pigeons. It has been suggested that it may be to high to attract garden birds. We are looking to errect some arbours or lattice work and grow climbing plants to offer some cover and would welcome suggestions on the type of plants to use but would like to use natives to keep the general trend of the garden. All advice welcome especially anyone who has had experience of a similar scenario. One possible issue that springs to mind is that this will be used as a working space with children and adults using it regularly especially during the warmer months.

[~T~]

I think you would certainly attract house sparrows as they love high places. If you put up some sparrow terraces (sparrow boxes) at the top of the lattice and the type of low spill feeders (as not to attract too many pigeons) then they will be perfectly at home. Tbh I wouldn't think the height would phase most garden birds. My mate lived 5 floors up in the middle of Glasgow city centre and he got loads of different birds on his balcony including robins, starlings, finches and corvids and he didn't even feed the birds.

[Tursiops2]

Hello 3creamteas and welcome to the forum.

That sounds a very interesting project.

What birds you get will depend largely on what your local environment is like, but even in inner London you should get a reasonable selection. Whoever suggested that it was too high for garden birds had obviously forgotten that birds can fly!

If you can post some photos, it may be possible to make specific suggestions, but some general thoughts:

Climbers for trellis - Honeysuckle, native Clematis (Clematis vitalba), Ivy.

Is there a water source? A small pond would be good, but even just a bird bath would be an asset.

A "nectar bank" - plants selected for their nectar will attract insects and these will attract birds. No need to be too "precious" about using natives, many ornamental varieties are good nectar sources.

Don't be too tidy - allow a build-up of organic debris, in some places at least, as this will create foraging areas for birds like Blackbirds and Robins.

Use as an outdoor workspace will have some effect, but many birds will become used to people being around, and once the vegetation has matured and provides a bit of privacy, you may find Blackbirds, Robins, Pied Wagtails etc. will nest.

I'd love to see some photos.

T2

[3creamteas]

Thanks for the feedback. I suppose time will tell if what we do pays off. My head teacher is a bit of a "tidy pants" so the chance of creating any messy areas will be very unlikely but it is still a "mission that I choose to accept" and see how far I get. Q, should nesting boxes (already placed) be covered or left visible? They have been put at the top of walls and under eaves but are all very exposed at present. I will post photos soon. Thanks again for the help.