Gardening and bird watching often go hand-in-hand with the feathered visitors bringing joy to many a British home, but experts say there are six things to avoid if you want to attract more avians.
According to Professor Donald K. Price, an ornithologist and professor of biology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, birds are similar to humans in that they often seek somewhere with food, shelter and water in order to make a home.
Professor Price told Good Housekeeping magazine: “If your yard doesn’t have anything to offer birds, they are likely to go somewhere else, to other yards, or into the open or wooded areas nearby.”
Below are the professor’s tips on what to avoid if you want to attract more birds to your garden.
It seems simple but if there is no food then birds will likely go elsewhere, either another garden or a wild place where they can find it. Food doesn’t have to be from a bird feeder, a variety of flowering plants and berry-producing trees and shrubs can still attract birds who feed on them.
In fact this month the RSPB urged gardeners to limit feeding birds between May and October in a bid to stop the spread of a parasite called trichomonosis. The nasty bug infects birds and damages their throats and airways making it hard for them to drink, eat and even breathe. The highly-infectious parasite can be rife at bird feeding stations where it can spread through saliva and poo.
Birds need water to drink and also to wash themselves and groom their plumage. The water bath can attract birds on its own without the need for a feeder to go alongside it.
Sparse patio-filled gardens with no planting of plants, trees and shrubs are not welcome places for birds. Planting trees and bushes will attract birds looking for a place to shelter and build a nest to raise the next generation.
If there are no nest boxes and no trees out of reach of predators then birds will stay away.
No protection or busy environment
Children and pets can make birds wary because they will be seen as a potential danger. Frank Izaguirre, from the American Birding Association, said: “If there are a lot of outdoor cats, they can kill the birds, especially if there isn’t cover for the birds to hide in.”
Pesticides can kill the insects and plants the birds might feed on. Without this food the birds will stay away.