Once autumn arrives, there are several simple ways to make our gardens really welcoming for overwintering birds. The key is to provide a reliable source of food with fresh water, shelter and somewhere safe to feed.
Here are some top tips to make your garden a welcome spot:
Provide high-energy food
Winter birds need plenty of energy to help maintain body temperature and good choices include:
Sunflower hearts
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Peanuts
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Suet blocks, pellets and fat balls
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Nyjer seed for finches
Shop Nyjer Seeds
Mealworm for robins and blackbirds
Shop Mealworms
Feed little and often
Keep your feeders fresh and reduce the risk of spoiled food and disease by putting out little and often.
Fresh water on tap
Birds need water all year round, so keep a shallow bird bath topped up and fill up a drinker and hang it from your feeding station. Don’t forget that hygiene is really important so give all water vessels a thorough clean on a regular basis.
Keep your garden covered
Don’t be tempted to keep your garden too tidy. Allow hedges and shrubs to grow, providing food and shelter for your feathered friends when cold winds blow.
Grow things!
Plants that retain seeds into autumn and winter – and berry producing bushes - are fantastic sources of food for visiting birds.
Pop up a nest box
They’re not just useful for spring. Nest boxes double up as roosting spot for winter, so clean them out in autumn and leave them in position.
Be a clean freak!
Always clean feeders and bird baths on a regular basis and move feeding stations at different times to avoid the accumulation of discarded food and droppings which can lead to the transmission of disease.
What overwintering species should you expect?
Regular visitors include:
Fieldfare
This winter thrush arrives from Scandinavia and Europe, seeking gardens with lawns, orchards and berrying shrubs.
Redwing
Another Scandinavian visitor, which makes a beeline for fallen fruit and berries. You can identify it by its distinctive pale eyebrow and red flank.
Brambling
A winter finch from northern Europe, which will hang around beech trees and bird feeders, particularly when sunflower hearts are on the menu.
Siskin
Small acrobatic finches that visit gardens and feeders, especially when nyjer seeds and sunflower hearts are available.
Lesser redpoll
Another winter finch that can turn up at feeders, particularly when natural seed supplies are scarce.
Waxwing
A spectacular winter visitor with a love of berry-laden trees and shrubs.
Home birds
While our gardens can welcome feathered friends from overseas, they also play home to our resident birds who never leave UK shores. These include robins, blue tits, great tits, house sparrows, dunnocks, blackbirds, chaffinches and goldfinches.