Hanging a feeder is the easy bit, and it is usually the first thing we do. But a garden that genuinely supports birds, insects and the soil beneath them works from the ground up. Think in layers: something tall, something shrubby, something low and a little bit untidy. A small tree, a mixed hedge, a patch of long grass left to seed, a log pile in a shady corner and a compost heap that is never quite finished. These are the things that keep a garden alive through the year, long after the feeder has been emptied by a flock of starlings.
If you keep hens, you already have one of the best soil improvers on the plot. Their scratching turns leaf litter, their droppings build fertility, and their appetite for slugs and windfall fruit saves you a job. The trick is to let them work alongside the wild birds rather than competing with them.
Native plants give you the most for the least effort. A hawthorn or blackthorn hedge feeds insects in spring, caterpillars in summer and thrushes in autumn. Holly and ivy are worth their space for the late berries alone, and ivy is superb nesting cover. Rowan, guelder rose and wild cherry all earn their keep.
Don't be too quick with the secateurs in autumn. Seed heads left standing through the winter are a larder for goldfinches and greenfinches, and the hollow stems shelter overwintering insects.
Aim for something in flower from March to October, and skip the pesticides. Slug pellets containing metaldehyde are no longer permitted in the UK, and there is little point attracting birds to a garden where their food has been poisoned.
Birds need to drink and bathe every day, and a shallow dish will be used far more than you expect. Keep it two to three centimetres deep with gently sloping sides and a stone or two as a ramp so nothing drowns. Refresh it daily and scrub it weekly, because a bird bath left to go green is a disease risk rather than a lifeline.
Site it within a couple of metres of cover, but not so close that a cat can hide in the shrubbery and pounce. In winter, float a small ball to keep a hole open in the ice, or pour on a jug of warm water. Never use antifreeze or salt. If you keep hens, give them their own drinkers and keep the bird bath well away from the run to limit the transfer of bugs in both directions.
Variety keeps the peace. Sunflower hearts suit almost everything, nyjer brings in goldfinches, and suet balls or blocks — always without nets — are invaluable in cold weather. Peanuts must be unsalted and from a reputable supplier, never roasted or salted for human consumption. Mealworms go down well in the breeding season, when adults are hunting protein for their chicks.
Fit a tray beneath hanging feeders to catch the spillage, and change the menu with the seasons rather than leaving the same seed to go stale. Position feeders roughly two metres from dense cover, which gives birds somewhere to dash if a sparrowhawk appears. To reduce window strikes, either hang feeders within a metre of the glass or more than three metres away, and use decals on the panes.
Hens are incorrigible opportunists, so hang feeders at chest height or above, or keep them inside a fruit cage or behind a low fence. Rodent-proof feeders on a pole with a baffle are worth the money if you have ever watched a rat clear up beneath a hanging feeder at dusk.
This is the part most of us skip, and it matters. Clean feeders every fortnight at the very least, and weekly in warm or wet weather. Take them apart, wash in hot soapy water, rinse, dry thoroughly, and refill only when completely dry. Damp and mouldy food can carry aflatoxins, which are genuinely dangerous. Wear gloves, wash your hands afterwards, and clear spilled seed from the ground so it does not sour.
Learn the warning signs. Finches with trichomonosis look fluffed up, drool and spill food from the beak; if you see it, take the feeders down for two to three weeks to break the cycle and clean everything. Wild bird droppings can carry salmonella and other pathogens, so keep hens from ranging directly beneath feeders, store their feed separately and wash your hands between jobs.
Put up nest boxes in late winter, facing between north and east so they do not bake. A 32mm hole suits blue tits, 25mm suits coal tits; leave off the perch, which only helps predators. Avoid cutting hedges between March and August, when active nests are legally protected. Clean boxes out once the season is over.
Through summer, keep water topped up. In autumn, leave the seed heads and let the leaf litter lie. In winter, offer high-fat food and keep the water ice-free. Fifteen minutes a week covers all of it — and the reward is a garden that hums, flutters and scratches its way happily through every season.
Perch & Roost shares practical, down-to-earth guidance on back garden poultry keeping and british garden birds for readers across the UK.
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