Wild birds? Gardening Question!!?

Question

What plants (low maintanance) will attract wild birds into the garden?

Answer 1

It depends on which wild birds it is realistic to get, and also want to attract. Putting golden eagle food in my urban home isn't gonna bring me alot of them.

If you're thinking along the lines of sparrows, dunnocks, robins, wrens, gold finches, green finches, blackbirds, black caps, blue **** etc, then some mid-level shrubs would be good, coupled with some trees - lookouts, rest areas, and climbers.

You can think of their various needs -
eating
drinking
rest
nesting
observation etc.

Different birds eat different things, from insects, slugs and snails, seeds, fruit etc. Supplement your natural food with a range of purchased seeds.

My blackbirds love fallen apples, so an apple tree is an option for food and shelter.

Goldfinches are more particular about their food. Mine eat Teasel seeds - plants are sown 1 year, to flower the next. Also hang a Niger seed feeder which they love. They, and many of the other garden visiting birds also love sunflower seeds - sow in spring for summer/autumn flowers and seeds afterwards, if left uncollected, or removed and put into feeders or bird tables.

Shrubs - wall-clinging and free standing:
pyracantha (berries that many have mentioned)
Cotinus - deciduous, fast growing red leaved plant - birds love mine for
shelter
Euonymus europaeus - seeds eaten by robins and others.
- thorny shrub, with berries. Also protective for shelter.
Cotoneaster cornubia - red berries for bird eating.

Climbers -
English ivy - birds such as wrens will nest within climbing ivies
Honeysuckle such as Lonicera periclymenum - berries as well as
hosting insects that birds eat
Rubus fruticosus - blackberries, eaten by blackbirds etc
Rosa canina - The dog rose - fruits eaten by green finches etc.
Clematis montana - deciduous dense climber, good protection and
cover for birds.

Think about siting nesting boxes where they are secure from cats who could climb or jump to them. Trees or walls etc can help this. Can be glued on, if appropriate, using 'no more nails' equivalent for outside use.

When pruning in the spring I leave some smaller bits of twig or stem and the birds usually carry it away for nesting.

A pond is good for attracting birds too, who need to be provided with fresh water for drinking and bathing.

I've already got robins and blackbirds nesting in a conifer, though it's not 1 of the leylandii type.

Most of these plants are fairly self-sufficient and don't require lots of maintenance. Mix in some good herbaceous border plants, such as the Teasel - back of border - too. Leave some to seed, after flowering, and the smaller birds who feed at ground floor level, will eat them up.

Good luck! Rob

Answer 2

Use a variety of flowers for attracting birds into your garden.

Use plants that will flower at different times of the year. This will provide you with blossoms and the birds with seeds all year around.

Some of my favorite bird-friendly flowers are:

Asters, marigolds, coreopsis, cornflower, cosmos, larkspur, purple coneflower, zinnias and of course sunflowers.

Let at least some of the blossoms to go to seed. As the blossoms and their seeds fall to the ground, just leave them. The birds will clean them up for you.

There are also many ornamental grasses and fruit producing trees that will attract wild birds.

Answer 3

Cotoneasters, Holly, Honeysuckle, Ivy and Pyracantha all produce berries, which birds find attractive to eat. Sunflowers, Teasels and Michaelmas daisy bare seeds just to name but a few. Pretty much anything that has seeds or berries. Also as has been mentioned put out feeders and a bird bath to encourage them into your garden. Good luck and enjoy!

Answer 4

Besides seed and berry plants I have seen lots of birds come to rose gardens. I think if you have a good variety of plants and don't spray insecticides, you'll get birds. You might put out a birdbath too. I just got one last Sept and it is SO fun to watch birds bathe. They are so cute :-))) It did take them about a month to find it though.

Good luck :-)

Answer 5

All of the above.They need food, water and safety. How about bird feeders. A large platform feeder will accommodate most birds. Then hummingbird feeders for hummers, orioles and a few others. Then maybe a feeder that holds slices of fruit and a bowl of grape jelly for others. And last but not least, a suet feeder. They now make suet that will not melt during the summer.

Answer 6

Birds like seeds, nuts, insects, and berries. Sunflowers, zinnias, and coneflowers are easy-care perennials. Many shrubs and trees produce fruit and berries that birds eat. For shrubs I like beauty berry, hollies, and elderberries. Some good trees are dogwoods, crabapples, and pines. They like to scratch around in mulch, looking for bugs. A few birdfeeders and a source of clean water will help attract them to your yard, too. They'll stick around to eat insects and seeds. Good luck!

Answer 7

Birds will be attracted much more to your garden if you plant shrubs and trees...They need places to perch and safe from CATS...

Answer 8

Pyracantha ,with the red or orange berries, the blackbirds will strip it. Hang a nut feeder to encourage bluetits and woodpeckers.

Answer 9

sunflowers for seeds in the autumn plant some wild oats or wheat but anything that s going to give them something to eat will do

Answer 10

Things like pyracantha, cottoneaster, Malus (Crab Apple), If it's got berries or fruit, give it a go!