How to support the birds in your garden

Telegraph

14 hours ago

Many of the UK's bird species are in serious decline, largely due to habitat destruction and the collapse of food chains caused by development, intensive farming, pesticide use and climate change. Red-listed species at risk of extinction include the swift, house sparrow, house martin, tree sparrow, starling, greenfinch, skylark and cuckoo. The song thrush, wren, tawny owl, curlew, bullfinch and dunnock are on the amber list. These lists are compiled by wildlife organisations, including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
According to the RSPB, between 1995 and 2023 the UK's swift population fell by 68 per cent, house martins by 42 per cent and starlings by 57 per cent. Chaffinch numbers are down 34 per cent, while greenfinches have declined by 66 per cent. Since 1970, almost 30 million house sparrows have disappeared from the UK.
In response, the Swift Garden – a show garden at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival, running from today (1 July) until 6 July – demonstrates how a naturalistic approach can benefit all garden birds. A collaboration between the RHS and the RSPB, the garden by landscape designer Lilly Gomm and horticulturist Coralie Thomas offers practical ideas we can all adopt to support the birds that visit our gardens.
Here is some expert advice from Gomm and Thomas, along with wildlife specialists Adrian Thomas (RSPB) and Helen Bostock (RHS).
Introduce multiple habitats
To support garden birds, we need to focus on increasing the natural availability of food and shelter. 'A good habitat is all about creating a nature-rich, insect-rich space,' says Thomas. A garden can be neat and attractive while still being wildlife-friendly – but a clinically tidy space won't do. Multiple habitats help sustain a wide range of insects and invertebrates: woodlice and termites thrive in decaying log piles; slugs and snails shelter under dead leaves; grasshoppers and ants live in grassy areas; and dragonflies and beetles are drawn to ponds.
Look to woodland glade design
Many popular garden birds – including blackbirds, robins, blue tits and great tits – were originally woodland species, so they're naturally drawn to a woodland glade-style layout. This means planting shrubs and trees around the edges, with open areas of grass and flowers in the centre. The outer planting provides shelter, nesting sites and food, while the inner space offers ideal hunting grounds.
Aim for plant diversity and continuity
Diversity feeds biodiversity, so a wide variety of plants will help attract a range of edible insects and pollinators. 'When combining plants, make sure there's something of interest each month – both visually and for wildlife – so your garden evolves throughout the year,' says Gomm.
Using a mix of native and non-native ornamentals can help achieve this. In the Swift Garden, native species such as Galium verum (lady's bedstraw), Acer campestre (field maple) and Rosa canina (dog rose) attract native insects, while non-natives like Nepeta kubanica (catmint), Verbascum bombyciferum (Broussa mullein) and Scabiosa columbaria ssp. ochroleuca (pale yellow scabious) help extend the supply of pollen and nectar.
Include 'weeds'
Leaving some 'weeds', such as dandelions and bird's-foot trefoil, adds colour and provides nectar and food for caterpillars, a delicacy enjoyed by many birds.
Plant to attract pollinators
Pollinators help keep your garden thriving, providing not only plant life but also shelter, berries, seeds and insects for birds. The nectar in single-flowered and spiked herbaceous perennials and annuals – such as helenium, cranesbill and lavender – is far more accessible to pollinators than that of dense, double-headed cultivars.
Planting a variety of flower shapes attracts a broader range of species, including some of the UK's 250-plus types of bee. For example, tubular flowers like foxgloves and penstemons are ideal for long-tongued bumblebees. Late-winter and early-spring blooms, such as snowdrops and crocuses, are vital for early-emerging bees, while autumn-flowering asters, chrysanthemums and rudbeckia provide sustenance as other sources fade.
Provide food for birds
All kinds of creatures provide food for birds. Flying insects such as aphids, mosquitoes, hoverflies and small beetles are favourites of swifts and house martins. Blackbirds feed on slugs uncovered beneath dead leaves, while robins, starlings and wrens hunt for grubs and worms in lawns and soil.
Berry-bearing shrubs and trees – including female holly, ivy (which is high in fat and especially nutritious), hawthorn and pyracantha – also help sustain birds, says Bostock. Overwintering seedheads, such as teasel and sedum, further boost the food supply.
Grow fruit trees
Fruit trees are a great starting point, says Thomas, as you can choose a rootstock to suit the size of your garden. They provide blossom for pollinators, while moth and butterfly caterpillars feed on the leaves – and are, in turn, eaten by birds and their chicks. The bark shelters spiders and butterfly eggs, and windfall apples offer food for winter thrushes and redwings. Plus, you get to enjoy some of the fruit yourself.
Accept some pest damage
Allowing foliage to be nibbled by caterpillars and earwigs helps maintain a healthy food chain. The Swift Garden includes a chewed-up Tilia henryana, an aphid-covered Epilobium hirsutum (great willowherb), and dead stems left in place on Viburnum opulus and Rosa canina to support overwintering wildlife.
'Some people get very annoyed when their hostas are eaten, but you could look at it as having some very healthy slugs – and, in turn, some very happy birds,' says Gomm. 'A garden will balance itself out naturally, without us needing to spray it.'
Avoid an antiseptic garden
Far from being low-maintenance, gardens dominated by hard landscaping – such as decking, fencing and artificial grass – are costly in more ways than one, says Thomas. 'A hedge is cheaper to install and easier to maintain than a fence. Fences may seem like the quick, simple option, but they're not – they blow down, rot, need preserving or end up having to be replaced.
People often worry they haven't got green fingers, but many plants are very easy to care for – especially trees and shrubs. Once they're established and watered in, they pretty much look after themselves.'
Offer places for birds to nest
Meticulously restored buildings can also pose a problem. Swifts spend nearly their entire lives on the wing – eating, sleeping and mating in flight. They arrive in the UK from Africa in April or May and leave by August, only landing to lay eggs and raise their young. These birds typically return to the same nest each year, but their favoured sites – small holes under the eaves of houses and churches – have been largely lost to redevelopment.
Some developers, such as Barratt and Redrow, are now incorporating swift bricks into new builds, and anyone can fit a nesting box for swifts or other species onto the side of their home.
Birds also need nooks, crannies and thick foliage to thrive. 'Retaining cavities in mature trees and pruning bushes helps create dense nesting opportunities,' says Bostock. Tree cavities are especially important for species such as the starling, blue tit, little owl, nuthatch and kestrel.
Do not sideline wildlife
'Some people think, 'I like wildlife, so I'll allocate a little corner of the garden to it – maybe behind the shed,'' says Thomas. 'But you can support wildlife throughout the whole garden. Rather than dividing it into a 'human' bit and a 'wildlife' bit, the more we think of humans and wildlife as interconnected, the better.'
Choose feeding stations with care
Unless you're prepared to keep bird tables and feeding stations scrupulously clean, you could be harming birds rather than helping them. Increasing evidence suggests that, for some species, feeding stations can be deadly. Trichomonosis – a parasitic disease that affects birds' ability to swallow – is a growing concern, particularly among finches. Greenfinch and chaffinch populations in the UK have been badly affected.
The disease is thought to spread through infected birds' saliva left on tables and feeders, and organisations such as the RSPB are actively researching the issue. The RSPB recommends thoroughly cleaning feeders, bird baths and tables once a week with hot, soapy water and detergent (for guidance, visit rspb.org.uk).