Garden Birds in Trouble: Four Ways to Lend a hand

More than a quarter of the UK’s birds are now listed by the RSPB red listwhich means their population is withering drastically.

Some of the latest additions to the Red List are considered common garden birds, such as the chaffinch. Others, such as the swift and house swallow, spend spring and summer visiting the UK before migrating to warmer climates. However, the environment they encounter in the UK, and along their migration routes, significantly affects their survival.

Many of the species we feed in our gardens and on our balconies are endangered. Here are four ways to facilitate them.

1. Neat bird feeders and waterers

In the wild, with a few exceptions, such as starlings, birds don’t have much contact with each other. This lack of contact makes it harder for diseases to spread.

Bird feeders change this animated. The presence of a bird feeder means that many birds of many different species are feeding in the same area. This leads to spread of diseasebecause birds often relieve themselves in places where they eat, leaving behind pathogens that can infect other people.

The green-eyed bird, once a common garden bird, now red-listed, suffers from this. Disease trichomoniasiswhich previously infected only pigeons and turtle doves, has spread to finches with deadly consequences. Regular cleaning of garden feeders and waterers can reduce this risk.

2. Install bird nesting boxes

Many people facilitate birds by putting up nest boxes in their gardens. However, these boxes are mainly designed for robins and tits, which nest in open boxes or those with miniature holes. Nest boxes imitate the cracks and holes found in mature trees.

Swifts and common swifts are modern birds on the red list. Both species will happily operate artificial nesting sites if we provide them – with a few modifications to suit their needs.

Common swallows will nest in ready-made or homemade nest boxes. nest cup which imitates the mud nests that swifts build for themselves.

Swifts will be nest in boxesbut they do require a bit more work to attract them. The best way to do this is to play their squeaky call from a speaker placed near the nest box to encourage them to investigate and hopefully build a nest.

You can make nesting boxes attractive to these species by mounting them under the eaves of your home. The birds need boxes placed high so they can easily fly out of them.

3. Add some insect-friendly plants

Many of the species on the red list, such as the house swallow and the house sparrow, feed on insects. Number of insects it fell quicklyIt’s no wonder these predatory birds have such a demanding time feeding themselves and their chicks.

You may love a neat and tidy garden or balcony, but leave some mess and weeds to attract insects. Adding pollinator-friendly plantssuch as lavender, foxglove and sedum, can significantly augment the number of insects – a natural food source for birds – in your garden.

4. Reduce threats to birds

Domestic cats are predators and may target species such as house sparrows, which remain on the red list. Even the presence of cats may be enough to scare away birdsreducing the number of newborn they can have. This may have a more detrimental effect on the bird population than the number of birds killed by cats.

If you have a cat, there are ways to reduce its impact on bird numbers. A collar with a bell is an effective way to warn birds and other animals of your cat’s presence.

In addition, you may want to consider limiting the time cats can go outside to daylight hours only, as birds may be more vulnerable very early in the morning when they wake up and start looking for food. Alternatively, you can keep your cats inside. In Australia and the US, it is very common for cats to stay indoors.

These changes may seem minor and your garden or outdoor space may not be vast, but gardens in the UK cover a larger area that all our nature reserves put together. Encouraging wildlife to these garden habitats can make a large difference.