- Tip 1: Plant native shrubs and trees
- Tip 2: Create an insect paradise
- Tip 3: Offer birdseed
- Tip 4: Create a water hole
- Tip 5: Go with the seasons
- Tip 6: Secure glass surfaces
- Tip 7: Allow a touch of wilderness
- Tip 9: Deal with cats properly
- Tip 10: Learn from the birds
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In addition to bird seed, there are many other ways you can help birds survive in your garden or on your balcony. Find out below how you can transform your garden into a true paradise for the feathered garden dwellers.
Home gardens are an important habitat for a variety of bird species. In our increasingly monotonous and intensified landscape, wild birds find less and less food and habitat and are therefore increasingly fleeing to cities and settlements. Not all gardens are equally popular, however, as unnatural structures such as gravel and English lawns have no ecological value and provide no habitat for birds, insects or other garden visitors. We would like to use ten selected tips to show you how you can maximize the potential of your garden and how you can create a bird-friendly garden with just a few tricks.
Tip 1: Plant native shrubs and trees
Exotic ornamental plants are often beautiful to look at, but they do not enrich the world of our garden birds. On the other hand, native shrubs and trees, such as dog rose, viburnum or mountain ash, offer food as well as shelter and nesting opportunities for a large number of bird species. It should be noted that dense vegetation offers more protection against predators and thinning out the plants too much is therefore not an advantage. And if invasive garden work is necessary, it should definitely be done outside of the breeding season.
Tip 2: Create an insect paradise
Whether insect-friendly flowers, herbs or perennials - a blooming garden not only attracts insects but also birds. Because most bird species are at least partially dependent on insects as a source of food and some, such as the common swift or black redstart, have specialized exclusively in animal prey. An insect-friendly garden is therefore always a bird-friendly one.
UpYou should avoid using chemical sprays in your garden as far as possible, because they not only harm the insect population, but can also poison birds via the food chain.
Note: Seed-bearing perennials and wild herbs not only provide a habitat for insects, but are also bird-friendly forage plants for grain-eating wild birds - such as the goldfinch or the chaffinch.
Tip 3: Offer birdseed
A feeding place in the garden can be a great support for our native wild birds, especially in the barren winter time. Whether you build a bird feeder yourself or not makes no difference. However, it is important that the feeding point is placed out of the reach of domestic cats and other predators and that the food itself is protected from moisture and other contaminants. A particularly natural and nutrient-rich support for many garden birds are, for example, our Plantura fat balls made from insect fat and valuable nuts, berries and seeds.
Note: The fat balls are not only suitable for the garden, but are also ideal for feeding birds on the balcony.
Tip 4: Create a water hole
It doesn't have to be a pond or a stream - a simple bird bath can be made from a flat bowl or a trivet. A small watering hole for garden birds is a great help, especially on hot summer days. Whether in the garden or on the balcony - the birds can quench their thirst in the cool water or take a refreshing bath. However, it is important that the water points are cleaned regularly, otherwise they can quickly develop into a breeding ground for bird diseases and parasites.
Tip 5: Go with the seasons
If you are aiming for a year-round feeding, make sure you are feeding your birds appropriately according to the season, as greasy, large-grain winter food is poorly suited during the breeding season. The small young birds do not tolerate greasy food well and instead need proteins for their growth. And whole sunflower seeds or similarly sized components can lead to digestive problems and stuffy stomachs. If you want to pamper your garden birds all year round, you should therefore choose food that is suitable for young birdsput. Our Plantura all-season feed, for example, was specially developed for this purpose. It contains only beak-friendly and nutrient-dense ingredients plus an extra load of protein-rich mealworms and feed lime for egg production.
Tip 6: Secure glass surfaces
Windows, balcony doors or free-standing glass panes for windbreaks can pose a serious problem for birds. Every year in Germany around 18 million birds are killed by a disk impact. If you want to make your windows bird-proof, you should use adhesive strips that make windows and doors visible to birds. However, the classic black bird silhouettes have not proven themselves in studies. Find out which patterns and colors ensure effective protection and what to do if you find a bird that has suffered a glass blast in our special article on bird protection at the window.
Tip 7: Allow a touch of wilderness
A completely tidy garden often offers little habitat and biodiversity. For example, close-cropped lawns provide far less nutrition than a lively meadow of wild herbs and flowers. Robotic lawn mowers, which are supposed to provide additional order, are also a danger for young flightless birds and other garden animals. It is therefore better to mow yourself and not so often. And old trees with partially broken or dead branches should only be removed if absolutely necessary, as they are important habitats for rare species of birds and insects. The same applies to holes and caves in the walls and facades of older buildings. You'd better think twice if you really have to close them, because here, too, there are nesting opportunities for many species of wild birds.
Nesting material can also be provided for free breeders and other bird species that do not accept nest boxes. You can offer brushwood and small branches that are left over from the hedge trimming in a small pile. And a small bowl of clay also makes excellent nesting material for house martins and barn swallows.
Tip 9: Deal with cats properly
Relationships between birds and cats have always been strained. Due to their large number in cities and settlements, domestic cats cause great damage to our native wild bird populations every year. How to protect your garden birds and what you asFind out what cat owners should be aware of in our special article.
Tip 10: Learn from the birds
Once birdsong fills your garden, enjoy it instead of just caring for the birds. Because the beauty of a bird garden is not only the added value for the birds themselves, but also the great learning opportunities that are offered. Anyone who observes birds carefully can learn a lot about their life and their requirements and thus soon be able to see for themselves what the feathered garden visitors like and what they don't. In this way, you can design your garden according to the requirements of your individual garden birds. Participation activities such as the "Hour of the Garden Birds" also make it possible to deal even more intensively with the diversity of the bird world in your own garden.
If you are now interested in bird watching, take a look at our special article. There we provide helpful tips for getting started in the world of hobby ornithology.