UK garden birds and wildlife
Plan your bird-friendly garden.
Finchwold explains feeding, nest boxes, bird-box cameras and hedgehogs for UK gardens. The advice is taken from the RSPB, the BTO, Hedgehog Street and GOV.UK, and each page says which one.
FeedingWhat to offer, from November to April and from May to October.Nest boxesHole sizes, where to site a box, and when the law says leave it alone.CamerasPublished specs for two bird-box cameras, and the ICO note on neighbours.HedgehogsHouses, food, and a 13 cm gap in the fence.
Independent
By the Finchwold team. We are not a charity, a shop, or a wildlife hospital.
Sourced
Feeding rules, nest law and hedgehog advice point at the page they came from. If a figure was not on a page we opened, it is not here.
No hands-on claims
We have not tested the products we mention. Prices are the ones shown on the maker’s page on the date we checked.
Guides
Start with the season you are in
Feeding
- What to feed garden birds, by seasonSeeds and peanuts from November to April, suet and mealworms all year, and the foods the RSPB says to leave out.
- Bird feeder types for a UK gardenHanging seed feeders, mesh nut feeders and suet feeders, and why the RSPB says to retire bird tables and trays.
- Squirrels, pigeons and rats at the feederBaffles and mesh from the RSPB, why flat feeders suit pigeons, and how uneaten food brings in rats.
- Sunflower hearts, mixes, suet and mealwormsHow the main garden foods differ, which birds the RSPB and BTO name for each, and why there is no price-per-kilo figure on this page.
- Cleaning bird feeders, trichomonosis and bird fluA weekly clean from the RSPB and the BTO, what to do if a bird looks ill, and how the two pause lengths differ.
- Where to hang a bird feederQuiet, with cover nearby but not a hiding place, never under a roost, and moved every week if you can.
- Water for garden birdsWhen a pond is enough, when a bird bath needs daily water, and the RSPB’s note on chloraminated taps.
Nest boxes
- Nest boxes: hole sizes, height and when to put one upThe BTO’s hole sizes, including where two BTO pages disagree, plus height, shelter and the February prospecting window.
- When you may clean a nest boxThe BTO’s 1 September to 31 January window, and what section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act says in England and Wales.
Cameras
Hedgehogs
Wildlife garden
- A wildlife-friendly garden in the UKPlants the RSPB names, a pond as a water source, and where hedgehogs and nest boxes fit around a feeder.
- Sick and dead garden birdsWhen to stop feeding, who to tell, and how GOV.UK says to dispose of a small number of dead garden birds at home.
- Storing bird food so it stays freshA sealed, cool, dry container, from the BTO, and why a shed only helps if rats cannot open the tub.
Finchwold has 16 guides, plus a garden bird planner that turns the same sources into a kit list and a calendar you can download.