What plants can I grow in my garden to attract birds?
Plants provide three essential resources for wild birds. The first, often overlooked, is cover. Birds need shelter and protection from predators and weather for themselves and especially for their nests. Secondly, wild birds need invertebrates, such as tiny caterpillars, aphids, beetle and sawfly larvae, etc., to feed themselves but most importantly to feed their chicks. Even house sparrows, which eat almost entirely seeds as adults, require huge numbers of invertebrates to survive their first few days after hatching. Thirdly, the seeds, berries and fruits of plants are vital food for birds in winter. It follows that to attract and help the most birds; your plants should offer all three of these resources.
Cover means hedges and bushes, dense, preferably thorny and absolutely not pruned in summer when thrushes and finches are rearing late broods. Robin boxes, by the way, are useless in the open but readily used if hidden behind a spiny shrub pyracantha. Hawthorn is ideal, not only excellent at concealing nests but being native it supports invertebrate larvae and provides the added bonus of autumn berries. Other plants that tick all three boxes include ivy, holly, yew (females for berries), blackthorn and bramble. For invertebrates, native plants are best, but be tolerant; cotoneasters feed moths as well as providing cover and fruit, buddleia from the Himalayas feeds the butterflies while they search for native plants to lay eggs on. Of course, starting from scratch it’s far better to plant native species; barberry, thyme and marjoram, an oak if you have room. For autumn fruit, elder is the king with enough berries for us to share. Apple trees (unsprayed, of course) are also excellent for both invertebrates and fruit. Don’t forget seeds: teasels for goldfinches, honesty for bullfinches, sunflowers for greenfinches. Planting for wildlife can become an absorbing hobby; butterflies and moths, for example, require specific food plants which are easily researched in books or on the Internet. Many of these plants are attractive; a garden that provides a healthy food web for wildlife, rather than a sterile display of alien curiosities, can still be a beautiful garden to enjoy.
Do female birds sing?
Modern research challenges the old belief that only male birds sing. This was a relic of anthropomorphic assumptions about birds' 'family life', like the long-held belief that small birds are faithfully monogamous partners, now disproved in many species by DNA analysis. A particular problem in the field is that in many of our common songbirds, such as robin, dunnock and wren, we ourselves cannot tell male from female. But, by catching birds of known sex (in the breeding season) and marking them, for example with unique combinations of coloured leg rings, it has been found that in fact females do sing in all these species.
Both male and female robins sing in autumn, a softer, quieter song than the spring song which is mostly (but not exclusively) produced by males. Some female dunnocks sing more than others, for unknown reasons, although their song is shorter and less elaborate than that of the male. Dominant paired females may use it to manipulate their complicated menages of two or more males. Most singing wrens are indeed male, but females can sing when they choose, and have in addition a unique 'whisper-song' they use to communicate with their chicks. In fact, all female songbirds produce a wide repertoire of sounds, while feeding, as alarms and for communication with mates and young; many of these could be described as 'song'. The quieter, softer song produced by female birds is often known as 'subsong'; in many species it is produced all year round and is no less important in the birds' lives than the loud territorial song of the male.
Where is the best place to put a nest box?
The best time to put up a nest box is in the autumn or winter as this will give the birds a chance to find and get used to your box before the nesting season begins. There are various types of nest box for sale or you can make your own. When choosing and siting your box you need to first consider the type of bird you are hoping to attract. Then consider the safety and comfort of your birds. Try to site the box where there is not easy access for predators such as cats and squirrels. Choose an area where there is shelter from prevailing wind and rain, and avoiding strong direct sunlight, it is therefore usually best to avoid south facing walls. Site the box at least two metres from the ground and ideally higher if you can.
If you can site your box above a thorny bush this will help to deter cats. If you are using an open fronted nest box to attract robins, make sure you site the box under some shrubby cover so the box is less exposed. Try to ensure there is an unhindered flight path to the box and somewhere safe nearby for the birds to perch before entering the nest, so they can visually check for any predators.
Do not site your bird box near to bird tables or feeders as the high level of activity will discourage birds from nesting nearby. If you have the room you can have more than one bird box in your garden.
How can I learn bird songs and calls?
The best way to learn is by spending time outside listening to songs and calls with someone who can already recognise them. Most people find it impossible to learn more than a couple of new calls or songs in a day so it's worth focusing in on just a couple of species during a walk. Once you really know the calls made by common species such as robins, wrens, great tits and wood pigeons, it will become progressively easier to pick out anything different.
CDs of bird songs and calls can be helpful too and are available from Norfolk Wildlife Trust at its visitor centres, such as
NWT Cley Marshes nature reserve.
Wildsounds, based in Norfolk, offers a huge range of CDs by mail order and can be contacted via the website www.wildsounds.co.uk. Many
guided walks are organised by NWT on its nature reserves and these often provide opportunities to learn from and with others who will be delighted to share their knowledge.
What is the best position for a bird nest box?
Facing it between north and east is best to avoid the worst of the sunlight, wind and rain. If the nest box is tilted forward slightly it will help any rain run off. It is important that the entrance is clear to enable birds to have an easy flight path.
The height the nest box should be placed depends on the species it is intended for. Boxes for tits, sparrows, spotted flycatchers and starlings are best placed 2 to 4 metres high, whereas open fronted nest boxes designed for robins and wrens are best placed lower down in thick cover at between 1 and 2m above ground. Woodpecker boxes can be higher at 5-10m and placed on a tree truck.
Boxes for barn owls and kestrels need to be sighted overlooking open land on the edge of woodland or on farmland. Tawny owl boxes are best within woodland itself. They should be placed at least 5 metres above the ground.
Surveying meadows – What types of grasslands can be found in Norfolk?
The types of grassland and the plants that grow in them are influenced by many factors including their current and past history of management, grazing (or lack thereof), aspect and slope, soil types and drainage. Some plant species are particularly associated with chalk or base rich soils and others with neutral or acid soils. Each type of grassland has its own special plants and grasses and these ‘indicator species’ can help identify what type of grassland is present.
Improved agricultural grassland
Most of Norfolk’s grasslands on farmland fall into this category. They can be recognised by a uniform green appearance at most times of the year. Surveying meadows more closely will show a dominance of grass species with few wild flowers. There might sometimes be good numbers of clovers present, as these may be included in agricultural seed mixes. Improved grassland will usually be either cut for silage or used for grazing livestock. In wet fields there may be substantial areas of rushes and species such as creeping thistle or ragwort can be present on improved agricultural grassland which has been neglected.
Chalk and basic/calcareous grassland
Chalk grasslands in Norfolk are mainly confined to the north-west of the county and to Breckland. In other areas chalk and basic grassland is often associated with human activity, which has scraped off the top soil to reveal the chalk below. Some road verges, railway cuttings, or archaeological sites such as ancient castles, forts or ecclesiastical sites may have small but important areas of this type of grassland.
When surveying a meadow look for:
- Greater knapweed
- Field scabious
- Kidney vetch
Click here for a more complete list of plants characteristic of basic grassland in Norfolk.
Neutral and boulder clay grasslands
The most likely areas to find this type of grassland are on the claylands of south central and north-east Norfolk. However, areas of neutral soils do occur in many areas of Norfolk - including, for example, the valley sides in Broadland and on the clay loams on the edge of Fenland.
When surveying a meadow look for:
- Germander speedwell
- Sulphur clover
- Cowslip
Click here for a more complete list of plants characteristic of basic grassland in Norfolk.
Acid grasslands
The largest remaining areas of acid grasslands in Norfolk are in Breckland and the acidic, sandy soils of the Cromer to Holt ridge. Acid grasslands can also be found in other parts of Norfolk and are often associated with heathland or former heathland areas.
When surveying a meadow look for:
- Bird’s-foot trefoil
- Common centaury
- Harebell
Click here for a more complete list of plants characteristic of basic grassland in Norfolk.
Marshy and fen grasslands
These grasslands are associated with peaty soils and may be found in Broadland, Fenland, along river valleys and in places where drainage is impeded.
When surveying a meadow look for:
- Water mint
- Meadowsweet
- Ragged-Robin
Surveying meadows – What are the indicators of ‘unimproved’ grasslands?
When surveying meadows, the following features are indicators that the grassland is unimproved:
- Ant hills – these indicate that a grassland has not been ploughed for some years.
- General colour – wild flower rich grasslands from a distance appear as a mosaic of greens, browns and yellows. This is caused by the presence of many grass species rather than the single or very limited range in a seeded grassland.
- A tussocky sward – improved grasslands usually lack structure so look for grasslands which are textured with lots of tussocks and uneven growth.
- Uneven topography with hollows and hillocks, grassland on steep slopes (all may indicate that grassland has not been ploughed in recent).
- Presence of indicator species of wild flowers – large areas of plants such as oxeye daisy, ragged-robin, or meadow buttercup in spring and summer may be quite easy to spot from a distance. A single species spotted from a distance will not prove that you have found old grassland but may indicate a site worth surveying.
Occasionally landowners will sow a mixture of arable weeds, such as poppies and cornflowers, onto field margins or sometimes complete fields. These are often temporary features and should not be confused with genuine unimproved grasslands which will contain many more species and include some or all of the features mentioned above.