Feed the Birds Day

robin with larva

Feed the Birds Day reminds us about all the things we can do to help birds and other garden wildlife through the winter.

For 2009, we ran over 100 Feed the Birds Day events across the UK over the weekend of 24-25 October.

Top five tips

We’re pretty good at providing fast food for birds and this is certainly a life saver in the cold snow covered countryside. But what about ‘slow food?‘ There are so many things you can do in your garden to provide food for all wildlife. And autumn is a great time to plant something.

Over the winter, there are other things you can do and we’ve a top five for you.

Plant native plants such as hawthorn, ivy and honeysuckle that will provide berries in the winter for adult birds, and insects for young birds in spring
Make a log pile – it will be the ideal place for insects, fungi, mosses and lichens
Provide an insect home – insects will spend the winter in these
Install nesting boxes for birds such as house sparrows, winter hibernation places for hedgehogs, and roosting boxes for bats
Create a water feature such as a pond or bog garden - much wildlife relies on a regular supply of freshwater

Create a home for wildlife

If you’d like the full range of advice from us, just sign up for Homes for Wildlife and we’ll be able to provide you free advice on what you can do in your garden, or even on your patio, driveway or balcony. Just click on the link below to find out more. It's easy to take part.

Over 150,000 people have so far received our free wildlife gardening advice. But the more people who take part in Homes for Wildlife, the better the areas in which we live will be for wildlife!

Three of our most familiar birds - the house sparrow, starling and song thrush have large populations in our gardens and need our help. Through Homes for Wildlife you will be providing that help.

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Homes for Wildlife

If you own a garden, or even just a window box, you can take simple, practical steps that will benefit many of our most important birds, mammals and insects. More...

Feeding birds

What food can you leave out for birds and how can you keep your feeding station hygienic and pest-free? Here you'll find the answers to all your bird feeding questions. More...

Make a wildlife stack

Building a wildlife stack in your garden won’t just benefit wildlife - you’ll have the pleasure of being able to watch a host of different creatures making their homes and learn all about their fascinating behaviour at close quarters. More...

Bird guide

Build a wildlife stack

PDF, 112Kb

Download our Homes for Wildlife factsheet on creating a wildlife stack. If you'd like more factsheets like these, then sign up to take part in the project and receive your free gardening advice tailored to your garden.