Attracting birds to your garden is beneficial in many ways.  Birds can act as a natural pesticide, feeding on aphids, bugs and other plant harming insects.  They can also assist with seed germination. They are certainly good for your wellbeing.  Watching birds flit around your garden can help repress feelings of stress or anxiety.  And what about birdsong?  Who doesn’t feel uplifted by the melodic chorus of our wild Irish birds?

Wild Bird Food

In harsh weather, it is essential to feed the birds if you want them to keep visiting your garden.  They will become dependent on your feeding, so once you start it is important to keep it going through the Winter.  You can of course, keep feeding throughout the rest of the year.  In early Summer, there will be more mouths to feed.

If you want to attract a diverse mix of bird species, then provide a wide variety of different foods to cater for every taste!  Fat balls, sunflower seeds and peanuts will attract most birds.  If you want to see goldfinches in your garden, then put out nyger seeds.  Robins love mealworms, while blackbirds and thrushes love fruit.  Cereal grains are popular with sparrows and pigeons but not much else. If you notice any mould on the seeds or nuts, don’t put them out as mould is poisonous to birds. Don’t forget to provide water during harsh weather when natural sources may be frozen.  We stock a large range of bird foods including mixed blends to attract many different birds.

Feeders and Tables

You’ll find many different bird feeders at Kilcannon Garden Centre and this is what you need to have in your garden too.  If you use bird feeders with a fine mesh, larger birds won’t be able to access the food.  If you use a large mesh only, crows and magpies will bully smaller birds away.  Use a variety of sizes, and everyone is happy.

If you continue to feed in Spring and Summer, only use a fine mesh container so that parent birds cannot take large pieces that might cause young chicks to choke.  Avoid fats completely.

Bird Boxes

Bird Boxes provide shelter for birds in the Winter and a place to nest in the Spring.  The also look great and can be decorative in your garden during the sparse Winter months.  Our range of bird houses are handmade in Bellefield Design, each one individually and carefully crafted.