At PAWS, as well as helping you care for your domestic pet, we also want to help you look after the wildlife you might find in your back garden.
In Britain, we are extremely lucky to have so much wildlife around us and there are a number of ways we can help the animals that come into our gardens in their hunt for food. The type of garden you have will determine the type of wildlife it will attract. A garden with few plants, trees and grass will attract less wildlife than one with lots of hedges and flowering plants which provide food and shelter. Ponds will attract insects and amphibians, while compost heaps can be a great shelter for hedgehogs.
There are 592 species of birds native to the British Isles, and gardens are an important habitat for some of these birds, not just for food and shelter, but also for rearing their families. The most likely visitors to your garden will be starlings, house sparrows, blackbirds, blue and great tits, robins, greenfinches and collared doves. It is great fun to spot the different varieties of birds that might visit, and to observe their fascinating behaviour and colours. There is plenty you can do to help encourage and attract them into your garden.
Food
Feeding birds in the garden is a popular activity. You can attract birds by providing them with seed mixes, peanuts, suet blocks, insects, meal worms and fat balls. Avoid leaving out milk, mouldy food and biscuits for birds. Leaving out pet food such as cat or dog food can attract larger birds like Magpies and gulls. If this is likely to be a problem, it is best avoided.
How to feed
Bird tables are suitable for most species of bird, as is a tray with a raised rim that allows for water drainage and easy cleaning. Nut feeders, made with a steel mesh, are the only safe way of offering nuts to wild birds. The mesh size needs to be large enough to prevent beak damage and small enough to prevent large pieces of nut from being removed. Seed feeders – tube like transparent containers with holes through which the bird can access the food – are ideal for seed mixes, and great for attracting smaller birds.
At PAWS we stock a wide variety of feed and feeders for every type of bird as well as nest boxes and bird tables. Visit our shops or online shop to see the type of products on offer.