How to attract birds to the garden

Brits who want their gardens to be havens for wildlife may be interested in the latest hints from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

Wildlife advisor Kirsi Peck explained that providing the correct conditions is the best way to encourage birds to set up home in your green space.

The expert explained that planting spiky bushes can provide an excellent safe haven for the feathered creatures to build a nest away from predators such as the neighbourhood cat.

Bushes that provide berries also give them a regular source of food and will be sure to attract a variety of garden birds.

"You don’t need to pigeonhole ‘wildlife gardening’ in any way, but it could be something that you consciously do, like using as little chemicals as possible to allow the insects to feed for the birds," Ms Peck added.

She suggested that a recent report from the British Trust for Ornithology may be misleading as birds often move to fields that are being harvested to make use of the natural food resources.

The study claimed that there has been a marked fall in the number of chaffinches and greenfinches in UK gardens.