The summer season is coming to an end in just a matter of weeks, as the golden hues of autumn take its place. The cooler season is bound to bring a variety of animals to your family garden, from the cheeky squirrel on the lookout for a nut or two, to the humble hedgehog searching for the perfect home for winter.
If you and the family enjoy watching the birds that visit your garden, you might find it to be a bit of a nuisance when other animals in your garden scare your flying friends away. Rather than finding ways of stopping these visitors from stopping by, there are plenty of ways to welcome a variety of wild animals into your garden that won’t scare the birds away.
Take a look at some wise words of wisdom from Kennedy Wild Bird Food, who specialise in providing high quality bird food to homes across the UK.
Give them some food of their own
It’s common to find squirrels stuffing their pouches with an abundance of bird food, which can scare the poor birds away or worse yet, leave them with no food left on their table!
Why not create a feeding stand for squirrels, too? Position it in a spot where you often see the squirrels arriving from, so that they find food before they make it over to the birds’ feeding station. You could even leave out some cat food within the bushes for any hedgehogs that come by!
Keep your bird food safe from other animals
If you’re worried about animals finishing up their own food with room still for some more, you can always proof your bird feeding station so that other animals can’t access it as easily.
Try fixing it in the middle of your garden so that squirrels can’t jump onto it from the trees. You could also smother on some vaseline so that it’s difficult for animals to climb up to the seed from the ground. There are also plenty of squirrel-proof bird feeders available on the market, that will prevent squirrels and other animals from reaching the bird feed.
Carefully plan your garden layout
Different insects and wildlife are attracted to certain types of plants and flowers, so why not design your garden in a way to provides different attractive areas for different species?
Have the likes of Holly, Ivy, Hawthorn and Honeysuckle close to the bird feeding station, which birds are particularly keen on. Berrying plants are the best neighbouring plants to your bird feeder, as they also provide plenty of nutrition for your flying visitors.
Brightly coloured plants will attract insects to your garden, so be sure to have some Pansies, Violas and Primroses planted in autumn, ready for a flourish of colour come spring.
You could also create a hedgehog-friendly space in your garden, by leaving some plants and bushes in a quiet area of your garden a little overgrown. They’ll find it safe to wander through this area, particularly if your children and pets don’t visit that area.
Plant your squirrel feeder at the opposite end of your garden to the bird feeder, close to any trees you have in your garden. Squirrels will happily enjoy their own meal and will probably be unaware of their bird food at the other end.
I love watching the birds in the garden and have also written a blog post on this subject
Karen, the next best thing to mummy recently posted…Review of Better buckle up
I love watching birds in my garden. its so peaceful to hear their voices every morning .”If you’re putting out bird feeders, make sure to keep them clean to prevent the spread of diseases. I make it a habit to wash mine weekly, especially in the warmer months.”