With any luck (fingers crossed!), we’ve put the worst of the winter weather behind us now and we can all start looking forward to spring, with some warmer sunshine and bluer skies… and, of course, even more opportunities for spotting our favourite songbirds in the garden and beyond.
Spring officially starts on March 1st, so now’s the time to dust off your binoculars and get your bird hides ready for some ornithological fun over the coming weeks and months.
But what birds are you most likely to spot at this time of year? Which of our feathered friends can we expect to see enjoying a bountiful springtime feast at the bird feeder? Here are just four of our favourites.
Blue tits
One of the most attractive visitors to your garden – and one of the easiest to spot – is the blue tit, a beautifully coloured bird with lots of white, green, yellow and blue feathers. You can help encourage them to make nests in your garden by leaving out pet fur, hair from your hairbrush or even fluff from your tumble dryer.
As for food, leave them a plentiful supply of dried calciworms or mealworms, as well as products like our High Energy No Mess mix or our Premium Wild Bird Food.
Blackbirds
Keep your ears open at the moment, as the pretty little blackbird is likely to be one of the very first you hear in the morning… and you’re sure to see them hopping about in the undergrowth, searching for worms and bugs to feed their families.
If you want to help support your local blackbird populations, aim to keep the lawn free from chemicals so that you encourage lots of bugs to keep the birds well fed.
Wagtails
Even if you don’t know very much about different birds, you’ll probably be able to identify a wagtail very easily indeed. Why? Because it gets its name from the flicking up and down of its lovely long tail!
These birds are very confident and comfortable around people, so you should have no trouble welcoming them into your garden.
The pied wagtail is the most common wagtail species to be found in the UK, so keep a watch out for its black, white and grey feathers… but also see if you can come across any yellow wagtails, particularly as we move from spring into summer. What a treat!
Robins
When you hear “British songbird”, inevitably thoughts turn to robins more often than not. These gorgeous little birds are easy to recognise with their bright red breasts and happy demeanour… they’re certainly not shy and you might even be able to feed them from your hand if you build up enough of a rapport over time.
Stock the feeders full of mealworms, fat balls and other suet products, as well as providing them with a shallow water source, if you want to encourage more robins at home.
