Like many insects, songbirds have become rare in our latitudes. With a bird and insect friendly garden, you help the animals to find both a habitat and sufficient food. The cheerful chirping of birds is the best reward for this. In particular, native trees and shrubs offer plenty of hiding places, breeding grounds and a rich supply of food.

The rowanberry lives up to its name

Why is it so important to make the garden bird friendly?

Suitable living space has become scarce not only in cities and metropolitan areas. Larger and larger areas are being concreted over, while fewer trees and shrubs are being planted in the small terraced house gardens due to the lack of space and the maintenance effort - and if they are, then often ecologically completely unusable hedges and shrubs such as the now widespread cherry laurel. Huge monocultures dominate the countryside, rarely interrupted by shrubs and trees. In our sprawling cultural landscape, birds can hardly find any places that offer them protection from predators as well as breeding grounds and food. With a bird-friendly planted garden you create a refuge for the endangered animals and help to save endangered species from extinction.

How to plant the garden in a bird-friendly way

In order for a garden to be attractive to birds, there must be dense hedges and shrubs as well as larger trees. Smaller birds such as blackbirds, which are still common, but also blackcaps, greenfinches and red-backed shrikes prefer dense bushes and hedges that bloom profusely in spring (and thus attract many insects) and provide delicious fruit as food in autumn. The denser and more thorny such a hedge, the more protection it offers from birds of prey and ground predators - especially since such a hedge allows for excellent privacy. Other birds, on the other hand, need large trees, such as the bullfinch, the jay, the chaffinch, the various species of woodpecker or the nuthatch. Older trees and shrubs also attract cave breeders, who set up their nesting caves in the holes in the wood. You can also support these bird species by placing nest boxes in sheltered locations.

Prefer native trees

When choosing bird-friendly garden shrubs, you should primarily choose native trees and shrubs. Imported species are often unsuitable as they are not accepted by the animals and are therefore ecologically worthless. Instead of the unfortunately ubiquitous cherry laurel, you should do better

  • Black elder (Sambucus nigra)
  • Hawthorn (Crategus monogyna/laevigata)
  • Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa)
  • Barberry (Berberis thunbergii)
  • Privet (Ligustrum vulgare)
  • Oak, red beech and other native deciduous trees
  • Rowan / mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia)
  • Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas)
  • Pear (Pyrus communis)
  • Service Tree (Sorbus domestica)
  • Wild cherry (Prunus avium)

tips

Leave the fallen leaves in autumn - when they rot, they serve as fertilizer for the tree, and many insects like to hide in them. Fallen fruit and fruit left on the tree can also remain in place - they serve as food for the birds in winter.

Category:

Trees