Big Garden Birdwatch: Oxfordshire new homes provider shares top tips to attract feathered friends to our gardens

New homes provider Bromford is marking The Big Garden Birdwatch (January 26-28) by sharing its advice on how to attract birds into our gardens this January.

The housing association, with homes available across the county, is revealing its top tips to raise awareness for the wildlife campaign, which last year saw over nine million birds counted across the UK.

Organised by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), The Big Garden Birdwatch has grown year-on-year, with over 270,000 keen participants already signed up to take part in the collective effort in 2024.

Every year, hundreds of thousands of nature lovers take part in the campaign, which helps to build a picture of how garden birds are faring.

Participants choose a given hour between January 26 and January 28, recording only birds that land in their patch, and document the highest number of each bird species they see at any one time.

Many keen contributors design their gardens during the weekend each year, to attract as many different species as possible, and Bromford has shared the following tips on how to maximise the number of avian visitors.

1. Instate a bird bath
   Particularly within drier areas away from rivers, lakes and the coast, bird baths are incredibly effective in attracting different species in to your garden, as drinkable water is an essential resource that birds must stock up on in order to survive.

These baths also provide a good place for birds to socialise, use water to groom themselves and cool down, while installing multiple bird baths will maximise the variety of species attracted due to different preferences across varying bird groups.

2. Create a bird house
   Available to purchase from many retailers or fun to develop as a DIY project, bird houses create a great place for multiple birds to nestle, shelter from the cold, and take on vital sustenance.

Create a de-facto bird feeder within the bird house, with layers of insulation both inside and house to allow different species to keep warm, ensuring there is sufficient ventilation throughout.

3. Make your garden bird-friendly
   There are many ways you can make your garden accessible to birds, with both physical or natural elements attracting a variety of species.

Perches, chimes and stands will help, while feeders with a variety of foods will see birds naturally gravitate towards your patch, while flowers, seeds and nectar-producing plants will tempt them in.

4. Keep your garden clean and tidy
   Ensure your garden is kept in tiptop condition to make sure as many different species come to visit you as possible. Birds will naturally avoid flying into the path of any detritus, and will be put off from visiting any bird features that have not been cleaned or maintained.

5. Cultivate a calm environment

Peace and quiet is one quality that birds will look for when heading for sanctuary on the ground, to cutting out any potential disturbances is key to maximising the amount that visit your patch.

During birdwatching hours, ensure that the noise conditions are perfect, for example if you live by a main road it is best to avoid rush hour, while loud music and other outside interference is inadvisable.

Catherine Jarrett, Director of Sales and Marketing at Bromford, said: “The Big Garden Birdwatch is a great campaign organised by a fantastic organisation who do amazing things to raise awareness around birds and the need to protect them.

“We’re delighted to be sharing these Bromford top tips to help participants in our homes attract as many species into their gardens as possible and to be supporting such a worthwhile cause.

Big Garden Birdwatch is the world’s largest garden wildlife survey. For more information including a how-to video on taking part, please visit Big Garden Birdwatch (rspb.org.uk).

For more information on Bromford and the homes available, go to https://findahome.bromford.co.uk/.

Bromford is part of the National Shared Ownership campaign supported by the National Housing Federation. The campaign to raise awareness of Shared Ownership, supported by almost 50 organisations. For more information, please visit https://www.housing.org.uk/our-work/affordable-home-ownership/shared-ownership/.

For more information on Bromford Shared Ownership, please visit @BromfordSales on Instagram: Bromford Sales (@bromfordsales) • Instagram photos and videos.