UK garden birds and wildlife
Plan your bird-friendly garden.
Finchwold explains feeding, nest boxes, bird-box cameras and hedgehogs for UK gardens. The advice is taken from the RSPB, the BTO, Hedgehog Street and GOV.UK, and each page says which one.
FeedingWhat to offer, from November to April and from May to October.Nest boxesHole sizes, where to site a box, and when the law says leave it alone.CamerasPublished specs for two bird-box cameras, and the ICO note on neighbours.HedgehogsHouses, food, and a 13 cm gap in the fence.
Independent
By the Finchwold team. We are not a charity, a shop, or a wildlife hospital.
Sourced
Feeding rules, nest law and hedgehog advice point at the page they came from. If a figure was not on a page we opened, it is not here.
No hands-on claims
We have not tested the products we mention. Prices are the ones shown on the maker’s page on the date we checked.
Guides
Start with the season you are in
Feeding
- What to feed garden birds, by seasonSeeds and peanuts from November to April, suet and mealworms all year, and the foods the RSPB says to leave out.
- Bird feeder types for a UK gardenHanging seed feeders, mesh nut feeders and suet feeders, and why the RSPB says to retire bird tables and trays.
- Squirrels, pigeons and rats at the feederBaffles and mesh from the RSPB, why flat feeders suit pigeons, and how uneaten food brings in rats.
- Sunflower hearts, mixes, suet and mealwormsHow the main garden foods differ, which birds the RSPB and BTO name for each, and why there is no price-per-kilo figure on this page.
- Cleaning bird feeders, trichomonosis and bird fluA weekly clean from the RSPB and the BTO, what to do if a bird looks ill, and how the two pause lengths differ.
- Where to hang a bird feederQuiet, with cover nearby but not a hiding place, never under a roost, and moved every week if you can.
- Water for garden birdsWhen a pond is enough, when a bird bath needs daily water, and the RSPB’s note on chloraminated taps.
- Feeding garden birds in winter: a cold-weather routineA November-to-February routine for a UK garden: high-energy food, water that is not ice, weekly cleaning, and why bread is not a staple.
- Feeding birds on a balcony, patio or tiny gardenOne hanging feeder, no trays, little mess for the flat below, and how to avoid inviting rats and pigeons into a shared building.
- Smart bird feeder camerasBird feeders with a built-in camera, what to check on the maker’s page, and why hygiene, the seasonal pause and weekly moves still apply to a feeder with a lens.
- Bird tables and ground feeding, under the current adviceWhy the RSPB now says retire bird tables and flat feeders, what that means for blackbirds and other ground feeders, and how to keep the ground under a feeder clean.
- Nyjer feeders and goldfinchesHow a nyjer (niger) feeder differs from an ordinary seed tube, which finches the RSPB and BTO name for it, and how to keep a fine-port feeder clean and dry.
- Peanuts and sunflower hearts: which, how, and whenPeanuts and sunflower hearts side by side: rigid mesh feeders, why loose whole peanuts are on the RSPB’s avoid list, aflatoxin, hygiene and the November–April rule.
- Fat balls, suet cakes and suet pelletsHow to put out fat balls, suet cakes and suet pellets safely: why the RSPB says never use mesh bags, what it says about hot weather, the seven-day rule and keeping feeders clean.
- Rats and bird feeders: spilled seed, hygiene and what to changePractical ways to stop bird feeding from feeding rats: smaller amounts, no scattered food, clearing under feeders, sealed storage and a pause when needed.
- Window bird feeders: what the RSPB says, and what to buy insteadWhy the RSPB now says not to use window feeders, and a short, sourced list of what people buy instead to watch birds from the window: a hanging metal feeder and stickers for the glass.
- Bird baths for UK gardens: a sourced shortlistWhat the RSPB says a good bird bath looks like (wide, shallow, gently sloping, changed daily), the tap-water and rainwater rule, and three listings checked against it.
- Nyjer feeders to buy: three listings checked against RSPB and BTO adviceA short buying list for nyjer (niger) seed feeders: what the BTO and RSPB say the feeder must do, three Amazon UK feeders and one seed bag checked against that, and why to skip models with a tray.
- Sunflower hearts vs peanuts: which to buy, and what to put them inA buying comparison of sunflower hearts and peanuts for UK gardens, using RSPB and BTO guidance, with checked Amazon UK bags and feeders for each and the November–April rule for both.
Nest boxes
- Nest boxes: hole sizes, height and when to put one upThe BTO’s hole sizes, including where two BTO pages disagree, plus height, shelter and the February prospecting window.
- When you may clean a nest boxThe BTO’s 1 September to 31 January window, and what section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act says in England and Wales.
- Sparrow terraces and open-fronted nest boxesWhere a house sparrow terrace goes, where a robin’s open-fronted box hides, how to keep cats out of reach, and why an active nest is left alone.
- Swift boxes and house martin nest cups on a UK houseWhy swifts and house martins need the building, not the garden: height, aspect, eaves, droppings, and leaving existing nests alone.
- Starling boxes and larger entrance holesThe BTO’s larger hole for starlings, why a bigger box is a different job from a tit box, and why a 38 mm camera-box hole is not a blue tit hole.
- Where to put a nest box in your gardenChoosing a spot for a nest box using the BTO’s siting advice: height, shelter, a clear flight path, distance from feeders and out of reach of cats, without disturbing an active nest.
- Nest boxes to buy: a shortlist checked against the BTOThe BTO’s buying rules (hole size, at least 15 mm walls, 130 square centimetres of floor, no perch, no metal or ceramic) and four Amazon UK nest boxes checked against them.
Cameras
- Two bird-box cameras, from the maker pagesGreen Feathers’ WiFi HD camera and the Birdfy Nest Wood, with the specs and prices those pages showed on 14 November 2026.
- Garden cameras, neighbours and the ICOThe ICO’s home CCTV rules when a bird-box or feeder camera can see past your own garden.
- Solar and cable-free bird-box camerasWhat changes when a bird-box camera runs on a battery and a solar panel instead of a 12 V cable, and what to check on the maker’s page before you buy.
Hedgehogs
- Hedgehog houses and what to feedMeat-based pet food and water, no milk or bread, and a quiet untreated house, from Hedgehog Street.
- Hedgehog highways: a 13 cm hole in the fenceWhy a closed garden is a problem, and the 13 cm by 13 cm gap Hedgehog Street says is enough.
- Hedgehogs in autumn and winter: hibernation without disturbanceAutumn feeding, when to wind food down, bonfires, leaving a hibernating hedgehog and its house alone, and the signs that mean call for help.
- Hedgehog hazards in the gardenNetting, ponds and pools, garden chemicals, bonfires, strimmers and open drains, and the simple checks that make a garden safer for hedgehogs.
- Hedgehog houses to buy: a shortlist checked against Hedgehog StreetWhat Hedgehog Street and PTES say a hedgehog house needs (13 cm entrance, untreated wood, a tunnel, shade and quiet), and three Amazon UK listings checked against that, with the gaps named.
Wildlife garden
- A wildlife-friendly garden in the UKPlants the RSPB names, a pond as a water source, and where hedgehogs and nest boxes fit around a feeder.
- Sick and dead garden birdsWhen to stop feeding, who to tell, and how GOV.UK says to dispose of a small number of dead garden birds at home.
- Storing bird food so it stays freshA sealed, cool, dry container, from the BTO, and why a shed only helps if rats cannot open the tub.
- Cats and garden birds: feeding and nesting with a pet catCollars and bells, keeping a cat in at the riskier times, and where feeders and boxes go when a cat shares the garden.
- Birds hitting windows: why, what helps, and a stunned birdReflections, territorial birds that attack their own image, what the BTO and RSPB suggest for the glass, and who to call about a stunned bird.
- Bird-friendly plants, hedges and berriesBerrying shrubs, seedheads, hedges and leaf litter that feed UK garden birds, using the plants the RSPB names and the birds it pairs them with.
- Common UK garden birds, and what they mean for your feederThe birds most UK gardens see, what the RSPB says they eat and where they nest, and how that should shape the food and the boxes you choose.
- Leaf litter, log piles and a quieter compost heapLeaving leaves where they fall, building a log or stick pile, and treating the compost heap as a possible hedgehog nest rather than turning it blindly in winter.
- Bat boxes and bats in the gardenPutting up a bat box in a UK garden using the Bat Conservation Trust’s siting advice, why boxes must not be opened once bats use them, and what to do if you find a bat.
- A small garden pond for frogs, newts and wildlifeA small wildlife pond for frogs, newts and drinking wildlife: gently sloping sides, an easy way out for hedgehogs, rainwater, native plants and no fish, from Froglife and Hedgehog Street.
- Bee hotels, solitary bee nests and pollinator plantingSolitary bee hotels that help rather than harm, bare ground and long grass for nesting bees, and flowers through the year, using RHS and Buglife advice.
- Pesticides, slug pellets and garden wildlifeHow garden chemicals reach birds, hedgehogs and insects, what Defra announced about metaldehyde slug pellets in 2020, and gentler ways to garden, pointing to official guidance rather than guessing.
Finchwold has 46 guides, plus a garden bird planner that turns the same sources into a kit list and a calendar you can download.