Garden wildlife guides

Seeds and peanuts from November to April, suet and mealworms all year, and the foods the RSPB says to leave out.

Hanging seed feeders, mesh nut feeders and suet feeders, and why the RSPB says to retire bird tables and trays.

Baffles and mesh from the RSPB, why flat feeders suit pigeons, and how uneaten food brings in rats.

How 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.

A weekly clean from the RSPB and the BTO, what to do if a bird looks ill, and how the two pause lengths differ.

Quiet, with cover nearby but not a hiding place, never under a roost, and moved every week if you can.

When a pond is enough, when a bird bath needs daily water, and the RSPB’s note on chloraminated taps.

The BTO’s hole sizes, including where two BTO pages disagree, plus height, shelter and the February prospecting window.

The BTO’s 1 September to 31 January window, and what section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act says in England and Wales.

Green Feathers’ WiFi HD camera and the Birdfy Nest Wood, with the specs and prices those pages showed on 14 November 2026.

The ICO’s home CCTV rules when a bird-box or feeder camera can see past your own garden.

Meat-based pet food and water, no milk or bread, and a quiet untreated house, from Hedgehog Street.

Why a closed garden is a problem, and the 13 cm by 13 cm gap Hedgehog Street says is enough.

Plants the RSPB names, a pond as a water source, and where hedgehogs and nest boxes fit around a feeder.

When to stop feeding, who to tell, and how GOV.UK says to dispose of a small number of dead garden birds at home.

A sealed, cool, dry container, from the BTO, and why a shed only helps if rats cannot open the tub.

A 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.

One hanging feeder, no trays, little mess for the flat below, and how to avoid inviting rats and pigeons into a shared building.

Where 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.

Why swifts and house martins need the building, not the garden: height, aspect, eaves, droppings, and leaving existing nests alone.

Collars and bells, keeping a cat in at the riskier times, and where feeders and boxes go when a cat shares the garden.

Reflections, territorial birds that attack their own image, what the BTO and RSPB suggest for the glass, and who to call about a stunned bird.

Berrying shrubs, seedheads, hedges and leaf litter that feed UK garden birds, using the plants the RSPB names and the birds it pairs them with.

Autumn feeding, when to wind food down, bonfires, leaving a hibernating hedgehog and its house alone, and the signs that mean call for help.

What 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.

Bird 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.

Why 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.

How 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.

The 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.

The 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.

Netting, ponds and pools, garden chemicals, bonfires, strimmers and open drains, and the simple checks that make a garden safer for hedgehogs.

Leaving 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.

Peanuts 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.

How 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.

Practical ways to stop bird feeding from feeding rats: smaller amounts, no scattered food, clearing under feeders, sealed storage and a pause when needed.

Choosing 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.

Putting 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 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.

Solitary 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.

How 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.

Why 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.

What 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.

What 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.

The 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.

A 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.

A 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.