Nothing enhances the feeling of spring, like birds that are brooding in your garden. The "parents in the making" who build a nest and later fly in and out with insects to feed their chicks ... And then there's the moment when those little creatures fly out for the first time.
- At the end of the winter clean your nest box and hang it in a quiet place, which is also high enough, so that for example cats can't reach it. Make sure that the box is water- and windproof.
- All birds that return from their 'winter holiday' are looking for a new home. Lure them by providing food, shelter and water.
- You can store the suet balls and other fatty foods again. Provide high-protein feed with a lot of calcium in the spring. Proteins ensure that the birds lay good eggs and that the young grow up well. Calcium, in turn, is crucial for strong egg shells and solid bones of both the mother bird and her offspring.
- Bust out the lawn mower! Many insectivorous birds find a freshly cut lawn ideal for picking earthworms and insect larvae from the ground.
- However, you do not have to clean or prune the rest of your garden in such a precise way. Leave natural nesting materials on the ground. Blue tits, for example, make their nests with twigs, moss, little leaves and dog or cat hair.
- The ideal garden for birds includes some old trees with cavities, prickly bushes such as hawthorn and holly, and several nesting boxes in different places, with openings in numerous sizes.
If you follow these tips, you too will be spotting brooding birds in your garden soon. Don't be under any illusions: you won't be housing ten couples in love. After all, birds need a marked out area to find food for their young. For they have to supply hundreds of insects every day! This is going to be a real spectacle.
Share this article
Selected for you
{{TagLabels}}
{{Title}}
{{Description}}
{{card-0}}
{{card-1}}
{{card-2}}
{{card-3}}
{{card-4}}
{{TagLabels}}
{{Title}}
{{Description}}