Eye On Nature

Can you suggest trees and shrubs for a city garden to encourage birds. What about hawthorn or blackthorn for a boundary hedge?

- Marie Baker, Wellington Road, Cork

Hawthorn makes a very hospitable hedge for birds as cover, and if it is carefully pruned to allow it to flower and fruit it also provides them with food. This means trimming it in summer and keeping as many flowering branches as is consistent with a good shape. Fruit trees and bushes attract blackbirds and how much of each you can plant depends on the size of your garden.

It is a good idea to have a tree or two to serve as high vantage points for perching birds. Birches and alders attract siskins and other small finches; and bullfinches like ash trees. Goldfinches love teasles and thistles, and cotoneaster will bring waxwings to the garden on their occasional westward migration winter, while willows will attract several different warblers, and if you're lucky a goldcrest. Flowers will attract insects which in turn will bring the birds to feed.

Finally plenty of safe cover is essential to keeping birds in the vicinity of your garden and, perhaps, a well-stocked, cat-proof bird table and some nest boxes.

Edited by Michael Viney, who welcomes observations sent to him at Thallabawn, Carrowniskey PO, Westport, Co Mayo, or email viney@anu.ie