Eleven ways to help birds in towns and cities

Ever heard a bird bang into your window or seen the smear of wing imprints on the pane? Called ghosts, these imprints are a haunting reminder that the bird couldn’t see the glass, often with a fatal outcome.

In the USA alone, bird-building collisions, particularly with windows, kill up to an estimated one billion birds each year. 

How to stop birds flying into windows

Birds don’t understand that glass is a barrier, particularly if it’s reflecting the sky or nearby greenery or if there’s a mirror in the room behind. So, what can you do?

Look at your windows during the day to check if there are reflections that could confuse birds. Consider moving houseplants so they can’t be seen through the windows and move mirrors so they don’t reflect the outdoors.

To help birds see the glass add anti-collision window stickers, decals or film. Sun awnings and angled shutters will also help, plus they’ll keep your room cooler in summer. Alternatively, you could add a screen or net for birds to bounce off unharmed.

“We’re accustomed to artificial lighting at night in our towns, so we rarely think about it,” says our ecologist Steph Holt. “However, light pollution impacts people, animals and even plants.”

At night, migrating birds sometimes crash into buildings because they’re attracted to artificial lights, but that’s not all.

Steph explains, “many animals experience changes in daily or seasonal rhythms in artificially lit areas as well as changes in their behaviour, from breeding to feeding. While some will be able to forage or hunt more, others will find themselves more vulnerable to predation. Some species actively avoid light, impacting their ability to use and cross urban areas.”

Tawny owls avoid lit places, possibly because the small mammals they prey on do. Whereas other species, such as peregrine falcons, blackbirds and robins, benefit from being able to hunt or forage for longer where there are streetlights. However, for birds feeding on insects this benefit could be short lived, as streetlights have been shown to negatively impact insect populations.

Moth numbers have fallen by a third in the UK since the late 1960s with studies showing artificial lighting leaves moths and their caterpillars more vulnerable to predation and distracts the adults from breeding.

Caterpillar numbers are 52% lower in hedgerows and verges under streetlights. Despite being considered eco-friendly, white LED lights have a worse impact than the sodium lights they’re replacing.

Steph says, “there are things we can all do to minimise the impact of artificial lighting on biodiversity, without impacting our ability to work, travel or feel safe”.

“Actions can be as simple as closing your curtains at night to prevent light spilling into otherwise dark gardens and ensuring that outdoor lights only light the features needed, at the time we need them.”

So, you can help by turning off lights when you leave work, putting lights on a timer, using warmer white or yellow LEDs and avoiding purely decorative lighting.

Birds need a reliable, year-round water source to drink from and bathe in.

If you have space for a pond, even a small one, that’s great. See our guide on how to make a container pond. Otherwise, you could buy or make a simple bird bath so you can watch them splashing around.

Place it somewhere that gives birds a clear view of their surroundings. They’ll feel more confident visiting if there are shrubs or trees nearby to escape to. But don’t put it so close that predators can hide nearby and pounce.

Keep your bird bath topped up with fresh water, particularly during hot weather, and make sure it doesn’t ice over in winter.

Garden birds need our help with good hygiene to keep them safe from the disease trichomonosis. It causes throat wounds, so infected birds struggle to swallow or breathe.

A variety of garden birds are susceptible, including finches, house sparrows, dunnocks and great tits. It also occurs in pigeons and doves – when the parasite infects them, the disease is called canker.

Greenfinches and chaffinches have been severely affected by trichomonosis outbreaks in the UK. Greenfinch numbers have declined so badly this species has been included on the UK Red List for birds of conservation concern since 2021. We lost 62% of our greenfinches over the preceding decade according to Breeding Bird Survey Data. Chaffinches are still on the Green List, but their population fell by 37% over the same period.

Trichomonosis spreads between birds via contaminated food and drinking water. So, by keeping bird baths and feeding stations clean and freshly stocked, you can help keep birds healthy. Use warm, soapy water.

It’s also best to move feeders around to avoid food spillage waste building up in one place.

If you spot any sick birds, the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) recommends you empty your bird baths and feeders and stop putting food out for at least two weeks. Don’t restart until you’re no longer seeing affected birds.

Poorly birds might look tired, have puffed up feathers, be having trouble breathing or swallowing or have wet feathers around their beaks from drooling. You can help scientists track diseases by reporting sick or dead birds to the Garden Wildlife Health Project.

For more cleaning tips and advice on how to protect birds from this disease, visit the BTO and RSPB websites.

As urban areas spread and gardens get tidier there are fewer and fewer places for species such as robins, blue tits and blackbirds to nest. If you have space, plant a small tree, hedge or bush. Thorny shrubs such as blackthorn and hawthorn are great, as they provide birds with both shelter and berries.

Climbing plants that provide dense wall cover, such as ivy, honeysuckle and wisteria, are also great for nesting in. Or if that’s not an option, perhaps you could buy or build a bird box to put up. Some birds like nesting higher up and some need smaller entrance holes, so check the RSPB’s guide to nest boxes.

Modern building styles as well as house repairs and renovations mean there are now fewer nooks and crannies for house sparrows, house martins and swifts to nest in. Adding artificial nest cups to buildings, or swift bricks or boxes, can really help.

“It thrills me every year that a small colony of house martins calls my home home too,” says Jo. “They refurbish some natural mud nests each spring, but we’ve put up artificial ones as well.”

“They’re a bit messy, but it’s a small price to pay for watching a new generation of this threatened bird taking flight right from under our eaves.”

Bird feeders are an easy way to support birds, but it’s even better to provide a natural feast that they can help themselves to. Adding fat balls in winter will give a much-needed high-energy boost.

Some birds prefer to eat berries, fruits or seeds, while others will gobble up insects and other invertebrates. During the breeding season, caterpillars will be a hit with many hungry chicks. By making small changes, you can turn your outdoor space into a year-round larder for lots of species.

Rather than deadheading all your flowers, leave some seedheads for birds such as goldfinches and greenfinches to enjoy.

Lawns harbour many tasty treats. Green woodpeckers will lick up ants and starlings, magpies and jays will snaffle up leatherjackets and beetle larvae.

Let some areas of your lawn grow long to encourage grasshoppers and a range of moth and butterfly caterpillars and let moss flourish. Not only will it provide more minibeast meals, but many birds use it as a nesting material.

Leave branches to rot. They serve as habitat for large numbers of deadwood-loving invertebrates, such as woodlice, beetles and spiders, which are a favourite food of wrens and other birds.

It’s also fun to watch blackbirds tossing around dead leaves in their search for insects and earthworms.

Consider growing trees that provide buds, shoots and blossom for birds such as bullfinches to feed on in spring. Crab apple trees are great for gardens. Their pretty flowers are followed by fruit that blackbirds, thrushes and crows love eating.

Berries are an important food for birds in autumn and winter, including seasonal visitors such as redwings and fieldfares. Consider planting hawthorn, juniper, holly and ivy in your garden. Rowan berries are a particular favourite of colourful waxwings. Meanwhile, hazel is not only a caterpillar foodplant but nuthatches, jays and woodpeckers enjoy its nuts too.

From animals’ point of view, our towns and cities are fragmented places. Green roofs, living walls, window boxes and street trees help to link up green spaces for them.

As Becky Clover, our Urban Biodiversity Officer, says, “it’s really important that we provide these stepping stones of green space to provide habitat and connectivity for a range of wildlife, so they can move through these urban environments”.

No matter its size, a green roof can be part of a greater patchwork of habitat, food and shelter. Do you have a bin store or shed you could add a green roof to? Check out the Wildlife Trust’s guidelines and Buglife’s in-depth guide.

Perhaps you only have a small patio, balcony or windowsill? By growing wildflowers and other native plants in a container you can feed a wide variety of insects, from pollinators to caterpillars. All are an important part of food chains and ecosystems.

“Any spaces add up,” adds Jo. “I especially like the long-running one square metre and window box wildlife experiments. They demonstrate that even tiny areas can support hundreds of plants and animals.”

One of the most important changes you can make is to go chemical-free in your garden, allotment or window box.

If you wait, natural predators will help to keep pests under control. Birds such as blue tits will gobble up aphids in huge numbers. Others, including mistle thrushes, song thrushes, blackbirds and starlings, will snack on slugs and snails.

But it’s not just garden pesticides, the chemicals used in continuous spot-on flea and tick treatments can have an impact too. They enter nature via our pets’ poos, wees, washing and hair shedding.

The Book of Wilding explains that a medium dog could be getting a monthly dose of neonicotinoid pesticide that’s enough to kill 60 million honeybees. These pesticides are also lethal to birds.

There are currently about 22 million cats and dogs in the UK, 80% of which receive regular flea treatments whether they need them or not. That adds up to massive amounts of lethal pesticide being absorbed by plants and entering waterways.

You can help by only treating your cat or dog when it’s necessary and considering nature-friendly, herbal alternatives.

Many of us love cats – more than a quarter of all UK households owns one. But we can’t deny their natural hunting instincts. In 1997, scientists calculated that between April and August that year nine million cats killed around 27 million birds.

With the UK’s cat population now at more than 11 million, how can we reduce the threat?

A simple solution is to get your cat to chase and pounce on toys. Research shows playing like this for just 5–10 minutes each day reduces the amount of prey they bring home by 25%. It also shows that increasing the amount of meat in their diet can reduce their hunting by 36%.

Another tip is to limit their opportunity to hunt by keeping them indoors overnight, or at least in the evening and early morning, particularly during birds’ breeding season. If you still want them to be able to go outside, why not install a catio.

“Human-made materials, such as foil, plastic strings and pieces of clothing, are all found in birds’ nests,” says Douglas Russell, who looks after the bird nest collection we care for.

Alex Bond, a Principal Curator who leads our bird group, adds “many birds build nests out of filamentous items, whether that’s grass, twigs, moss or spider silk. Unfortunately, a lot of rubbish has the same characteristics. When that’s incorporated into nests, it presents a significant entanglement risk to both adults and their chicks.”

Make sure you put rubbish and litter in bins. If there aren’t any available, take your rubbish home with you. Take part in community litter picking and big clean ups to clear waste from your local area, so that birds aren’t affected by it.

By doing surveys you can help scientists track how birds in your local area are managing and build up a nationwide picture.

The biggest survey of its kind, the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch takes place each January and only needs an hour or so of your time.

If you can spare a bit longer, the BTO are looking for volunteers for a range of surveys. You can also submit your bird sightings to the BirdTrack Project.

Understanding how things are changing allows scientists and conservationists to take appropriate actions and provide the best advice on how to help our beaked buddies.