PICTURED: 10 birds most likely to be in your garden and 10 tips for attracting them

It’s surprising how much a bird feeding at the back of your house can give you, but would you know what you’re looking for?

With the help of the RSPB, we bring you the ten birds you are most likely to see in gardens in the News Shopper area.

House Sparrow Picture: Mark Thomas rspb-images.com

Starling Picture: Ray Kennedy rspb-images.com

Blue tit Picture: Nigel Blake rspb-images.com

Woodpigeon Picture: Andy Hay rspb-images.com

Feral pigeon Picture: Steve Round rspb-images.com

Blackbird Picture: Ray Kennedy rspb-images.com

Great tit Picture: Ray Kennedy rspb-images.com

Collared dove Picture: Andy Hay rspb-images.com

Robin Picture: Ray Kennedy rspb-images.com

Magpie Picture: Paul Chestefield rspb-images.com

Across London as a whole, gardens are more likely to be home to Goldfinches, although they don’t see as many collared doves.

In order to attract more birdlife into your garden, you’ll need to add natural space and food for them.

According to the RSPB, many species either struggle to find food or a nesting place – one of the reasons why eight of the top ten of our area’s most popular birds have declined in numbers in the past couple of decades.

Follow these top tips from the RPSB to get more birds into your garden.

1. Plant a native hedge
2. Lay a lawn
3. Grow shrubs
4. Allow grass to grow longer at the edges and go to seed
5. Allow ivy to grow on walls, fences and trees. If kept in check it is not as damaging as myth would have us believe.
6. Build a garden pond – if suitable (Not in gardens which suffer from heavy leaf-fall as this would choke a pond, but a water feature may still be possible and desirable.
7. Sow wildflowers
8. Replace solid ground surfaces such as patios, car parking or paths with permeable surfaces which allow water to drain naturally into the ground
9. Put in a bird feeder but keep it away from vantage points where cats or other predators may be able to hide and leap to the feeder.
10. Create a natural U shape in the plants in your garden so that there is low grass at the centre and plants/shrubs increasing in height at the edges. This mimics natural habitats and provides safe feeding and nesting space for birds.