I'm a garden expert and finches will flock to your garden if you feed them 1 thing

A bird expert has revealed the best way to attract and retain finches and other small to your garden - and there is a simple rule that you should follow. Many small in the UK, and they are less visible in British gardens compared to generations ago. However, there are things you can do to attract these gorgeous birds to your garden and keep them there. One of those, an expert has revealed, is to feed them certain foods depending on what time of the year it is.

Speaking to the , Claire Chaill from The Little Bird Co explained what finches and other small birds need to thrive in your garden. Claire's business is all about supporting these small bird species such as finches, blue tits and house burrows. Displaying her bird feeders, nests and food blends at the flower show, she took some time to tell us how best to support small birds in a British garden.

"We're all about bringing the birds back," she revealed. "Lots of little birds are less visible in our gardens at the moment which is a real shame. The bird feeders are being dominated by bigger birds and especially in London, are coming and they are scaring off the little birds.

"We're all about providing nesting and feeding solutions to bring the little birds back into gardens."

Claire's company creates seasonal blends of food for these birds and sends a certain blend to customers depending on which time of the year it is. She says that feeding these birds seasonally is important.

"In the summer, the baby birds are being fed and baby birds get all of their moisture from their food," she explained. "So they can't drink when they are very tiny.

"Lots of people use dried mealworms but actually, the little birds don't need dried mealworms because it will dehydrate them. There is no moisture in the food. We take those out of the summer blend and in the autumn and winter we add loads of suet and loads of dried mealworms when everyone can use them."

She added: "In the early spring, we put some oyster shell grit into the blend which is good for building calcium and strong egg shell production. So we're trying to support things like house burrows who are endangered, blue tits, finches and all of the little birds like robins and wrens."

A 2024 report from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, finches were among the bird species noted as being in decline. "Sadly this snapshot is a reminder of how many of our most loved birds are at the forefront of the nature and ," Beccy Speight, chief executive of the RSPB told the BBC at the time.