As I clear through my borders at this time of year, removing finished flower stems, seed heads etc, I always think of the potential bird food I’m removing from my plot.

It’s always a timely reminder that I need to up my game in providing extra feed for flying visitors to my garden.

I have a few hanging feeders and a bird table on the go year-round, but in October I always add one or two more feeders – peanuts in one, nyger in another, a mix seed blend in the third and as temperatures drop, Peckish Winter Warmer mix.

This wide offering helps to attract different bird species to the garden. My best spot in the past two years has been a beautiful red start, but it seems it was a one off visit.

There is a another way to increase the level of species visiting your garden and that is to  place food at different heights and locations including ground level.

Several British birds prefer to forage on the ground. black birds, thrushes and doves to name a few. At this level there is more risk from predators, so only place feed in open areas, and raise it slightly – the pictured tree stump is ideal. Another pitfall of ground feeding is a risk of encouraging mice and rats to the area. The key here is to place feed little and often.

I’m using the new high-energy Daily Goodness nuggets from Peckish. The mix of suet, seeds and mealworms provides all the energy and nutrients birds need to stay healthy, all held together in small nugget form, which hopefully means less mess and less chance of attracting vermin. I’m currently assessing how many nuggets I can place each morning so all trace is gone by nightfall, when the vermin might come out to feed.