The way to win a bird is through its stomach

As the cooler months begin to wrap their arms around the garden it can be easy to opt to stay cosy and snuggle up indoors. And one way to enjoy your garden from indoors is by encouraging birds to take up residence.

It's satisfying to watch happy birds feeding and mingling in your garden from the cosiness of your living room and it's something that can be enjoyed by the whole family. Enjoying your garden without even having to move - now that's a bonus.

Attracting wild birds to your garden will also encourage them to search for common garden pests such as caterpillars and snails all year round. A fantastic benefit for all gardeners.

There are loads of ways to welcome feathered friends into the garden, understanding what they like to eat helps when getting started.

Feeding birds is a simple way to increase the number of birds visiting in the garden.

A regular supply of suitable food helps birds, particularly in winter when their natural resources can be reduced. Tui Wild Bird Seed Mix is a nutritious seed blend designed to attract a wide variety of birds to your garden.

Birds are vulnerable on the ground so raised bird feeders are the safest solution. To attract the widest variety of birds, Tui has 10 kinds of feeders designed to meet the needs of different species. PLANTSLiving near areas of native bush and reserves containing favourite food trees will increase your chances of seeing birds. Or you can choose to have varieties of native plants in your garden to entice birds to your backyard.

InsectsThe garden "underworld" includes a host of creepy crawlies with essential roles including creating rich soil and as a food source for other wildlife. Fantails, sparrows, grey warblers and silvereyes are insect eaters so a healthy mix of creepy crawlies is more important than plant varieties when trying to attract them. Favourite insects birds feed on are grass grubs, caterpillars, earwigs, spiders, moths, beetles and earthworms.

A layer of mulch or leaf litter on the garden will encourage insects, and birds are nature's way of controlling them.