With winter now arriving its a good time to think about some of the garden birds that stay with us throughout the winter months.While many of their cousins fly south for the winter, a whole host of native birds stay put and have to endure the cod winter months just as we do, and what would winter be like without the robins, tits and finches?

It is not easy for the native bird-life during this time of year, though. Their natural foods such as berries, insects, worms and nuts become increasingly scarce and many birds don't make it through the cold spell.

There is much we can do to help and providing birds with food during winter will also reward us with the spectacle of these beautiful creatures in our garden.

Feeding birds is relatively easy but there are some things to know about first. Bird tables are a great idea but they can get taken over by larger species like pigeons, crows, magpies and gulls. Bird tables can also be climbed by cats, squirrels and other animals that will eat the food, or go for the birds.

Bird feeders are a better idea for attracting smaller and more vulnerable birds to the garden. Read up on what different species prefer to eat and place bid feeders in places where the visitors won't feel threatened, i.e., not too low or by a roof where animals could take advantage.

You should make sure the bird feeders are regularly clean; the same for bird baths too – birds can become ill too.

The birds that migrate in the winter can also struggle when they get back to Britain too. Swallows and house martins have often travelled thousands of miles to get home and are exhausted and may birds die on their way back.. Providing a house martin or ceramic swallow bowl for them to roost is a good way of helping protect these dwindling numbers of some of our rare migratory birds.