Never had a garden before!

Basically it's down to their brilliant eyesight. They survey from nearby trees and in flight.
My OH fitted a suet feeder to the wall,and the robins found it within 24 hours. It was in a sheltered position so not in plain view so to speak.
Clever things, birds.

 

The sunflower seeds have only been suggested as they won't create weeds in your lovely new lawn not because the birds prefer them.

 

Stop worrying! Just be patient. I am amazed you think you have no trees nearby. From your pics. it looks as if you have a veritable forest just over the fence! Your local bird population must be spoilt for choice for food supplies.
The upheaval in your plot will make them very cautious for a while.
I would comment you have put the feeding station rather close to the fence so may find cats very interested in trying to reach it, squirrels will definitely raid the feeder.

 

No birds so far, does this mean I should ditch the seed and go sunflower hearts only do you think?

 

I do have trees, I didn't mean to give that impression, but I honestly don't see many birds. And I've had none in the garden so far. So yes, are they cautious? No cats yet, not caught any squirrels either.

 

I'm finding the weeds growing SO FAST and I'm a little at a loss about them. Here's a pic of the typical growth after only 2/3 days. Am I making them grow faster by weeding too much?

ALSO, one random question: I keep reading about how to water and that I should water 'deeply' twice a week rather than less more often. But what exactly does deeply mean? Creating pools of water around their roots? Spraying their leaves? It's all quite vague I think, the advice online. It sounds so basic, but I feel like I don't know how to water my plants correctly? What are the basics?

 

If you are having the hot summer weather most of us are, hoeing them will be very effective, and you have plenty of bare space so it should be easy. Then just leave them on the surface to die.
But also, don't stress about them. There's no gardening police coming around to check your borders for weeds. They are a fact of life if you have a garden that isn't all plastic.

And yes, watering deeply means applying the water to the roots, and letting it puddle.

 

This is the time of year when birds will start disappearing from gardens anyway. This years' youngsters will team up into flocks and roam the countryside. The hot weather may be keeping them away during the day as well. I am not seeing many these last few days.

Have you put water out? I don't see many birds coming in for food at the moment but the bird bath is still in use. Mostly magpies and pigeons at the moment though!

 

The important thing with feeding birds is - don't put tons out to begin with. Wait until it's being eaten regularly, and then top up feeders. Otherwise, you'll end up with food rotting, or it;ll just attract less desirable wildlief - ie rats. Patience is what's needed. Having a new garden isn't instant.
It's probably a good idea to invest in some books - libraries have plenty, but you can also get plenty online. Just ones which cover all the basics about growing and maintaining plants. Alan Titchmarsh did some good ones - How To Be A Gardener is ideal for novices, and there are ones called The Garden Expert by Dr. Hessayon which come in various options. That will help you understand all the ins and outs when starting out.
No garden is no maintenance, but you can make it low maintenance by choosing the right plants and learning how to nurture and maintain them. Low growing ground covering plants will help to prevent lots of weeds and there are hundred to choose from, depending on what you already have grwoing, and what the aspect and conditions are of the various sites. Many aren't fussy at all in that regard

 

Birds prefer natural food like caterpillars, white fly, bugs etc so do not visit gardens for dry feed at this time of the year. Sometimes they can take a month before plucking up the courage to visit a new feeder.
Weeds are a fact of life when you have a garden. No matter how often you weed there will be some that pop up behind you overnight as you work your way around your plot.
Watering little and often makes the roots of plants come to the surface looking for moisture so you need to puddle around plants to allow the water to seep lower down.
You are beginning to learn the main lesson of being a gardener.
Patience. Patience. Patience.
The second lesson is letting go of wanting to be in total control of Mother Nature.

 

The blackbirds are still coming for food - it's hard to find any worms in this weather. Every time I go outside a blackbird will fly down to see if I've left anything on the lawn! I usually put out mealworms first thing, but the magpies, a herring gull and a fox are competition for those. I've even seen a neighbour's cat happily eating them!

I have just thrown out some past-their-best strawberries on the lawn. The blackbirds will enjoy those, and if they don't eat them all the foxes and badgers will take them overnight.

 

Birds feed here all through summer, apart from that brief spell when they moult etc. and even then we still have them coming in for food.
@LizT -they benefit from extra help in spring and into summer when they're nesting, and then when they have chicks, as it means they can concentrate on getting suitable food for them, while keeping up their own strength more easily. Then the chicks themselves can access the food you put out too. We have a huge population of house sparrows here - complete with all their youngsters, because my neighbour across from me has good nesting sites, and they fly between his garden and mine for their grub all day long.
I make sure they always have access to food at the start of the whole process because the weather here can be very harsh just when they start breeding. It's the least I can do to help them survive.
You have to be patient though - and it will depend on what birds are in your general area, and what the populations are like. Sunflower hearts and a good quality general seed mix will suit most types of garden birds. Once you start getting them in -and autumn into winter should see that happening, you'll get an idea of what birds are present.

 

Because it's so hot, I'm not seeing many birds in the middle of the day, but they are attacking the feeders as it cools off. There seems to be lots of youngsters around - blue tits and great tits. I find suet pellets in a mesh flat container useful for birds like robins and blackbirds that are not as acrobatic as tits and nuthatches.

 

Think twice about putting food at ground level as it will attract rats.

 

Plenty of birds coming in every day for food and water. We are lucky in some ways that there are plenty of trees and shrubs which allow them to make use of the shady areas.