How to attract Nightingales

9th December, 2023

Attracting nightingales to your garden, farm or local communal space, such as a village green, can be a wonderful way to enjoy their beautiful singing. Unfortunately, for most of Britain, this doesn't apply, as the south of England is their most northern summer range. However, if you live in Southern England, especially, the counties of Kent, Essex, Suffolk, and East and West Sussex, you are in the right location. If you are reading this in mainland Europe, it is also possible to attract Nightingales.

Here are some steps you can take to attract nightingales:

1. Create suitable habitat: Nightingales prefer dense, scrubby and thorny areas. Plant native shrubs and bushes that provide thick vegetation and cover, such as blackthorn, hawthorn, or rose bushes. Include a variety of plants to provide different heights and layers.

2. Provide water: Install a shallow birdbath or small pond with a gently sloping edge to offer drinking and bathing opportunities for nightingales. Keep the water source clean and filled regularly.

3. Preserve natural features: If you have existing woodland or thick hedgerows nearby, maintain and protect them. Nightingales often prefer nesting and foraging in undisturbed areas, so preserving these natural features can help attract them.

4. Avoid pesticides: Minimize the use of pesticides and herbicides in your garden. These chemicals can reduce insect populations, which are an essential food source for nightingales.

5. Create nesting opportunities: Nightingales build their nests on or near the ground, often in dense shrubbery or hedgerows. Leave areas of your garden undisturbed to provide potential nesting sites. Avoid trimming bushes or hedges during the breeding season (April to August) to avoid disturbing nesting birds.

6. Play nightingale recordings: Playing nightingale songs or calls in your garden can potentially attract nightingales by mimicking rival males or signaling suitable habitat. However, prolonged or excessive use of recordings can disturb breeding birds, so use them sparingly and at appropriate volumes.

7. Be patient: Attracting nightingales may take time, as they are territorial and selective about their nesting and foraging areas. Continue creating a suitable habitat, and with patience and luck, nightingales may discover and use your garden.

Remember, if your efforts work, to observe nightingales from a respectful distance without disturbing them or their nests.