A balcony can be a surprisingly good place to watch birds. Even four floors up, in the middle of a city, a hanging feeder and a shallow dish of water will pull in blue tits, goldfinches, house sparrows and the occasional starling. What you cannot do is copy a garden. There is no soil, no hedge, and very little shelter. So work with what you have: a rail, a windowsill, a bit of vertical space, and the patience to let the birds find you.

Below is a practical order of work, from the first feeder to the small housekeeping jobs that keep birds healthy and neighbours on side.

Work out what your balcony can realistically offer

Before you buy anything, stand outside for five minutes and look around. Which way does the balcony face? A south-facing ledge bakes in summer and dries out compost fast; a north-facing one stays damp and shaded. Is there a prevailing wind that will whip a lightweight feeder against the glass? Is there any greenery nearby — a street tree, a park, a neighbour's climber? Birds follow cover, so a balcony overlooking a few trees will fill up far quicker than one surrounded by bare brick.

Height matters too. On a first-floor balcony next to a courtyard, robins and blackbirds will drop in and rummage. On the tenth floor, expect the acrobats: tits, goldfinches, starlings and the occasional collared dove. Anything else is a bonus.

Pick two or three features and do them well — a feeder, clean water and one decent-sized pot is a stronger setup than six half-hearted additions.

Feeders and food: a simple, workable setup

You do not need a feeding station. A clamp-on rail bracket, a tension pole wedged between floor and ceiling, or a hook that slips over the balcony rail will hold everything you need, and none of them require drilling into a shared wall. Suction-cup window feeders work well if the glass is clean and the tray is small — just check it has not slipped after a warm afternoon.

Position feeders where you can see them from a chair, but out of the worst of the wind and rain. Keep them clear of anything a cat could launch from, and think about the window itself: feeders placed within about a metre of the glass, or more than three metres away, cut the chance of a bird hitting the pane at speed. A couple of decals do no harm either.

What to put in them

• Sunflower hearts — the best all-round option. Almost every small bird takes them and there is little waste.
• Nyjer seed — needs a fine-port feeder, but it is what brings goldfinches in.
• Peanut granules or chopped peanuts — safe sizes for small beaks. Avoid whole peanuts in the breeding season, when they can be a risk to nestlings.
• Fat balls or fat cakes — excellent in cold spells and during nesting. Buy them without the mesh net, or take the net off; feet and beaks get caught.
• Mealworms — dried or live, and especially welcome when adults are feeding young.
• A piece of apple or pear — good for blackbirds and thrushes if your balcony is low enough for them.

What to leave out: bread, salted or roasted nuts, milk, and any leftovers that have seen a seasoning jar. In hot weather, keep fat feeders out of direct sun and swap the contents often.

Water matters as much as food

Water is the item most balconies forget, and it often brings in birds that never touch a feeder. Use a shallow dish — roughly two to five centimetres deep — with gently sloping sides, and drop in a couple of clean stones so small birds can perch and drink without getting soaked.

Refresh it daily and scrub the dish with hot soapy water once a week, as you would a feeder. When frost is forecast, keep a second dish indoors and swap them over so there is always something liquid outside. Plain water is all birds need; there is no benefit in adding sugar, colouring or anything else.

Plants that earn their space in a pot

You are not going to recreate a hedgerow in three containers, but a few well-chosen plants give birds somewhere to wait before they commit to the feeder, and they pull in the insects that young birds need.

Herbs are the easiest win: rosemary, thyme and oregano cope with wind, need little water and flower generously. Lavender and catmint do the same job and hum with bees through summer. If you have room for a larger pot, honeysuckle or ivy gives cover and berries, and a clump of teasel or ornamental grasses left standing over winter will hold seed heads that finches will pick at for weeks.

Two practical notes. Choose low, bushy plants rather than tall spindly ones that snap in the wind. And remember that a big pot full of damp compost is heavy — spread the weight across several smaller containers rather than one enormous one, and check what your balcony is able to take.

Keeping the neighbours on side

Most balcony birdwatching goes wrong in one of two ways: something gets attached to the building without permission, or seed ends up on someone else's washing.

• Check your lease or tenancy agreement, and ask your landlord or managing agent, before fixing brackets to walls, railings or render. A clamp-on or freestanding option avoids the whole conversation.
• Use husk-free mixes and a tray under each feeder. Sweep the balcony floor weekly rather than letting debris blow over the edge.
• Keep the setup modest. A feeder that draws a crowd of pigeons or gulls, or that leaves droppings on the balcony below, is the one that generates complaints.
• Fix things so nothing drips or stains down the outside of the building. It is a small detail that keeps the arrangement sustainable.

Cleaning, safety and bird health

Feeders need a wash every week or two with hot soapy water, a good rinse and a proper dry before refilling. Rotate two feeders if it makes the job easier, and throw away any food that is damp, clumped or mouldy. Wash your hands afterwards.

If you notice a bird looking fluffed up, sleepy or dull-eyed, take the feeders down for a fortnight, clean everything thoroughly, and let the site rest before putting them back. Window strikes and cats are the other two risks worth managing: adjust feeder positions, add decals to the glass, and never hang a feeder somewhere a cat can sit within jumping distance.

Your first month, step by step

1. Week one. Put out a shallow water dish and one sunflower-heart feeder in a sheltered spot within a metre of the glass.
2. Week two. Add a second feeder — fat balls in a cage works well — and keep the water topped up daily.
3. Week three. Bring in two pots: a rosemary and a lavender, or whatever suits your light and wind.
4. Week four. Clean both feeders, note which species are visiting and when, and shift anything that is being ignored.

Do not read too much into a quiet first fortnight. Birds find new food by watching other birds, so a balcony can sit empty for a while and then fill up in a single morning. Keep the water fresh, keep the feeders clean, and let the visitors do the advertising.

Photo: ambquinn / Pixabay