Its not wildlife, but my Aunt had a 'Family' Apple Tree on a small rootstock in her border. It never grew very big. Always had Bramleys, and 2 varieties of large eating apples on every year, which ripened.
Made quite a talking point for visitors, which she enjoyed.
"Come and look at my Family Apple Tree ! "

Hi Smoo just how 'small' is your garden?

Apple and fruit trees are good for wildlife and will suit a small garden as you can train the tree to any size.

Amelanchier canadensis is not native but a small tree that is ornamental. Wildlife can use it for perching, feeding and nesting.

Also wanted to recomend Amelanchier - lamarckii is widely available. And birds just love the berries - they dissapear very quickly from the tree, lol

Thanks for the suggestions, i've added a picture so you can see where id like to put it. This is pretty much my whole garden, very small as you can see, so not much space to play with.
Kasy - I've just googled the Amelanchier, its beautiful, i really like full trees that blossom in the spring, and berries are a big bonus too, It does look a bit big though, im not sure it would fit :(

Amelanchier 'Ballerina' is a smaller variety, but nonetheless will have a spread of up to 4 metres - too much for what you want, given it tends to grow more shrublike than treelike.
The only tree I can think of which reliably will not get any wider than 1.8 metres at maturity is Prunus amonagawa, commonly known as the Flagpole Cherry. It may not be particularly attractive to birds though - some produce fruit, which they do like, but often they don't have fruit.

Malus Red Sentinel also has a spread of 4m eventually - another one which might be better for your purposes is Sorbus Cardinal Royal - again with a 4m metre spread eventually, with an upright growth habit, but at least the foliage isn't too dense so some light will still get through to the garden.
I think I'd use the Prunus myself, and loosely wrap mesh round the trunk and grow a late flowering clematis from the viticella group up it for summer interest. Clematis from this group should be cut down in midwinter to about 6/8 inches from the ground, enabling the blossom in April on the tree itself to be seen clearly. The presence of any tree at all is useful to birds, and the more foliage there is about, the more likely they are to be around.

Thank you Bamboo :D I've been looking at your suggestions... I was looking at the prunus last night, it does seem the ideal candidate, the blossom looks lovely too but i have just seen a picture of the Amelanchier "ballerina" and i love it.
Light wont be an issue in the position it would stand, it would possibly only shade the back of the house from very early morning sun so height isnt too much of an issue although i dont want something too domineering :s

Is the amelanchier good for the birds? I really just want a pretty tree that they can perch on and feed from be it berries or hanging feeders. Need a bit of structure in my garden :)

Amelanchier Ballerina does produce red fruits which soon turn black - but not for long, because birds love 'em, so yes, good for them. Also a better shape because it develops a crown, which is easier to hang feeders from than on the Prunus.

Thank you :D I think i've got my heart set on the Amelanchier now. Are they widely available? How big can you buy them? I'm impatient ;)

Freely available on line - check the size of the plant you're buying. At this time of year, most will be supplied bare root, so length of stem is the judgement as to how big it is and that should be something they tell you.
Sold in pots, judge by the size of the pot, how many litres it is - you can always ring and ask about the overall height of the one you're buying. Make sure you ask for Amelanchier 'Ballerina' specifically though...

I published a blog (Back To Square One) earlier today. The tree in the front garden is amelanchier 'Ballerina' planted in 1987 so you can see it gets tallish but not wide

Cotoneaster cornobia is a multi purpose small tree I have previously recommended - loved by birds, and scented blossom in spring attracts bugs! It is also a small tree that is happy to be pruned and cut back to size wanted.

Thanks everyone :) Andrewr - it was your pictures of your lovely amelanchier that made me decide that's what i wanted! I'd like to buy as big as i can afford so i can enjoy it quicker as im not going to stay at this house for 25 years! A cotoneaster is on my wish list too for the birds. Thanks for all the suggestions, i don't know where id be without GOY sometimes! :D

Amelanchier will be fantastic but does best on an acid to neutual soil. If you are worried about the spread then why not try Amelanchier alnifolia 'Obelisk'? This is a fastigiate form of Amelanchier, can be grown in even the smallest garden.

Thank you everyone for the suggestions. I have decided to get the Amelanchier alnifolia 'obelisk'.
If i can find one on my travels today how would i go about planting? What does it like etc... is it easier to plant bare root or would it be better to buy potted? Also, i have a buddleja cutting in the spot where id like to plant it. Will the cutting survive being pulled out and re planted elsewhere? Thanks :)

Amelanchiers prefer lime free soil - it doesn't have to be acid, neutral will do fine. Dig some soil conditioning compost into the area prior to planting - and, rather than your Buddleia cutting being "pulled out", dig it out carefully, when you dig the area over with the compost, and reposition elsewhere immediately, being careful not to break any roots present, or keeping a good rootball round it.
These plants are usually sold in pots rather than bare root.

Thank you Bamboo, obviously i wouldnt "pull" out the cutting :S just my tactless way of putting things :)

I have been amelanchier shopping, i've found at two separate garden centres the "ballerina" tree. And was very tempted to buy, both at £50, but i think ill try to see if i can find the obelisk one before i give up and get one of these.

Have you thought about buying on line? I suspect, the 'Obelisk' variety being a fairly recent introduction, and also its not doing anything yet in terms of flowering or producing leaves, means you may not find it your local garden centres.

I've seen it online from a nursery about 80 miles from me. I may buy it from there but it will cost extra in p&p or from picking it up in the van.
Im looking forward to having one in the garden though :) On another subject. Whilst trying to find this tree, i found a wonderful stall of wildflower perennials, loads of which i wish to incorporate into my border this year.
However i held of buying (the entire lot :D) because i wasnt sure if they would be ok being planted this early in the year? I cant remember what they were but they were definitely summer flowering, things like scabious etc...?

A note of caution - whilst Scabious varieties should be fine in the garden, and if you choose the right one, perennial, many wildflowers will only be in flower during the summer months, and then they all keel over. In a small garden, this is not a great idea, frankly - winter will mean piles of dead foliage and nowt else out there.
I've been watching the Sarah Raven series on high pollen plants to improve the numbers of bees, etc, and she mentions wild flowers a lot. However, my feeling about it is, fine if you've got a very large garden where you can do a meadow or a whole swathe of them, brilliant on land next to motorways, or between flats on large estates, not fine in a small garden.
Nonetheless, there are many plants which bees, etc., absolutely love, such as Hebe, Lavender, Salvias (not the red bedding ones) Echinacea, Scabious, Mallow, herbs like thyme and oregano, plus lots of others which are just as useful in that regard - so long as they are not double flowered forms. So unless you really fancy wildflowers in your garden, I'd recommend choosing other plants.

Thanks Bamboo, i already have some perennial scabious, im looking at wildlife friendly plants, not necessarily all annual wildflowers. Im hoping to get a honeysuckle for the fence this year mixed with shrubs and perennials. I have a pyracantha and skimmia for winter interest and love the look of the amelanchier because i believe it says they have lovely spring flowers followed by berries and then autumn colour :) I'd probably just use annuals for hanging baskets and to fill the gaps, thanks for the suggestions, i remember they had mallow there now :)

Besides which, anything is better than the empty mud borders ive had this year LOL!