Feeding wild birds


Importance of regular feeding:

• When you start feeding and encouraging wild birds into your garden they will quickly become dependant on you for food. Birds will travel to your garden specifically as a known source of food, expending precious energy to do so. It is therefore important to keep your bird feeders topped up and to feed the birds regularly throughout the year.

Importance of water:

• One thing people sometimes forget is the wild birds need for water, not only in summer, but throughout winter as well. This is not only for drinking purposes but also so they can bathe, which helps to keep their feathers in good condition. This in turn helps them stay healthy and retains their feathers ability to insulate their bodies.

Recommended food:

• Peanuts – must be feed from a mesh peanut feeder as whole peanuts can choke young birds.
• Sunflower seeds / Hearts (kernels) 
• Fatballs / Bird cakes 
• Insects 
• Quality seed mixes
  

Not recommended:

• Cooking fat
• Margarine / vegetable oils 
• Milk 
• Best to avoid moldy and stale food

Types of Garden birds:

In our experience these are some of the most popular garden feeding birds and examples of some of their favorite bird food.
 
Blue Tit: Fatballs, Peanuts, Sunflower Hearts

Great Tit: Fatballs, Sunflower Hearts

Coal Tit: Fatballs, Sunflower Hearts, Peanuts

Long Tail Tit: Fatballs, Peanuts

Blackcap: Fatballs, Peanuts, Sunflower Hearts

Gold Finch: Sunflower Hearts, Niger Seed

Green Finch: Peanuts, Sunflower Hearts

Chaffinch: Sunflower Hearts,
Ground feeder but does use hanging feeders

Robin: Sunflower Hearts, Meal Worms
Ground and hanging feeder user

Sparrow: Fatballs, Peanuts, Sunflower Hearts

Dunnock: Fatballs, Peanuts, Sunflower Hearts
Ground feeder but does can perch on some hanging feeders

Blackbird: feeds on ground debris from hanging feeders
Ground feeder but sometimes try to use hanging feeders

Thrush: feeds on ground debris from hanging feeders
Ground feeder

Starling: Fatballs, Peanuts,

Greater Spotted Woodpecker: Peanuts
Elusive, but will feed from hanging peanut feeders

Collared Dove: Sunflower Hearts
Ground feeder but will try to flutter and eat from hanging feeders

Pigeon: seems to hoover up most things
Ground feeder

Magpie: lurks on the periphery for anything that takes its fancy

Fieldfare: Apples
Ground feeder

Redwing: Apples
Ground feeder