How To Feed The Birds In Your Garden

FEEDING GARDEN BIRDS

Attracting a range of wild birds to your garden is easy! Simply supplement naturally available food with bird food and they'll flock in!

Helping garden birds can be as rewarding for you as it is for them. By using bird tables and hanging feeders, you can bring wild birds right up to your window!

What should you feed wild bird?

When it comes to feeding the birds in your garden there are five main types of wild bird food available:

1. Seed Mixes - These mixes offer the ideal blend of food for birds. Suitable for use with bird feeders, tables or even on the ground. These seed mixes will attract a wide variety of wild birds to your garden!

2. Straight Seeds - Straight bird food is an easy way to deliver highly nutritional food to cage or wild birds and allows you to create your own seed mix.

3. Husk Free Seed Blends - Similar to the above the husk free blends have had their shells removed. This means not only is there much less mess left behind but also allows birds who wouldn't normally be able to crack the husks to eat the mix. Many of these blends also include the addition of mealworms or suet pellets.

4. Suet (Pellets or Fatballs) - A high energy, nutrional food for wild birds. Made using a mixture of suet, seeds, cereals this feed may or may not contain mealworms. Coming many forms including pellets, blocks and balls this food source can be feed all year round but is particularly ideal in the winter months.

5. Mealworms - Mealworms are a highly nutritious snack that will be adored by hungry nestlings and breeding birds. They also help birds to find important nutrients when natural supplies may be low.

How to feed wild birds:

There are many ways to feed the wild birds in your garden and no matter which method you choose you'll be guaranteed a front row seat to observe them!

1. Hanging Feeders - Providing hanging bird feeders in your garden is an excellent way to feed seeds, peanuts and specialist seed mixes to the more agile species such as Blue Tits, Greenfinches and House Sparrow.If squirrels are a problem, hang feeders at least six feet above the ground      and 10-15 feet away from trees or structures where squirrels can jump.

2. Table or Ground Feeding - Not all birds will feed from a feeder. If you are  looking to feed birds such as Blackbirds, Robins, or Wood Pigeons    spread the feed on either a feeding table or the ground.

3. Mesh Peanut Feeders – These are great for allowing birds to take smaller amounts of food rather than whole nuts which can be a choking hazard. These feeders will attract birds such as tits, chaffinches, starlings and sparrows.

4. Homemade – These are a great way of getting your children involved in feeding wild birds! From diy teacup feeders to half coconuts or pinecones covered with a mixture of vegetable suet and seeds. This is a great way to attract tits, sparrows and greenfinches.

5. Niger / Nyjer Seed Feeders - Specially designed for fine, nyjer seed, these nyjer feeders are perfect for attracting goldfinches, greenfinches and siskins to your garden.