How to feed your garden birds

There are all kinds of ways to feed birds, from bird tables and hanging feeders to devices you can make yourself.

Bird tables

Bird tables are suitable for many species and most foods. A simple tray is perfectly adequate, with or without a roof. It needs a raised rim to retain the food and a gap at each corner of the rim to allow rainwater drain away and allow you to clean away droppings and uneaten food. Do not be tempted by elaborate designs that are difficult to clean.

Feeders

Nut feeders are made of steel mesh, and are the only safe method of offering nuts to wild birds. The mesh size needs to be large enough to prevent beak damage and small enough to prevent large pieces of nut from being removed – about 6 mm is a good compromise.

Seed feeders are tubular transparent containers with holes, through which birds are able to access the seed. These are designed for sunflower seeds and seed mixes labelled feeder seed. They will attract tits, siskins and greenfinches.

Nyjer seed is smaller and needs a special type of seed feeder. They are particularly popular with goldfinches and siskins. Hopper types with trays or flat surfaces are suited to general cereal based mixes, although any seed mix can be used. They will attract a similar range of birds to a bird table. Make sure that all feeders drain easily and do not allow the build-up of old food with the associated health risks.

Home-made devices

Half-coconuts and tit bells filled with fat, bird cake, etc can be hung from your bird table, a tree or from a bracket on a wall. They will attract greenfinches, house sparrows and tits.

Other ideas

Fill the holes and cracks of a post or suspended log with fatty food, such as suet, for agile birds, such as tits, nuthatches, woodpeckers, treecreepers and even wrens.

Thrushes and dunnocks prefer to feed on the ground. For these birds, scatter food on the lawn or use a ground feeding tray or hopper well clear of cover to avoid lurking cats. Remember to change the area you scatter the food over every few days, and never put out more than is eaten the same day to avoid attracting vermin.

If you put food such as apples and bread on the ground, space it out in different places in the garden. This will reduce competition between birds so that more birds can feed at any one time. If there is snow on the ground, clear small areas before putting down the food.

If you have a garden, consider planting items for wildlife to feed on or take shelter in. 

Mesh bags – a warning

Peanuts and fat balls are regularly sold in nylon mesh bags. Never put out any food in mesh bags. These may trap birds’ feet and even cause broken or torn off feet and legs. Birds with a barbed tongue, eg woodpeckers, can become trapped by their beaks

Actively discourage the black, four legged flightless variety to your bird table 

www.wildbirdfood.uk.com

The best way to encourage birds into your garden is very simple: give them food.
Garden birds bring music, colour and charisma to a garden. And gardens have become important to birds, providing havens for declining species.

Goldfinch feeder. Credit: Richard Burkmar
Natural food
The most natural way of providing food for birds is to grow it. If your garden plants have fruit, berries, hips, seeds and nuts, they'll be a larder for birds, particularly in late summer and autumn.
The plants in your garden will also harbour birds' other natural food source - insects and other invertebrates. These are especially important during the breeding season. Features such as long grass, flowers, hedges, trees, dead wood, compost heaps and ponds all encourage invertebrates and therefore birds.
Providing food
Vary the mix of foods to encourage a good mix of birds. Garden birds come in different shapes and sizes and all have different preferences. Sunflower seeds are popular with green finches, whereas goldfinches prefer Niger seed. Kitchen scraps add variety to a bird's diet. In winter fat balls provide a great calorie boost for hungry birds, and in the breeding season putting out meal worms will provide an excellent protein source for birds with hungry chicks to feed.
Use a variety of feeding techniques and locations to attract as many birds as possible into your garden. Bird feeders are likely to attract many finches, tits, sparrows and even great spotted woodpeckers, but for any larger birds a bird table is a good addition. Many birds, such as thrushes and blackbirds, feed on the ground, while tree creepers benefit from food smeared into cracks in tree trunks.
Safety
Some food can be harmful to birds, so take care what you put out. Salty foods should never be put out, and dried foods such as desiccated coconut can be fatal as they swell in birds' stomachs. Dry bread should be moistened first for this reason. Choking is another potential hazard, mainly for young birds. Whole peanuts should not be used during the breeding season. Birds are susceptible to food poisoning too, and raw meats or mouldy food should not be provided.
Hygiene is important, and feeding stations should be cleaned regularly, with uneaten food replaced when it starts to spoil. Ideally the location of feeding stations should be changed regularly, to prevent bird droppings from accumulating and spreading disease.
Be careful to site feeders in places that cats can't reach, and with good all round vision to allow the birds to keep up their vigilance. If feeders have to be near vegetation, then a prickly bush, or one clipped closely around the base, should be unsuitable as an ambush point for felines. Sparrowhawks and other natural predators may also be discouraging to some wildlife gardeners, but these are unlikely to cause significant damage to populations. To many it is a real thrill to have a hunting sparrowhawk visit the garden, and is a clear sign of an ecosystem functioning well.

www.wildbirdfood.uk.com

Britain's National Bird

Time to vote for Britain,s National bird.

The most important vote you will cast this year!