Spring Sale is Extended through the Summer

We've extended our spring sale through to the end of July.

All Peanuts & sunflower seeds are reduced in price & come with free delivery for orders over £50.

Economy Peanuts

25kg of Economy Peanuts are now just £39.99 - offer valid until 31st July 2014

Sunflower Hearts

25kg of Premium Sunflower Hearts are now just £38.99 - offer valid until 31st July 2014

Kennedy Wild Birds has a huge selection of wild bird food, feeders & accessories as well as dog food & cat food. We're open 6 days a week so please visit us in store or order online for next day delivery.

Feeding the Birds

By feeding the birds all year round we give them a better chance to survive the periods of natural food shortage, whenever they may occur. Providing birds with supplementary food brings them closer for us to see their exciting behaviour and wonderful colours. Attracting birds to your garden has other benefits too because they will naturally hunt for the insects and pests that are living on your plants. Don't be too tidy, leaving your perennial top growth until spring not only protects the crown but also provides areas that birds can forage for over-wintering insects. Now the weather is deteriorating and food sources are becoming rarer, the birds rely even more on garden feeding stations. Not only does this see them through severe weather and food shortages but it ensures that they will enter next years breeding season in good condition.

Put out food and water on a regular basis and in severe weather check your feeders every day. Birds require high energy (high fat) foods during the cold winter weather as they need to maintain their body reserves to survive the frosty nights. Use only good quality food and scraps. Always adjust the quantity given to the demand, and never allow uneaten food to accumulate around the feeders. Once you establish a feeding routine, try not to change it.

Kennedy Wild Bird Food - Nut Feeders

There are different mixes of bird food and the form they come in will determine whether you use a hanging feeder or scatter on bird tables or the ground. The better mixtures contain plenty of flaked maize, sunflower seeds, and peanut granules. Small seeds, such as millet, attract mostly house sparrows, dunnocks, finches, reed buntings and collared doves, while flaked maize is taken readily by blackbirds. Mixes that contain chunks or whole nuts are suitable for winter feeding only as young birds would choke on the larger pieces.

High fat or oil content is especially important in winter feeding. Black sunflower seeds have a higher oil content than striped ones, and so they are much better. Peanuts are rich in fat and are popular with tits, greenfinches, house sparrows, nuthatches, great spotted woodpeckers and siskins. Crushed or grated nuts attract robins, dunnocks and even wrens. Peanuts can be high in a natural toxin (aflatoxin) which can kill birds, so ensure you buy peanuts from a reputable source that have been aflatoxin tested. Nyjer seeds also have a high oil content but because they are so small they need a special type of seed feeder. It is worth the effort though because they attract families of goldfinches and siskins.

Another good winter food source is bird cake, suet treats and fat balls. Remove the nylon mesh bags before putting the fat ball out because they can trap and injure birds. Polyunsaturated margarines or vegetable oils are unsuitable for birds. Unlike humans, birds need high levels of saturated fat, such as raw suet and lard. They need the high energy content to keep warm in the worst of the winter weather, since their body reserves are quickly used up, particularly on cold winter nights.

Kennedy Wild Bird Food - Nut Feeders

Hygiene is as important with birds as it is with humans, so remove any mouldy or stale food from your feeding station. Many moulds are harmless, but some can cause respiratory infections in birds and stale food provides a breeding ground for salmonella bacteria. At least one type of salmonella causes death among such species as greenfinches and house sparrows. If food turns mouldy or stale on your bird table, you are probably placing out too large a quantity for the birds to eat in one day. Also try to avoid large quantities of food scattered on the ground as this may attract mice and rats which carry diseases.

Take a look at the huge range of bird feeders and bird food we have on the website. The food you put out will determine the birds you attract and also what sort of feeding station you need. Aesthetics and practicalities come into it too as you will be the one maintaining and replenishing the feeder. You can buy a feeder as a treat for yourself or put together a selection of different feeders with the appropriate food as a gift for the ornithologist in the family!

We have a huge selection of nut feeders & wild bird feed in store & online so come & visit us soon - wee look forward to seeing you.

Peter, Anne & the team.

Fine Wildlife Foods At Competitive Prices

Do you want to increase the number & types of wildlife that visits your garden?

The only way to achieve this is to offer some tasty treats to your feathered & furry friends & regardless of the time of year, you will see a marked increase very quickly if you regularly leave fresh food & water out.

At Kennedy Wild Bird Food we pride ourselves on delivering the finest wildlife foods at the most competitive prices - so you don't have to break the bank to satisfy the hungriest of your garden visitors.

Our high quality bird seed & bird nuts are personally sourced by our management team with value for money & nutrition being paramount.

And with our fantastic Spring offers on peanuts & sunflower hearts as well as our free delivery AND 5% discount on all orders over £50, we don't believe we can be beaten on price, service or quality.

Our website can process your orders 24 hours a day, and we generally despatch orders within 24 hours for next day delivery, so you're only ever a couple of days away from receiving your wildlife food. But if you need to talk to one of our experts, please call our office on 01778 342665 between 9am & 5pm and we'll do our very best to help you.

Peter, Anne & the team look forward to hearing from you very soon.

Feeding Garden Birds This Spring

Feeding garden birds

The modern approach to garden bird feeding is to use a range of foods that support the specific nutritional requirements of a wide range of species over the course of a year. There is a scientific evidence highlighting the positive effects that the provision of supplementary food can have on birds. For example, the provision of supplementary food has been shown to improve overwinter survival in a number of species.

What foods should I provide?

Many garden birdwatchers provide black sunflower seeds and sunflower hearts as their staple foods. Alongside these, quality peanuts, nyjer seed and high-energy seed mixes are all greatly appreciated. There are other foods, e.g. sultanas (soak in water first) that are good for ground-feeding Blackbirds, while pinhead oats are ideal for fine-billed Dunnocks (but should not be left out in wet weather). Finely grated cheese and windfall apples can be very useful, particularly in the winter, while peanut cake (a mix of fats and peanut flour) will attract species like Long-tailed Tit. Fat smeared into cracks in tree bark will be found by Treecreepers and woodpeckers. Live foods, such as mealworms are readily taken by Robins, Blackbirds and Wrens.

Black sunflower seeds:

Black sunflower seed was introduced in the early 1990s and revolutionised bird feeding by providing a high energy food in a readily accessible form. Black sunflower seeds have thinner husks than the more traditional striped sunflower seeds and so are easily to split open. Black sunflower seeds are a favourite of Greenfinches and tits, though they may be shunned if sunflower hearts are available nearby. The downside of feeding these seeds is the pile of husks left below the feeder. Shop now for Black Sunflower Seeds >>>

Sunflower hearts:

Sunflower hearts are more expensive than black sunflower seeds but they have two advantages. First, the birds can feed more quickly because they do not have to remove the husk. Second, the lack of the husk means that there is no unsightly pile of husks left behind on the ground after the birds have had their fill. Shop now for Sunflower Hearts >>>

Seed mixes:

Seed mixes come in a vast range, differing in content and quality. Cheap mixes often have a high proportion of cereal. These larger grains are favoured by sparrows and pigeons. Better quality mixes have a lower cereal content and so are particularly suitable for finches and buntings. The best mixes are carefully balanced to cater for a range of species. Some now contain added suet pellets, fruit or pieces of mealworm. Shop now for Seed Mixes >>>

Peanuts:

Peanuts are high in oils and proteins and have been used for feeding birds form many decades. Always buy good quality peanuts from a reputable source and avoid any that show any signs of mould. Peanuts are best supplied behind a wire mesh so that a bird cannot take a whole peanut away. Keep you peanuts in a cool and dry environment and buy them in small quantities, so that they do not sit around for too long. Peanuts can be contaminated with a naturally occurring poison called aflatoxin. Shop now for Premium Peanuts >>>

Nyger:

Nyger, sometimes seen spelt nyjer or sold as 'thistle' seed, is a relatively new addition to the bird feeding market and it is one that initially found favour with Goldfinches - which seemed to like the small size of these seeds. Because these seeds are so small they have to be supplied in a specially adapted feeder. They are oil rich and ideal for birds with delicate bills. There is some suggestion that Goldfinches now favour sunflower hearts, only moving onto the nyger when competition on other feeders is great. However, this may just be a local effect. Shop now for Niger Seed >>>

Mealworms:

Mealworms are not worms but the larval stage of a beetle. It is the larvae of the Yellow Mealworm Tenebrio molitor that are used widely as food for wild birds, as well as captive birds, reptiles and amphibians. Another less common but similar species, the Dark Mealworm Tenebrio obscura is sometimes used, the larva being somewhat smaller in size. Shop now fore Mealworms >>>

How much to feed and when

Try to balance the amount of food that you provide against the number of birds coming in to feed. In this way you will avoid creating a surplus of food that might go off or attract unwanted visitors, such as rats. Good practice is to clear your bird table down each night, removing uneaten food and any droppings.

Feeding throughout the year is recommended by conservation organisations, as it is not just during the winter that birds are under stress. If you are going away on holiday, then reduce the amount of food provided in the days leading up to your departure so the birds don't find that their favoured resource has suddenly disappeared.

Kennedy Wild Bird Food stocks a wide range of bird food, bird seed & seed & nut feeders - all available online & delivered next day. Shop online now & get free delivery & save 5% with orders over £50

Spring Visitors

During the spring and early summer, it's not just the milk van that will wake you early - it's dawn chorus time again.

From March to July, those feathered alarm clocks are at it again, as they defend their territories and sing to attract a mate. 

Springing into song

Our songbirds time their breeding season to the warmest part of the year, when there is plenty of food and lots of daylight in which to find it. As winter turns to spring, the lengthening daylight switches male songbirds into breeding mode.

The first songsters of the season are residents such as robins and great tits, joined later on by migrants like chiffchaffs and blackcaps to make May and June the peak time to enjoy the dawn chorus.

The early bird gets the worm

The first birds begin to sing about an hour before sunrise. If you listen carefully, you may notice that there is a regular sequence, with some species habitually starting before others. Among the earliest to rise are skylarks, song thrushes, robins and blackbirds, and as they do eat worms there may be some truth to the old saying!

A more relaxed approach is taken by wrens and warblers, that typically appear later. These smaller birds, who are perhaps more sensitive to the coldness of dawn, feed on insects that themselves appear later in the morning.

The truth dawns

The dim light of dawn is not a good time to go foraging. Food, like insects and seeds, may be difficult to find, so perhaps it's a better time to try and attract a mate. Singing also brings the risk of attracting a predator, so it is better done before the bright morning light betrays the singer's position.

The air is often still at this time and, with less background noise, song can carry up to 20 times as far. As the light strengthens food becomes easier to find, so hungry birds begin to move off and the chorus gradually diminishes.

There is another chorus at dusk, which is considered quieter, though some birds - like tree sparrows and blue tits – seem to prefer to sing at this time of day. It may simply be that we take less notice of it than the dawn chorus, when we are so keen to enjoy a few more moments in bed!

Sunflower Hearts are perfect for wild birds in spring

He who sings last...

Singing is hard work, and uses hard won food reserves, so it is the fittest, best-fed males who produce the strongest, most impressive song. Females therefore choose a mate who sings best, because such a male is more likely to be good at raising chicks, to have a good territory, or to pass successful genes to their young.

In many species, once the female has been attracted, the male will sing less often. A bird that sings on and on, late into the season, is probably a lonely batchelor who has failed to attract a mate.

Enjoying your dawn chorus

Peanuts are full of nutrients & are ideal for birds in springtime.

If you want to listen to a dawn chorus, then the best days to choose are those with fine, clear weather and little wind. It can be cold early in the day, so remember to take warm clothes. Late April through to early June is the best period, when most species are singing well.

Dawn chorus peaks half-an-hour before to half-an-hour after sunrise, but the variety of song can prove too confusing at that time, so why not get into position a good hour before sunrise, and enjoy the arrival of the performers as each takes their turn on stage.