What to Feed Birds

[counterlady]

HI I would like to start a thread on what different types of food attract different birds/wildlife and would love people to join in so I can get a good idea of which Bird/Wildlife likes what.

Ie.
Sunflower seeds - Tits
Apples - Redwing

and so on. You guys have been doing this for a long time you probably have some little secrets up your sleeves

[Deb London]

Good thread.

Apples can also be eaten by Blackbirds, Fieldfares, Starlings, tits, thrushes, Blackcaps.

[Phoebe]

What about Nyger seed for the goldfinches although they also like sunflower hearts

[astarsdad]

Beyond the usual seeds and fruit, a mixture of diced potato, chopped breadcrumbs and porage oats, fried in old sunflower oil is proving very productive for me at the moment.

[nightshade]

Small insectivorous birds, Wren, Robin etc. fineley grated cheese, dried or live meal worms, brandlings, or other worms from the compost.
Peanuts, kibbled, are acceptable to most birds. DO NOT feed whole nuts during the spring as they can choke young birds.
Sunflower hearts, marginally cleaner to feed than Black sunflower (no waste husk) everything seems to eat them. Currently favourite with Goldfinches, Bullfinches, Bramlings, Chaffinches, Sparrows, Tits, woodpeckers. You can crush them chop them even make an approximation of humus to suit different birds.
Suet and Lard, for severe weather with added, dried fruit or mealworms, seems to suit all comers, pressed into pinecones, yogurt tubs, or rough barked logs for ground feeders.
I use a four foot hanging log with drilled holes to take mealworm, peanuts, peanut butter and suet. Woodpeckers and Nuthatches like this.
Wholemeal bread with peanut butter (cheap supermarket brands) Porridge with various additions, any old crows that are passing
I even put out a small water dispenser with honey or sugar water (in case of passing Hummingbirds ) or Bumblebees etc.

[actionfinch]

Originally Posted by Phoebe

What about Nyger seed for the goldfinches although they also like sunflower hearts

Yeah they dont like my nyger seed.
Sunflower hearts/seed hit home with nuthatches , tits , robin,even the woodpigeons who raid my low to the ground feeder out the front garden..
there very versatile in my garden.

[SheffieldLass]

I put out a going soft marrow ... blackbirds got busy with that. And also some carrots that had started to rot, thinking that the rabbit that has got into the garden might appreciate them and leave my leeks alone. The blackbirds were busy pecking at those too, made quite a bit of headway with them. Then all of a sudden the carrots disappeared, I think the rabbit did find them.

Now whether either of those are good for the birds, I don't know. They won't have been desperate for food as I've been giving them plentiful seed, and indeed there was some seed next to the carrots and marrow when I saw a blackbird eating them.

I also put out some cold chips ... there obviously hadn't been good trade at the chip shop so they'd been hanging around too long and weren't exactly appetising to me, so rather a lot got left. But they went down a treat with the blackbirds.

[toadpole]

on the subject of feeding ....can anyone tell me IS there anything Pidgeons will NOT eat that the smaller birds will ???????? honestly i dont begrudge them and even feed on my front lawn where they usually are ...and have ignored the fact that they are increasing in numbers everyday !!!!!!....but they are not happy till they have taken every bit of food thats available ....and the cost is mounting up each week ...i even had one land on one of my window feeders (the one place i thought was safe from them )..needlesss to say it fell to the ground and broke ...i have lost count the times i have said ''bloody pidgeons'' over christmas..it must be in the hundreds !!!! Marion

[counterlady]

Some great tips here folks - thanks for all the advice - I've recently lost my dog and am at a loss without someone to eat our leftovers. After some of these posts I can definately start putting out the waste for the birds a bit more. Makes a nice change I suppose from the same old bird seeds!!!

I know what you mean about the pigeons I have at least 4 pair of wood pigeons and 3 pair of collared doves flying in and out all the time. They all get on really well and can all land at the same time on occasion without even being concerned. I dont mind them and the little birds just carry out regardless diving in and out of the table.

I have been spending quite a bit and the normal shops sell seed at around £3.50 a go but I have just discovered Home Bargins and they had so much stuff in there and it was sooooo cheap - I got loads for £3.50 and at present my bird table is congested

We get free fruit at work as a perk and on Fridays there is always some left over which gets thrown away - I will be bringing that home as well to put out that should be interesting