Suitable Wild Bird Foods

Variety

If you're looking to attract a variety of birds to your garden, then you will almost certainly have to provide various types of food. Seeds, peanuts, fruits, bread and kitchen scraps in a range of sizes, which will all help to bring a diversity of bird species to your table.

It's worth bearing in mind that large pieces of food will tend to attract large birds like gulls and magpies. These birds can often deter many smaller visitors to your feeding area and they only tend to spend a minute or two in your garden, so you'll probably end up having long periods with no birds at all. As a result, you may prefer to put out a variety of smaller foods that will attract garden birds throughout the day.

Seeds

With such a large variety of seeds to choose from, it can often be difficult to know what type of food you should provide for birds in your garden.

Black Sunflower Seeds

Small black-oil sunflower seeds can often be a good starting point as they contain a high content-to-shell ratio and the shell is thin enough for birds to easily crack open. They are popular with Tits and Greenfinches.

Sunflower Hearts

Many people prefer to feed sunflower hearts. The sunflowers without the shells. It is slightly more expensive but does save on cleaning the mess the shells can make. Attractive to a wide range of birds. 

Millet

Millet is a popular seed with many small garden birds including house Sparrows, Collared Doves, Dunnocks and Finches.

Nyjer Seeds

Small black seeds which need a special feeder to stop them blowing away. Nyjer seed is loved by Goldfinches and will help to attract them to your garden. Also nyjer seed added to home made birdcake may get Long-tailed Tits interested.

Seed Mixes

In general, you should avoid seed mixes that contain beans, peas, rice and lentils as they are usually just added to cheaper mixes to add bulk.

Other Foods

Fat and Suet

Suet balls and cakes are usually very popular amongst the small to medium-sized birds such as Blue Tits and Starlings. They are relatively inexpensive, but don't be too surprised if they don't last very long. You should also avoid using them in hot weather, as they may become rancid if they have not been suitably treated and processed during manufacture.

Peanuts

Peanuts are a definite favourite for many garden birds and a simple wire mesh feeder enables even the smallest birds to peck out small manageable pieces. They should never be fed whole unless in a wire mesh feeder during the nesting season; young birds will choke on them.

Kitchen Scraps 

• Fruit
• Apples are very popular with Starlings, Blackbirds and Thrushes 
• Fresh Coconut 
• Potatoes 
• Porridge

Cheese

Cheese can be especially popular with Wren and Robins and it will be especially popular if it has been crumbled or grated into small lentil-sized chunks.

Bread

Bread should always be soaked before feeding to birds. To feed a lot of bread is not giving much in the way of nutrients.

Live foods

Insects