Feeding wild birds: when, with what and from which feeder

Garden bird feeding is that rare hobby you can set up in ten minutes, and from then on it plays a live nature documentary outside your window every morning. Tits, sparrows, goldfinches, greenfinches: where food appears reliably, a circle of regulars forms fast. A few rules are worth keeping to, though, because feeding done badly harms the birds more than no feeding at all.

When to feed

The main season for bird feeding is the cold half of the year. When the ground is frozen, the insects are gone and the days are short, small songbirds welcome every calorie, and a tit can lose a significant share of its body weight over a single winter night. From autumn to spring, feeding is therefore an unambiguous help. Summer feeding is a more divided question, and in many gardens the better summer service is a water dish kept fresh, but that one all the more so, because a heatwave is hard on birds too.

One rule holds in every season: once you start, be consistent. Birds build a reliable feeder into their route, and a feeding spot that suddenly goes empty in midwinter lets them down at exactly the hardest time.

What to feed from: the case for the silo

The classic open bird table has charm, but also a weak point: birds stand in the food and foul it, the seed gets wet and mouldy, and a dirty feeder spreads disease. A silo feeder solves both problems at once. The seed waits in a closed container, protected from rain, and the birds can only reach it at the feeding ports at the bottom, where there is nowhere to stand. It needs refilling less often, the seed stays clean, and the risk of spreading disease is far lower. Whatever feeder you use, wash it thoroughly a few times a year and let it dry completely.

What to feed, and what never

The backbone of feeding is black sunflower seed, taken by nearly every garden guest. Alongside it, fat balls do well (always with the net removed, as birds' feet can get caught in it), a small-seed mix suits sparrows and finches, apple pieces suit blackbirds, and unsalted walnuts suit tits. What never goes out: bread and pastries, which fill a bird's stomach without nourishing it, and salted, seasoned or fried leftovers. Spoiled, musty seed is off the list too: what smells suspect to you is poison to a bird.

Where to put the feeder

A good spot is open to view and safe. Hang the feeder at least one and a half to two metres up, a few metres from a dense bush or tree, so the birds have somewhere to flee from a sparrowhawk while a cat lurking in the bush cannot reach them in a single leap. Place it either very close to a window or a respectful distance away, the in-between band of 2-3 metres is the worst, because startled birds hit the glass at full speed. Rake through the ground under the feeder now and then so husks and droppings do not pile up.

And then the show

If the feeder sits in the right spot and runs reliably, the results follow: within a few weeks a morning timetable forms and you get to know the regulars. A nuthatch arriving with that decisive swoop, siskins always travelling in a troop, a tit doing upside-down gymnastics on the fat ball: free theatre, all winter long. A field guide or a bird ID app on the windowsill adds a lot to the experience.

Choosing a silo feeder or a seed mix? Write to us and we will happily help you put together the winter menu.