Bird food buying guide

Feeding garden birds is one of life’s simple pleasures that can bring endless joy to both young and old. To ensure it’s as safe as possible for garden birds, we’ve put together a guide on the different types of bird food available and how and when to feed these foods.

When should I feed garden birds?

Garden birds can be fed all year round, but it’s important to adapt how we feed birds during the autumn and summer months. This is because during this time of year, the risk of spreading disease is higher, so it’s vital to take precautions to ensure birds stay safe.

Feed seasonally, feed safely

To keep birds healthy, from 1 May to 31 October, we advise pausing feeding birds seed and peanuts to prevent too many birds from gathering in one place. This is because there is a higher risk of disease spreading at this time of year. Thankfully, this is also when birds have lots of natural food available.

It’s okay to continue feeding birds mealworms, fat balls or suet year-round. Find out more on how to feed seasonally and feed safely.

Birds have different needs throughout the year. In spring, you can help support nesting birds throughout the breeding season by providing food and water, so they can ensure their young chicks are growing.

Although summer often provides a range of food sources for our garden birds, dry ground and a lack of water can mean birds do not hydrate enough, so putting out water is essential.

In the second half of the year, many migrant birds arrive at bird feeders hungry after their long journey and most of our garden birds prepare for the cooler months, by trying to find more fatty nutrients.

In late summer, birds also start shedding their feathers and growing new ones, while trying to keep warm during moulting. So, providing an energy-rich food source is important for the birds' health and survival throughout all the seasons. Although food shortages can occur at any time of year, garden feeding has its greatest benefit during winter and spring when the natural food supply is at its lowest.

In addition to all the goodness for the birds, bird feeding is a popular activity - over half of adults in the UK feed birds in their garden.

Providing your garden birds with supplementary food will bring them closer, for you to enjoy their behaviour and wonderful colours, and it is a great way to get children engaged with wildlife.

Bear in mind though, supplementary feeding can't provide all the natural proteins and vitamins that adult and young birds need. That's why it is important to provide a generally wildlife-friendly environment, such as lawns, shrubs and flowerbeds. By providing both natural and supplementary food, your garden will be visited year-round by many different birds!

What do birds eat?

You want to make sure every bird in your garden - from small birds like Robins and Blue Tits to larger birds like woodpeckers and Blackbirds - gets the right kind of energy-rich bird food they need.

We put together a handy guide to help you choose which birds like what foods best.

All year round feeding

Suet

Suet balls, cakes and suet pellets are excellent high-energy foods that are safe to feed all year round and are popular with many garden birds.

Suet is a versatile food that is rich in fat, ideal for giving birds energy. RSPB Super suet also contains a higher percentage of fat than other varieties available. It also doesn’t contain any cheap fillers (like chalk) which have no nutritional value.

Our suet products are specially formulated so they're suitable for year-round feeding. However, if positioned in direct sunlight, they may soften or melt in very hot weather. If this happens, try placing them in a shaded spot instead, or waiting until the weather is cooler.

Mealworms

Mealworms are relished by Robins, Blue Tits and Blackbirds, and may attract other insect-eating birds, such as Pied Wagtails. They are a natural food and can be used to feed birds throughout the year.

Dried mealworms make an excellent substitute for live mealworms, and if desired, can be rehydrated by soaking them in warm water for a few minutes. They also have the advantage of being easy to store and less messy to handle, and can be sprinkled directly from the packet.

Seasonal feeding

Seed and peanuts can be fed from 1 November to 30 April. This is because during the cooler months, there is less risk of spreading disease. For more information on feeding birds safely and seasonally, visit the RSPB website.

There is a range of bird seed mixes for feeders to suit species that feed in different ways. The best mixtures contain plenty of oil-rich seeds such as sunflower hearts and whole sunflower seeds.

Small seeds, such as millet, attract mostly House Sparrows, Dunnocks, finches, Reed Buntings and Collared Doves, while flaked maize is taken readily by Blackbirds.

Tits and Greenfinches favour sunflower hearts, peanuts and sunflower seeds.

Pinhead oatmeal (coarse cut oats) is excellent for many birds, and naked oats are even higher in oil and energy than ordinary oats.

Sunflower seeds are a great choice for garden birds. The oil content is higher in black than striped ones, so they are much better. Sunflower hearts (the husked kernels) are a popular no-mess food, and the best quality ones are higher in oil (and energy) than peanuts.

Nyjer seeds are small and black with a high oil content. They need a special type of seed feeder, and are particular favourites with Goldfinches and Siskins.

Peanuts are high in fat and are popular with tits, Greenfinches, House Sparrows, Nuthatches, Great Spotted Woodpeckers and Siskins.

Peanuts can be high in a natural toxin, which can kill birds, so make sure your peanuts were tested and are good quality to guarantee they are free from aflatoxin. Peanuts have to be grown in tropical conditions, so they are not a natural food for European bird species. For this, they also have to be transported long distances, so while we sell peanuts we do suggest to use much better alternatives such as RSPB Super Suet Pellets (formerly known as Buggy Nibbles). They don't have the choking hazard of peanuts and, made in the UK, our nibbles don't have to travel as far as peanuts.

How often should I clean my bird feeders?

Keeping on top of hygiene is absolutely crucial when feeding birds to avoid the spread of disease. Ensure that you give your bird feeders and bird baths a thorough clean at least once a week. Use tap water to change the water in your bird bath daily, and if possible, move your feeders weekly to avoid the build-up of debris underneath.

For more information on keeping birds safe by keeping on top of hygiene, read our cleaning buying guide.