Feeding wild birds is an increasingly popular activity. It gives people great pleasure to see a varied selection of birds visit their garden. It is estimated that over half of the adult population in this country put food out for birds. There are a whole host of products currently marketed as 'Wild bird food'. It is sometimes very difficult to get to grips with this plethora of products.
To put it simply, the main products are as follows:
- Wild bird mixtures - These products contain a range of seeds including Maize, black sunflower, Wheat, Red dari, Flaked maize, Striped Sunflower, Linseed, White Millet and Black Rape. As a rule of thumb, cheaper value mixes contain more wheat whereas premium mixtures contain more black sunflower and other more expensive seeds. Here at GJW Titmuss we offer a selection of wild bird mixtures ranging from standard wild bird mix to no waste mix.
-
Peanuts - These are rich in fat and are popular with tits, greenfinches, woodpeckers and siskins. All of our peanuts are tested for aflatoxin. We require certificates for each and every batch.
- Niger seeds - These are very small black seeds with very high oil levels. This product will require special Niger seed feeders. This seed is especially loved by Goldfinches, Redpoll and siskins.
- Black sunflower - This is an excellent year-round food and great value too. The oil content is particularly high.
- Sunflower hearts – This is essentially the sunflower seed without the husk. Sunflower hearts are super high in energy and leave very little waste. This does mean that they tend to be one of the more expensive wild bird foods.
Fat balls (suet treats) Fat balls have a high energy content, are convenient to handle and are great for year round feeding to a wide variety of wild birds.
People often think that providing wild bird food is purely a winter activity. However, wild birds actually benefit from food during the summer too. They need high protein food for periods when they are breeding and moulting. During the autumn and winter months, it is often advised that you feed the birds twice a day. Once in the morning then again in the afternoon. Birds need high energy, high protein food to maintain good health.
