Collection: Bird Food

Some birds become so familiar with the routine, that they will be found waiting for you to fill the bird table, rewarding you with hours of entertainment, colour and song.

Time flies as you watch birds queuing at the feeder and taking it in turns to feed – it’s fascinating, immensely entertaining and very rewarding. It is also calming and therapeutic to sit down with a cup of tea and watch their interactions.

At Ark Wildlife we enjoy hearing your many delightful anecdotes and seeing your photos. We even run a monthly garden bird photo competition giving you the chance to win vouchers for any garden bird photos you share with us.

Which bird food should I start with?

An easy way to start attracting birds is to put up two bird feeder favourites. Fill the first bird feeder with sunflower hearts and the second with peanuts. You might also want to add some fat balls.

As you get to recognise the different types of birds that visit your garden, we`ll help you choose different feeders and bird foods that will appeal to the birds you want to attract. We`ll also give you some top tips for feeding along with advice and guidance on where to put your bird feeders and how to maintain them. We will also advise you on which bird food to use with the changing seasons.

How to increase the diversity of your garden birds with a wide range of bird food

To increase the diversity of species that visit your feeders and to keep them in the garden longer and more often, you`ll need to offer a wide range of bird food. This should then be offered at different heights on and above the ground; it`s what we call tiered bird feeding.

Some birds, such as woodpeckers, aren’t seed eaters, and you can offer these splendid birds fat, suet, peanuts or perhaps live mealworms. Others, such as blue tits and great tits, have mixed diets and will enjoy bird seeds as well as fat and suet.

Some birds, such as finches and sparrows, are specialist bird seed eaters and will only visit the garden bird feeder if a good quality bird seed mix with their preferred seeds is available. The charming goldfinch will typically only spend time at the bird feeder if sunflower seeds or niger seed is available.

Wild birds need water as much as food for drinking and bathing. We always recommend putting fresh clean water out every day of the year.