Discover the seeds your birds love
Your garden birds enjoy a variety of seeds, but some are clear favourites. They’re easy to eat, high in energy and they are perfect for different beak types. Here’s some of the most popular:
Sunflower Seeds
Sunflower hearts are husk-free, clean, no mess and very easy for small birds to tuck into.
Black sunflower seeds come in the husk and they’re high in oil and very nutritious.
Attract: Blue tits, great tits, robins, finches, sparrows and nuthatches.
Shop Sunflower Hearts
Shop Black Sunflower Seeds
Nyjer Seeds
These tiny oil-rich seeds are perfect for finches. They should be placed in a special nyjer feeder, which has tiny holes.
Attracts: Goldfinch, Siskin and Redpolls
Shop Nyjer Seeds
Seed Mixes and Blends
A combination of seeds and grains, which can be fed from a feeder, bird table or the ground. Always choose a quality option full of nutritious seeds and low in cheap fillers such as wheat which is often wasted by the birds.
Attracts: Sparrows, chaffinches, robins, dunnocks, collared doves, blue tits, great tits and goldfinch.
Shop Seed Mixes and Blends
Species Specific Food
Every one has been formulated to appeal to a specific type of bird with its unique feed preference, beak shape and feeding habit.
Attracts: Tits, finches, blackbirds, thrush, doves and robins
Shop Species Specific
Getting started
If you’re new to bird-feeding and unsure which seeds to begin with, sunflower hearts are a great place to start. They’re readily eaten by most birds, high in oil, provide maximum energy and because they have the husks already removed, there’s no mess at all.
Seed blends are great for attracting a wide variety of garden birds, too, but remember that not all them feed in the same way. Some birds such as tits are happy swinging on a feeder, while robins prefer to keep both feet on the ground. Put up a feeder, sprinkle some on a bird table and scatter plenty on the ground or in a special ground feeder with bespoke frame to keep the food dry and the small birds safe.
What to avoid
Give cheap mixes a miss. They are often full of wheat, which is wasted by the birds, as they reject it in favour of the seeds. Wheat ends up on the ground, attracting large birds and rodents.
Never buy mouldy or dusty seed as it can seriously affect birds, causing aflatoxins, respiratory infections, digestive illness and immune suppression.