Different birds have different food requirements as they navigate their lifetime, high-protein in spring, high-energy during winter, and supplementary offerings such as suet will help birds live a healthier life. That said, all birds have their preferences.
Birds can eat an amazing variety of food when it’s available, especially at this time of year (early spring) as parent birds will be in desperate need of food to break free from winter and arrive fit and healthy for a successful spring breeding season.
The amount of food available will ultimately impact upon the amount of birds you can expect to visit feeding areas; however, achieving a balance and not overfeeding birds makes good sense as an empty bird feeder is merely an ornament and yet a build-up of food – particularly during prolonged wet spells – is a waste of money. Here’s a tip: if you notice that the food is going stale and not being eaten, then you are probably placing out too much for the birds in one day.
The astute bird gardener studies her potential bird listing, and will supply her mixes suitably. When you look at the birds that visit your garden you will notice that some species are carnivorous, some are seed-eaters and some are vegetarian, so it will become quite clear which is a bird’s favourite food by your visitors. You can do little about the meat-eaters!
If you look at the kind of birds that visit your garden you can potentially work out what birds will eat what; for instance, finches are hard-billed and mostly eat grain and seeds. Robin and Wrens, Blackbirds and other thrushes are Softbills, which means they mostly eat delicate soft foods.
So what is a bird’s favourite food and what foods should I provide?
Sunflower Hearts
Haith's SUPERCLEAN™ hearts also provide high calorific value and high-energy to keep garden birds healthy. They're universally well-known for keeping bird feeding simple yet effective. The sheer amount of birds they appeal to is sensational, which is why they feature in many of our high-energy bird foods. Feeding de-husked sunflower helps birds spend less time cracking open Black Sunflower Seed husks and more time providing for their family during the breeding season.
Niger Seed
We've been supplying Niger Seed since the 1930s when its unique tonic properties were well renowned within the bird-keeping world and were one of the first companies to pioneer feeding Niger Seed to wild birds. It's a fine, free flowing oil-rich seed which needs to be fed from a special Niger feeder.
Peanuts
Our premium peanuts are chosen for their quality, colour and variety. When it comes to picking nuts, we know what to look for! Importantly though, the quality of nuts available varies greatly and poor quality ones can actually be harmful to birds. So only ever buy the best quality - which you can always be sure of from Haith's, they're high in calories and exceptionally high in beneficial oils. Peanuts can be contaminated with a naturally occurring poison called Aflatoxin but Haith’s have them checked regularly which we send a sample off to laboratories to carry out independent tests.
Softbill
Made to our original 1950s recipe! This is a high protein bird food containing minerals and vitamins blended with Bakers' Honey, vegetable oils and a rich nutritional softfood. It requires no mixing and should be stored in a cool dry place. It's the equivalent of soft and natural baby food; ideal for parents and youngsters. Robins, Wrens and Blackbirds are just a few of the ground feeding birds who will readily take to this nutritional Softfood, even hedgehogs will make a meal of this. If you want timid Wrens to tuck in to this, put a small amount in a suitable container and place in a sheltered position at the base of shrubs, then just wait.
Mealworms
Dried mealworms have many of the advantages of live mealworms but also have additional benefits; they can be mixed with softfoods . We recommend using dried mealworms judiciously during the breeding season and ideally moistening prior to use by soaking them in warm water to rehydrate them for youngsters. They can also be fed as they are - straight from the bag as they deliver extra protein all-year-round.
Seed Mixes
Seed mixes are suitable for a wide variety of birds; they are impressively popular, affordable selection of bird seeds suitable for year round feeding to a wide variety of garden birds. Our bird feed is ideal for ground and bird table feeding - as well as for use in bird seed feeders. It also contains high-energy sunflowers and wholegrain cereal for slow release energy.
Feeding your bird’s favourite food throughout the year is highly recommended by us, and it is not just winter that the birds need our help. If you need any further help or advice please do not hesitate to call us on 0800 298 7054 or visit our website www.haiths.com
Written by Chris Smith
