How much do you spend on feeding the birds in your garden?

[Perfidy]

We’ve got a garden where we can feed birds for the first time. Previously had a back yard where the cat would have been able to access any bird feeder.

Bought some bit dierd seed and the little tosses have munched through loads. Looked at a bird table, 140!

A ridiculous amount, once you start feeding them more birds come. Every autumn I say I am not going to feed them this year then they start tapping on the window to tell me there is no food. I buy a 20kg sack of sunflower seeds which lasts about 2 months and costs around £22, I fill the feeder once a day and it takes a measuring jug once it's empty that's it unless it's really snowy or frozen as they would easily eat two jugs full a day. I then buy 150 fat balls at around £10 which last a fortnight. So roughly £9 a week, couldn't afford it if I wasn't buying in bulk. I don't feed June - Oct.

We buy a huge sack for about £20, it lasts months. At the moment I think less people are feeding birds as they now empty the feeders every day.

Probably about £100 but the joy of seeing them all and hearing their singing is totally worth it. I do fat balls and seed both in a hanging feeder and in a ground feeder as I have blackbirds in the garden.

Blackbirds are the most comical and entertaining. They also sunbathe in my garden which is beautiful. They sit on the floor and spread their wings. First time I saw that I thought it was injured!

Just put out what you feel comfortable with. There will hopefully be others feeding them to.

Sorry, £100 per year, about £8-9 per week. You soon find out what they like to eat and what they are fussy about. I forgot dried mealworm, I also feed them that.

Probably about a fiver on the birds and we also feed the hedgehogs which is probably about £2-3 a week, Birds also seem to enjoy the hedgehogs food if there is any left.

The accessories cost a lot though, like the bird table if you have one, we also have 2 hedgehog houses which are not particularly cheap either

Waaaay more then I should but it's such a joy !
I did find a squirrel in the metal hanging basket yesterday morning
I usually buy in Home Bargains but will look at bulk buys in the future

There are loads of bird tables available for far less than £140, or you could probably make one for next to nothing if you have some scrap wood -ask if anyone has some spare or tree branches they can give you.

Or ask for one for a gift, you know when you have no idea what you want for Christmas or birthday, now you want a bird table.

Currently getting robins again in the garden (after a neighbours cat got the family last year) they don’t eat though, any tips?
There is seed and fat balls
This year I don’t have any sparrows, last year they always came to feed

Too much 🙈 I love seeing them though. I buy 2 sacks of feed a year and then fat balls on occasion to. I only started 5 years ago and I've probably spent £150 on feeders and tables in that time. Oh and £80 on a camera to go in one of the houses, best £80 ever spent, watching them hatch is amazing

An absolute fortune. But it's one of the biggest pleasures in my life and cheaper than wine . We get goldfinches, green and speckled woodpeckers, nuthatches and a flock of ring-necked parakeets that queue on our washing line for the nut feeder, as well as the usual blue tits, great tits, sparrows, starlings, wrens, blackbirds, pigeons, jays and robins. A magpie has just built a nest in the tree right by our bedroom. I could (and do) watch them for ages every day.

I’m loving watching them. As is the puppy. But they scatter a lot of seed. I’d love robins but 8 think they groundfeed and the cat while very supportive of that wouldn’t be helpful.

I love watching them so try not to count the cost but my bird buffet has got silly, mealworms, seed, fat balls, suet pellets and peanut butter. The peanut butter has to be proper low salt for birds, human stuff will kill them. I may be a tad over invested here?

The odd homemade ball of bits and pieces in winter to hang a long way from the house. My experience is that where there is lots of bird feed hanging around and scattered, rats are encouraged. I dislike the idea of rats anywhere near the house.

I dread to think. My dh buys various bird food in massive tubs. I don’t even know where from. Maybe Costco.

He has feeders scattered throughout the garden trees and also a huge congregation of ground feeders that wait for him every morning.

Homemade fatballs CherryPavlova ?
Be careful how you store them😂

In answer to OP, too much! We have resident blackbird family who dig up and scatter soil from the pots if the feeders are empty. Little buggers, but I do love them.
We have them, a multitude of tits, robins, starlings, collared doves and spuggies.

They are so entertaining with their squabbling, worth the £5 ish a week they cost😁

It really depends how many feeders you have, and how often you replenish the birdseed. I have two hanging seed feeders, two hanging fat ball feeders, and a bird table. I like to mix extra sunflower hearts, kibbled peanuts, and mealworms in to normal birdseed, which you don't need to do, but it attracts a good range of birds. I love watching the birds so the cost is worth it for me. You can absolutely just stick to normal birdseed, which will keep the costs down.

We feed hedgehogs in our garden too. They are a delight, and we are so lucky they visit our garden each night. We feed them dry cat food, which is £3 a bag from Wilko, and lasts about two weeks.

@MoreSchnitzelPlease I am so jealous of your hedgehogs. One of my lifelong goals is to attract hedgehogs into our garden. Not seen one in 14 years of living here, despite backing onto woodland.

Would love a hedgehog too.

Probably spend £10 a month on fat balls, mealworms etc. We have a cute little robin who feeds high up as well as several other species. Hoping we get babies this year as put up bird boxes last year ready.