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What Can I Feed To Wild Birds ?

5 replies

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 16/10/2026 20:15

On the back of the thread in the summer to leave water for wildlife :

I left shallow containers of water for whatever came into our garden , changed every day . I don;t know who used them ( though I did see our MaleCat slurping it )

So I;m thinking about food . This will be for birds and it will need to be high up and out of the way of our cats .
I bought some FatBalls and put in an empty hanging basket but I'm not sure if these are good for all birds ?

Any ideas ?
I'm carrying on with the water .
I don;t want rats or foxes but I guess they are pretty agile so if they fancy the food , they;ll try to have it .

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PinkCatCushion · 16/10/2026 20:20

Best thing is to plant a selection of shrubs with year round food for them. Autumn is a great time to get them in the ground so they can start to establish.
There are loads to choose from so enjoy having a browse round a garden centre or online.

HoppityBun · 16/10/2026 20:24

On the question of fat balls, the supermarket ones aren’t recommended because they’re full of cheap fillers. The living with birds people do a good one.

I’ve been putting out flutter butter, the peanut butter jars, all summer and they’ve been appreciated.

I’ve also been putting out suet / seed blocks. I wanted the vegan ones but can no longer get them easily. I’m not sure that the birds ate them: there was a small mouse sitting on one when I walked past. We looked at each other in the eye and I left it alone as it’s right at the bottom of the garden and I tend to think that wildlife needs all the help it can get.

In January/February I’ll put out seeds but I need to get a new feeder for that that’s both hygienic and doesn’t scatter stuff on the ground

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 16/10/2026 20:27

I have brambles ( not a fan but I leave them for wild life ), and various berried plants (Dogwood and Pyracantha both laden at the moment ) and a Passionflower which will get fruits - are they good for birds ?

I've seen things like peanut butter with additions like seeds or mealworms. High in fat for their winter .
Years ago when the DC were little I tried the half coconut on a string but the birds ignored it !

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TheNoonBell · 16/10/2026 20:46

I'm feeding the little birds sunflower hearts at the moment and have a few feeders with birdseed out. We get mobs of various tits (great, blue and coal), nuthatches, sparrows, wrens, dunnocks, greenfinches, goldcrests and jays. The Robin assigned to our garden pretends he is orchestrating the whole show.

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 17/10/2026 23:27

I have ordered a holder and some good quality fat balls which will suit the small agile birds .
We have magpies and pigeons that visit so they;ll need something to suit them but still out of the cats' reach .

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