New to Bird Feeding?
Birds and gardens are a natural pairing, as anyone with an appreciation of either will tell you. Whether you have a small urban plot or an extensive rural acreage, it's likely that birds form a part of the backdrop to your home in a way that no other creatures do.
From the woodpigeons and robins of inner cities to the spotted flycatchers and mistle thrushes of leafy villages, birds seem to complement our surroundings wherever we are.
But it's much more than a mere aesthetic relationship - birds need gardens, and gardens need birds. However artificial our planted and groomed backyards may sometimes seem to birds, they represent a vital combination of woodland edge, meadow and scrub. In some cases, particularly in the countryside, gardens form an integral part of such habitats, while in more built-up areas they are often substitutes for the real thing - but no less important because of it.
You may have read about the steep declines affecting species which were once regarded as abundant. Song thrushes have vanished from many areas, for example, while numbers of house sparrows and starlings have fallen so dramatically that both species have been placed on the Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern.
The good news is that by providing a year-round supply of food and water in our gardens, we can actually help compensate for the devastation of our wild birds' natural habitats and food supplies by urban sprawl and modern farming methods.
To underline their value to birds even further, it's worth noting that in the UK gardens are said to make up more than twice the area of land occupied by nature reserves - a sobering thought indeed, and one which explains why we need to give serious consideration as to how we can make them important sanctuaries for avian visitors.
We can help you create your own miniature nature reserve by supplying a wide range of carefully-formulated foods, effective feeders and all the accessories you might need, and to make it easy for you to find what you want, we've organised this web site accordingly. Here's a brief summary - click on a link at any point to go straight to the relevant section.
The Foods section includes:
A huge selection of foods designed for every type of garden bird and every season of the year - including our acclaimed high-energy, no-mess Ultiva range which incorporates huskless sunflower seed hearts to avoid 'debris' on the lawn!
Just as they come, everything for your garden visitors including sunflower seed, millet, niger seed and two grades of peanut - both safety-tested in the UK for nil aflatoxin. Feed them as they are, or create mixes to your own recipe!
An ideal food - loved by the birds, packed with energy, and clean and convenient to feed - and you won't find a bigger selection anywhere! You'll also find squirrel-resistant baskets from which to feed them, because squirrels love fats too!
Species such as thrushes and robins love worms, and our range of live mealworms and wax worms offers an excellent source of protein, particularly in the breeding season. Offer them from a specially designed live food feeder, or on a high-sided table. If you don’t like your bird food wriggling, dried mealworms are also available.
The Feeders section includes:
Weather-resistant and hygienic, seed feeders keep food fresh for long periods and, because they take a wide variety of foods, attract lots of different birds. They are perfect for smaller species like tits and finches, whilst ground-feeders such as blackbirds and thrushes will quickly clear up any 'fall-out'!
These feeders are specially designed to offer fine seeds such as Niger seed – also known as the Goldfinch magnet. It resembles their favourite thistle seeds so if you have them in your area, it’s sure to bring Goldfinches flocking to your garden.
A proper nut feeder is the ONLY safe way to feed whole peanuts: if you feed them loose, there is a danger of baby birds choking on them. All our nut feeders have mesh gaps small enough to stop birds pulling whole nuts out, but large enough for them not to damage their beaks.
Plastic feeders will quickly be destroyed by a determined squirrel so if you have squirrels around it will save you money in the long run if you buy squirrel resistant feeders. These feeders feature metal components and tough all round construction. Feeders with metal lids, bases and ports or mesh will resist damage and prevent squirrels from being able to empty the entire contents in one go, whilst caged feeders will make it extremely difficult for them to get to any of the food. Weight activated feeders like our Squirrel Buster range will do both whilst allowing birds to feed unrestricted.
A well-stocked bird table will quickly become the focal point of your bird feeding. Any food except whole peanuts can be offered on a table and every bird will be happy to feed from it - or from the bits which fall to the ground below!
The Accessories section includes:
Wrens, robins, sparrows, tits, nuthatches, swallows, martins, redstarts and more - if you have them in your garden, we can supply a box for you to help them in their breeding efforts
A good supply of freshly, clean water is vital all the year round for birds to drink and bathe and will do as much to attract them to your garden as a food.
A range of books, CDs and DVDs to help increase your knowledge and appreciation of your garden visitors.
Help nature and it will help you in return! This section contains a range of wildlife foods and habitats to benefit all the other wildlife in your garden.
As well as everything we can provide, don't forget there's a lot more you can do to make your garden even more bird-friendly.
Take care to manage your garden in the most environmentally-sensitive way possible. Be as organic as you can, avoiding the use of insecticides and other chemicals and allowing the birds to tidy up harmful pests - warblers and flycatchers love aphids, while song thrushes will seek out slugs.
Make sure your plantings are wildlife-friendly, offering a good combination of food and shelter - berry bushes such as elder, cotoneaster and pyracantha are appreciated in autumn and winter by blackcaps, redwings and fieldfares in particular.
Don't over-tidy wilder areas that may be favoured by feeding or breeding birds, and if you have a large area of lawn, why not turn at least part of it into a wild flower meadow for wildlife?
By turning your garden into a small-scale, bird-friendly 'nature reserve', you really could help make a difference to bird populations at a local level. And if we all make a difference locally, then in national terms we could be making a truly important contribution to bird conservation!
