When choosing the best bird food to put on your bird table, there are quite a few options, so it can be slightly overwhelming to pick one, especially if you are new to feeding birds.

What’s best to feed wild birds on a bird table?

You can choose to either feed your birds with seed mixes or seed straights. If you only have one feeding table in your garden, we recommend choosing a bird seed mixture, as this gives you more opportunity to attract a wide range of birds.

What bird food should I put on my bird feeding table?

You can opt for a year-round mixture that isn’t season-specific, attracting birds and filling them with the right nutrients all year round. Our Four Season Feast or Everyday Essentials are both packed with beneficial ingredients to keep your flying guests chirping all year round. These seed mixes ensure that your birds are full of goodness for months of foraging and flying. Or, if you would like to bring a range of songbirds to your garden, our Robin Ready mix will do just that.

What bird food mixes are ideal for different times of the year?

For a more season-specific feed, try our Winter Wellness in the winter months or our Summer Glow in the summer months. Each mix has been carefully created to ensure that the birds get the right amount of each ingredient to help see them through the challenges of those particular seasons.

Try using straight seeds to attract specific bird breeds

You can use straight seeds to attract a specific bird type to your garden. For example, you can try leaving out some niger seeds, and you should hopefully see finches, sparrows or other small, sharper-billed birds flocking to your feeding table. You could leave out black sunflower seeds if you happen to see bigger birds visiting your garden. However, sunflower hearts are better if smaller birds are common in your garden. Sunflower hearts have their tough outer shell removed, which makes it easier for little birds to eat with their smaller, softer beaks.

Get more from your bird feeding table

To make sure that you are getting the most out of your bird feeding table, you should follow these simple tips:

Keep your bird feeding table clean

As with any bird-feeding product, keeping your feeders clean and hygienic is one of the most important things you must do. Maintaining a clean feeder will ensure that the birds are fed safely and help you maintain the range of birds visiting. We recommend cleaning your bird table at least once a week to avoid any build-up of old food, dirt or debris from collecting on the surface.

Get the balance of bird food right

When putting food on a bird feeding table, it can be hard to know how much you need to put out at the start, but finding a balance between too much and not enough is important. We recommend starting with a few small handfuls of food and trying to keep an eye on the food over the next few days to see how much the birds take. Keep an eye on the food levels, and soon, you will realise how much you need to leave out to keep your foraging friends full of treats!

Keep your bird feeding table sheltered and protected

There are a range of bird tables to choose from; some will come with covers and others without. For example, our Bird Platform comes without a cover, so we recommend you consider where to place it in your garden to ensure the food is protected and out of the way from any potential winds. Choose a spot in your garden out of direct sunlight, sheltered from harsh winds and partially covered from rainfall.

Now that you know what food to fill your bird table with, you can read our blog and discover our tips on choosing the best bird feeder.

For further reading, we have tips and advice to help you with your bird feeding:

• Why it's important to feed wild birds
• How to choose wild bird food
• How to store your bird food
• What not to feed wild birds