bird food

Alan4711

Morning all,can anyone give me advice about wild bird food, it seems that the ones I have purchased from a good few dealers always has lots of food untouched in the bird table covered part, Sunflower hearts are never a problem also believe it or not Maltbys complete hedgehog food for some reason is now a must for Blackbirds and thrushes, who have started  to sneak into the hedgehog feeding station and nick it, I watch them bring it out and feed it to each other, and again this morning the same stuff from a different shop is left uneaten ,Has anyone got a decent place I can order on line from Please,,  Alan 

Fairygirl

Hi @Alan4711 - I use Garden Wildlife Direct - they have lots of no mess seed mixes which are ideal.
I know @Lyn uses a good one on eBay, but I can't remember the name. She might see this post though and will give you the name 

herbaceous

Don't be disheartened Alan4711 birds can be as fickle as people!  I use this farm
https://www.ivelvalleybirdfood.co.uk/
always good service, prompt delivery and a reasonable selection of food.

Their bird table mix is a hit with my blackbird and the no wheat mix I give to the sparrows but, to be honest, it does depend what is on offer nearby 

Alan4711

many thanks for that I will have a look at it,

LeadFarmer

I use specific foods in their own feeders.
I have feeders with just sunflower hearts, which are a hit with goldfinches, bullfinches, chaffinch, robins, nuthatches & sparrows.
I have peanut feeders which are used by tits & sparrows
I've recently added a suet pellet feeder which is used by tits, sparrows & jackdaws.
Coconut halves filled with suet hang around the garden.
Each morning I also put a handful of other mixed feed and dried mealworms onto the bird table.
Blackbirds tend to scavenge on the ground below the feeders, and the dreaded wood pigeons try and attack every feeder in the hope of figuring out a way of clinging on whilst also getting to the feed. They waste lots of energy trying to figure this out.

B3

I had trouble with a pigeon that used to hurl itself at the seed feeder and scatter them on the ground. I moved it a few feet away and the pigeon ignored it.

joe.shimmin

Mealworms disappear off my table within seconds. Lots of birds like them but it’s usually a cloud of starlings that get their first. I use no mess mix as well that seems to be mostly sunflower hearts and crushed maize and sparrows, collared doves and wood pigeons go for that. 

Nothing seems to eat the little millet (?) seeds in it though. 

I agree, go for variety and put some small bird friendly feeders up with the same food I so that the big birds don’t get everything.

B3

Sunflower hearts are doing well here. I think when I got the cheaper stuff, the sparrows were chucking out the fillers to get at the good stuff. There was detritus underneath which I was worried about attracting rats. You get what you pay for, I'm afraid

Pyra

I use Ark wildlife, who have been great. 
https://www.arkwildlife.co.uk/ 

The mealworm and seed mix disappears fast, and just about everything loves the mealy worm fat balls. 

FlyDragon

I do separate feeds in separate feeders too.  I have one for nijer seed for the goldfinches, one with sunflower hearts, one with peanuts, one with suet balls and one with mealworms.  I also have a couple of filled coconut halves and it seems to be the robins that like those best.  I tried a seed mix last year and it just got completely ignored, my new setup is really popular and I almost feel like an intruder in my own garden because the birds are always waiting for me to leave!

At first I had the mealworms on a tray but the bigger birds were just thugs about it and couldn't play nicely, so I got a mealworm feeder and now the sparrows and others get a look in and the bigger birds can forage for what's left at the base. 

rachelQrtJHBjb

We use Johnson and Jeff Robin and Songbird mix and have huge numbers of birds.