Wiggly Wigglers Birdfeeding Ebook

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feeding YOUR GARDEN BIRDS E-book

Welcome to the world of Wiggly Birdfeeding.

This book will guide you through the basics to get you going, help you identify the birds in your garden and work out what to feed them, get the kids involved in feeding and establish what to feed at different times of year.

CONTENTS 3: Why feed your garden birds?

4: The Benefits of Birdfeeding 5: Feeding Birds In Spring 6-10: Getting the Kids Involved 11-12: Top 10 Wiggly Products 13: Where Should I Put my Feeders?

14-15: What Feeder Should I Use?

16: Feeding Birds in Summer 17: We Love Mealworms 18: Top Mealworm Tips 19: Cleaning your Birdfeeder 20: Lower Blakemere Farm 21: When to see different birds & what to feed them?

22: Feeding Birds in Autumn 23-33: Top 20 Garden Birds 34: Feeding Birds In Winter 35: Subscribe and Save 36-37: The No-Fuss guide to types of Birdfood

38: What to do next...

WHY FEED YOUR GARDEN BIRDS? Attracting wild birds to your garden is both hugely enjoyable and very rewarding. Most people seem to think that they only get a couple of House Sparrows and the odd Starling in their garden. In reality it is likely that far more species visit, but you don’t take the time to notice them. Providing some food, water and nesting sites will attract more species, and most importantly it will encourage you to watch out more and learn about your garden wildlife as it changes through the seasons. It also helps wildlife conservation and specifically helps reverse the trend of declining populations of many of our once common birds. Our gardens should be considered a vital component part in a much wider conservation effort.

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A FEW TOP BENEFITS TO BIRDFEEDING Depending on the number of feeders you have, the types of foods you offer and the birds that take advantage of your generosity, there are many benefits of bird feeding you can enjoy.

S Education: Feeding birds can be a fascinating educational activity for all ages. By changing feeder styles and food types you can learn more about the birds that visit, and observing will help you learn about behaviors, identifications and personalities.

S Insect Control: Feeding birds in your backyard also invites them to feast on the insects, worms, snails and spiders in your landscape.

This can provide ideal organic pest control with little need for insecticides or other harmful chemicals.

S Flower Pollination: Birds also assist with flower pollination, resulting in full flowerbeds and beautiful bird-friendly landscaping with less overall effort for gardening.

S Weed Control: Many small birds such as sparrows and finches eat tremendous amounts of seeds, especially from seed-bearing flowers or weeds that might be undesirable in your landscape.

S Photography: Photographers with an interest in nature can enjoy a proliferation of poses right outside their windows when they feed the birds. Painters and other artists can also similarly benefit from feeding birds.

S Interacting With Nature: For some birdwatchers, the birds they see at their feeders may be the only wild animals they have the chance to interact with. This can be an ideal activity for senior citizens, individuals with limited mobility or young children to get their first exposure to nature.

S Outdoor Pets: As you become more familiar with your backyard birds, it is possible to begin recognizing individual birds by their unique markings or personalities. These “outdoor pets� can be very enjoyable, without the costs of veterinary care, housing and training that traditional pets will require.

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Feeding your garden birds

IN SPRING

Spring is a very busy time for our garden birds. Some will be starting to build their nests to get an early start to the breeding season, others which have been over-wintering here will be starting to head north, whilst our summer visitors will be starting their long trip back, with many having to come from Sub-Saharan Africa.

There will be a shortage of natural foods for our garden birds as winter berry stocks will have been eaten and many insects will not yet have emerged. This makes it important for you to keep your bird feeders well topped-up at this time. Also you can start to put out nesting materials that the birds can gather.

Clumps of pet hair for tits, small twigs for Blackbirds and Collared Doves and even a little pile of moss that you’ve cleared from your path will help birds line their nests.

You’ll really start to notice the increased volume of song from the birds. It may be the constant twittering of House Sparrows, or the incessant tee-cher of the Great Tit, or at the end of the month the chiff-chaff, of you’ve guessed it, our commonest garden warbler, the Chiffchaff!

It’s interesting to keep a note of the dates of your ‘first-sightings’ of spring so that you can compare the timings of arrivals in future years.

Also, if you have friends and relatives in different parts of the country you can have a competition as to who sees the first Swallow!

But, remember…..one Swallow doesn’t make a summer. Happy Birdfeeding!

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HOW TO GET YOUR KIDS INTERESTED IN BIRDFEEDING! There’s a general feeling that in this highly technological age we are becoming disconnected from our natural environment.

Getting children interested in their garden birds is a great start to getting them to understand about nature and the environment that they must look after for future generations. It is also an opportunity to involve the whole family and have some fun in the process. No special skills are required!

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-------The Simple Start -------Spend a little time observing the birds that already come to your garden.

Help the children learn the names of a few of the common birds that come to the garden so that they understand that there are lots of different types of birds. Now is not the time to try to get them to tell the difference between males and females of the same species – that can come in good time!

Consider visiting the library to borrow books on common birds. This will help your children learn more about the birds’ habits and eating preferences.

You will probably learn a lot too.

-------attracting birds closer & encouraging others to join them -------Choose a couple of the many birdfeeders available. A good start could be a simple seed feeder or a bird table, and remember some birds prefer just to eat off the ground. Watching the places birds feed can help you choose the right feeders for your garden. However, if you have cats, it might not be wise to encourage ground feeding. Bird casualties may well put children off.

Children love making things, so perhaps get them to help design and build a feeding station. You could help them make bird suet cakes, or help build a basic bird table. All these things will help them take pride and ownership in the project. They’ll soon know more than you!

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-------TAKING CARE OF FEEDERS -------Teach the children how to keep the bird feeder clean on a regular basis.

Explain to them how important cleanliness is. Most children like to eat off clean plates, so too for the birds. Encourage the collection and dispose of any feed that is no longer fresh. This will prevent any fungal growth and reduces the risk of attracting mice and rats.

-------get fully involved -------V Talk about the birds in your garden as a family, with young children make up stories about the birds at your feeder. Consider their personalities and the ways they interact with one another in the garden and at your feeders!

V Try taking some photographs of the birds and start a diary or scrapbook. This may help in getting classmates enthused and involved.

V Find out if there are any local on-line bird blogs for young people.

V Encourage a growing interest that can develop from birds and onto the environment as a whole.

V Get a good book, that’s easily understood, to help with identification and learn more about how groups of birds form families of different species.

V Join the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Wildlife Explorers. This will give loads of information on activities you can get involved with both in your own garden or at a local nature reserve.

V Keep a good list of the birds you have seen, and the date in the year when you first, or last saw them if they are migratory birds.

The above represents some basic ideas. What you can do will depend on where you live and how much outdoor space you have. Even if you live in a flat you can hang feeders from a window, and if you have two acres and a paddock you may even want to create your own nature reserve.

For the majority though, a couple of feeders and a bit of encouragement will help keep the kids enthused and wanting to explore more of their natural world, and perhaps even become a ‘Twitcher’ but of course that will be after they’ve finished level 87 of the latest game on their PS4! Good luck!

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OUR top 10 Wiggly products

for your birdfeeding & birdcare needs!

1: LIVE MEALWORMS --------------

Live Mealworms are our best selling live food, and the number 1 choice for feeding wild birds. They are the larvae of the Flour Beetle, a native British insect which eats flour, meal, grain and other crops.

2: BRITISH MIX --------------

This birdfeed is not just designed for British Birds, no, this is British Mix because it’s grown in British fields by Farmer Phil and some of his friends.

3: FAT BALLS

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These high energy suet balls are made using British Maize and Seeds provided

by Farmer Phil’s farmer friend, on Parrish’s Farm.

4: FLUTTER BUTTER --------------

Rich, nutritious Flutter Butter is naturally low in salt and gives birds a protein boost.

Ideally use the Flutter Butter feeder to dispense your butter or site the the jar securely on your bird table.

5: OAK HANGING FEEDER --------------

A high quality bird feeder. Locally made from oak for long life, our hanging feeders hold large quantities of birdseed, so you don’t need to fill them so often.

6: THE ONE FEEDER --------------

This top-quality plastic feeder lets garden birds land and feed with ease.

It’s brilliantly easy to clean, and every single part can be replaced in moments with no tools needed.

7: FAT FILLED COCONUTS --------------

This half coconut shell filled with a mix of seeds in fat provides protein and energy for the agile birds in your garden. Instant feeding, no refilling, just hang it up and you’re good to go.

8: SUET PELLETS --------------

They are perfect for your bird table and softbill birds love them scattered on the ground. They can also be put out in a suet pellet feeder, are delicious, easy to digest and jam-packed with energy.

9: WIGGLY SEED --------------

This is our best selling seed mixture and it is suitable for most garden birds from sparrows to collared doves. Wiggly Seed is a year round Birdfood, suitable for your table, or feeder.

10: BIRD KITCHEN --------------

The Bird Kitchen is our Bird Table fully loaded with feeders (and the seeds to fill them) in a money-saving package deal.

It’s the comprehensive solution to feeding birds in your garden!

LOOKING FOR MORE INFORMATION?

Pop onto our Wiggly blog for more articles, reviews, news and more! wiggle on over to: www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/blog

WHERE SHOULD I PUT MY FEEDERS? Birds need to feel as safe as possible when feeding. They like to have cover nearby and good visibility to keep an eye out for predators. One of the easiest ways to provide both of these is to use the trees and shrubs in your garden to hang your birdfeeders in. Tree hooks are best for this and make moving your feeders around easier (which is best for reducing any risk of disease).

If you use a birdfeeding station you will want to be able to see it from your window. If possible try to site it reasonably near to trees or shrubs so that your birds have the confidence to visit and feel safe enough to stay. And always always... keep them clean, keep them safe!

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WHAT FEEDERS SHOULD I USE?

TO MAKE FEEDING EASY Our Onyx range are top quality feeders that are really easy to clean, making the whole process of hygiene that much more user friendly, while comfort perches attract more species of birds to your new feeder.

FOR WHEN IT’S COLD Birds need energy, and lots of it, so use Fat and Seed Filled Coconuts. Larger birds find these harder to negotiate than smaller birds and the high fat contect is particularly useful when the weather is cold.

FOR THRUSHES AND BLACKBIRDS Ground feeding birds can be relied on to clean up lots of the seed that other birds drop out of the feeders or sweep off the birdtable. You can use a ground feeder, but sometimes less deserving causes (Like Rats) can steal the food.

FOR FEEDING MEALWORMS My top reccomendation here is the clear dome of our Droll Yankee Robin Feeder, as you can lower the dome to deter large birds from scoffing the lot.

Also make sure you use bowls and feeders with high sides.

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WHAT FEEDERS SHOULD I USE?

FOR FEEDING NIGER SEED This one is easy, get one of our Droll Yankee Finch Flockers. They come in four sizes and have a yellow cap which goldfinches seem to recognise.

They feature cut feeding apertures that suit finches’ beaks.

FOR FEEDING PEANUTS Always use a mesh feeder so that the birds do not have any opportunity to choke on whole peanuts. We’ve got lots to choose from but, as always, the Droll Yankee brands are the best as they just last and last.

FOR DETERRING SQUIRRELS If squirrels are driving you nuts try moving your feeders or greasing the pole if your feeders are mounted.

For hanging feeders our Anti-squirrel Dome can help, which is also great for keeping food dry.

TO GET THE BEST VIEW We’ve got plenty of window mounting feeders that use a suction cup to fix themselves directy onto a window.

Perfect for watching your birds or snapping a few pics from inside your own home!

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Feeding your garden birds

IN SUMMER

There’s very little natural food about in terms of seeds and berries at this time of year, and often temperatures can be really variable with cold nights and warm days. All this when your garden birds are busy laying eggs and trying to feed their new broods. To top it all often in Spring and Summer those pesky humans often radically reduce the amount of food they put out!

Many songbirds can lay an egg a day, then they sit on their eggs for 12-14 days and just 14 days later the youngsters are expected to leave the nest!! As the birds’ equivalent of the maternity ward gets into full swing with more and more mouths to feed, what’s really needed is plenty of protein rich food.

The best food at this time of year is live insects. Fledglings have no way to drink and so their parents deliver insects which are made up of fat, protein and most importantly - water. If your garden has plenty of plants which encourage insects by default, then you are already helping the survival rates of your bird population. Feeding live mealworms or waxworms means you will be providing a ready-meal equivalent and helping to ensure good energy levels without excessive foraging. This in turn can have a really beneficial effect on the brood.

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LIVE MEALWORMS! (and your garden birds will do too)

If you want to make a real difference to birds who are feeding young, in the longer term plant a hedge or wildflowers which encourage all sorts of live bugs that the birds can feed on... In the short term there is one solution that fits all (just about), and that is LIVE mealworms. Forget their dried counterpart (almost all are shipped into the UK all the way from China, and are nowhere near as good as their live counterpart) LIVE mealworms are best.

This way your birds can feed live food packed with protein, fat and importantly water. This can really make the difference between life and death for the youngsters, so I hope you will take this opportunity to pop a few extra out in your garden and letting your friends and neighbours know the benefits.

(If you would pass them a tub and our details we will be most grateful)

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------V Watching your birds feed their young with mealworms to come to your window feeder to stock up is better than Saturday night tele in my view :0) Mealworms are easy to keep (keep in your garage or your fridge if you can bear it!) and easy to feed. Use a steep sided dish or how about our starter pack with mealworms and our locally made Hanging Oak Feeder.

-------------V The best way to store your mealworms is to add some of our mealworm food or bran or porridge oats and store you mealworms in an icecream container with lots of tiny holes. They will store best in a fridge (though that may not be wise for other family members...) so go for a garage! Meal worms love a carrot - try putting a couple of pieces in overnight - you will be amazed at how they eat them!

-------------V Feeding mealworms to your garden birds couldn’t be easier - Sieve out the frass from the mealworms and add a few live ones to a steep sided shallow container. They may take a few days to find them but once they have you can make a real difference to survival rates and your birds will most definitely love them!

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Lower Blakemere Farm, Herefordshire We are based on a mixed farm based on a Duchy Estate, from which we clean and mix our own birdseeds and feeds and are the UK’s largest producer of bokashi! We also have a breeding herd of cattle producing animals for meat.

MEET FARMER PHIL! Farmer phil runs lower blakemere farm, he’s keen on keeping a balance, meaning we grow a variety of crops, some for food production, some for other farmers and some that gets turned into your birdfood!

The results of our recent R.S.P.B. Wild bird survey Species of Bird found on Lower Blakemere Farm: Blackbird, Blackcap, Black-headed Gull, Blue tit, Buzzard, Canada Goose, Carrion Crow, Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Collared Dove, Coot, Cuckoo, Dunnock, Garden Warbler, Goldfinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great tit, Greenfinch, Grey Heron, House Martin, House Sparrow, Jackdaw, Jay, Linnet, Long-tailed Tit, Magpie, Pheasant, Robin, Skylark, Song Thrush, Starling, Swallow, Tree Pipit, Turtle Dove, Whitethroat, Woodpigeon, Wren and Yellowhammer.

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Feeding your garden birds

IN AUTUMN

Several bird feeding myths surround autumn feeding and many people mistakenly assume that feeding birds in fall will hurt their feathered friends.

The biggest misconception is the idea that if the birds have a steady source of food available in autumn, they won’t migrate, and then when those feeders are empty the birds will starve.

In fact, a reliable food source is only a minor factor that affects how birds migrate and feeding birds in autumn does not prevent migration, but can help it. Migrating birds require a lot of calories for the energy necessary to fly hundreds or thousands of miles, and feeders can provide an energy boost to passing migrants as well as help resident birds build up fat reserves for their journey.

To give migrating birds the best nutrition and abundant energy for their long journeys, you should provide bird foods with high oil content and the most calories. At the same time, offering a variety of different foods ensures that all passing migrants can find a tasty treat at the feeders. The best autumn bird foods include; Black Sunflower Seed, Niger Seed, Suet and Peanuts.

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cbW W c >>>>>> Wiggly Wigglers

The Top presents...

20 British Garden Birds

The wiggly list of our favourite garden birds commonly found in the UK. Also includes images and descriptions for easy identification and tips on feeding and providing nesting.

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BLACKBIRD --------------

Found across the UK, the glossy black plumage of the male and the dark brown female make the Blackbird one of our most recognisable garden birds.

The Blackbird sings from a perch, its song is rich, varied and flute-like, with a bit of a squeaky ending. The male Blackbird defends its breeding territory aggressively with a “bow and run” threat display.

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In the winter our population increases by an estimated 20 million with birds from Northern Europe. The Blackbird feeds on insects and earthworms taken from the ground either by probing the ground, or noisily turning over leaf litter with its bill.

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BLUE TIT --------------

The acrobatic and cheeky Blue Tit is found across the UK, they will entertain for hours by hanging upside down from feeders or branches. They are a non-migratory bird and are a favourite on garden bird-feeders Whilst not immediately noticing their blueness a close look reveals bright blue wings, tail and crown. They have a thin black streak down the middle of the belly, unlike the Great Tit’s wide streak. The sexes are similar, though the female is slightly paler.

Blue Tits feed mostly on insects, especially caterpillars, and seeds.

In springtime they feed also on pollen, nectar and sap, and in the autumn on berries.

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CHAFFINCH --------------

The Chaffinch is the UK’s commonest finch, and second commonest breeding bird. It has striking double white wing bars. It is found throughout the UK except for the Highlands and some islands.

Chaffinches usually feed on seeds and during the breeding season insects, like caterpillars. In gardens, they tend to forage on the ground for spilt seed from hanging feeders and they particularly like sunflower seeds and hearts.

Chaffinches tend to avoid bird feeders, preferring to forage on the ground beneath bird tables, or under hedges.

You may see them hopping around in these areas, or perched on branches.

COAL TIT --------------

The coal tit is the UK’s smallest tit and not as colourful as some of its relatives.

The coal tit has a distinctive grey back, black cap, and white patch at the back of its neck. Its smaller, more slender bill than blue or great tits means it can feed more successfully in conifers. Found across the UK except for an area around the Wash. The coal tit’s natural diet is insects, beech mast and conifer seeds.

In the garden, they prefer black sunflower seeds, sunflower hearts and occasionally suet. When food is plentiful they hoard it by hiding it all over the place so that they have food for later when times are harder. You will often find forgotten sunflower seeds dropped by coal tits germinating in the most unlikely places.

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DUNNOCK --------------

At first glance the Dunnock looks like a dull sleek sparrow, but on closer inspection it is attractive with its bluegrey head and breast, and fine delicate bill. The Dunnock is a busy bird that seems nervous and agitated, constantly flicking its tail and wings. They are the only non-alpine member of the European Accentor family.

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The Dunnock is predominantly a ground feeder and feeds on insects, such as beetles, ants, and spiders, which it gleans from leaf litter, among plant roots, etc. In the autumn and winter they will eat seeds and berries. Occasionally, especially in the winter, Dunnocks will take small seeds, such as peanut granules, and suet off or around a ground feeder table.

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GOLDFINCH --------------

This small finch is strikingly colourful with a bright red face, golden brown body and bright yellow wing bars. It is noticeably more slender and dainty than its chaffinch and greenfinch relatives.

They have a delightful liquid twittering song and call which is what usually first attracts you to their presence.

The goldfinchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s preferred food is small seeds such as those from thistles and teasels, but insects are also taken when feeding young. They will regularly visits bird feeders in winter and particularly love the small black seed of niger which are rich in oil. With their agility and fine beaks they can extract the seed easily from specially designed feeders for these tiny seeds.

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GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER --------------

The Great Spotted Woodpecker is about the size of a Starling, making it much bigger than its close rarer relative the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker which is more sparrow-sized. Found throughout the UK except for northern Scotland, and now slowly re-colonising Ireland.

Woodpeckers probe tree trunks for insects and larvae, but will also feed on nuts and berries. In the summer, they have been known to take bird eggs and nestlings from nests, including those in nest boxes, in to which they gain entry by increasing the size of the hole. Great Spotted Woodpeckers will readily feed from peanut and suet feeders in gardens.

GREAT TIT --------------

The Great Tit is the largest European tit â&#x20AC;&#x201C; about the size of a House Sparrow. It is found throughout the UK and is the most scientifically investigated British bird.

Great Tits feed mainly on insects, such as caterpillars and spiders. In the garden they will feed from feeders containing nuts and seeds, such as sunflower hearts, or on kitchen scraps from bird tables. In severe winters they may consume nearly half their body weight a day in sunflower seeds, so make sure feeders are well topped up!

They sometimes follow Coal Tits to their caches of seeds which are often in hanging baskets. They have been also known to feed on small hibernating bats!

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GREEN WOODPECKER --------------

A large, chunky woodpecker. On the ground they are a little bigger than mistle thrush, but of similar stature.

They spend all year in the UK (but are absent in Ireland, and recently scarcer in northern and western outposts).

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The principal diet of the green woodpecker is ants, which is why they are often seen on lawns probing the surface. Leaving a patch of rough soft grass will encourage them. For a woodpecker they have soft bills without barbed tongues.

Leaving any large slightly rotting tree trunks in a quiet part of a large garden may encourage them to nest.

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GREENFINCH --------------

The Greenfinch is found throughout the UK except for the most northern outposts. It is a large stocky finch with a distinctly forked tail. The plumage of the sexes varies with the male having the most green and yellow, whilst the juvenileâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plumage makes it possible to confuse with a House Sparrow.

The Greenfinchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s diet is seeds, buds and berries. They will visit bird tables for seed, but are increasingly happy to perch on hanging feeders containing peanuts or black sunflower seeds. They have been known to spend 30 minutes at a feeder. If a feeder contains a seed mix, they will often throw all the other seeds on to the floor so as to get the black sunflower seeds.

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HOUSE SPARROW --------------

The House Sparrow is a common and easily dismissed bird whose constant chirruping is a familiar sound of many British gardens. Their population has declined by around 75% in the last 25 years and they have even disappeared from some parts of Britain, particularly densely urbanised areas. It is now on the conservation red list.

The House Sparrow will eat just about anything including sunflower hearts, high energy seed, peanuts, suet and kitchen scraps. A 1940â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s scientific survey found 838 different types of food in the dissected stomachs of house sparrows.

LONG TAILED TIT The Long-tailed Tit is an attractive, small, fluffy pinkish bird with an long tail in relation to its tiny ping-pong ball shaped body. They can be found throughout the UK. Long-tailed Tits feed mostly on insects, larvae and spiders, but also on berries.

In winter they have a strong preference for deciduous woodland particularly Oak, Ash and sometimes Sycamore.

Hawthorn and Blackthorn are their favoured shrub species.

Increasingly, Long-tailed Tits are feeding from peanut feeders and suet cake in gardens, so making sure your bird-feeding station is well stocked will help attract them.

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NUTHATCH --------------

The nuthatch, unlike woodpeckers and treecreeper, climbs up, down and around the tree trunk and branches using its powerful toes. They forage for food hidden in or under bark by climbing along tree trunks and branches. Their pale blue back and pink front make them very distinctive from any other garden bird.

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The Nuthatch feeds mainly on nuts and seeds, such as acorns, beechmast and hazel nuts, in the autumn and winter, but insects, such as spiders and beetles in the summer.

They are increasingly visiting gardens for nuts and seeds. They are surprisingly agile and can easily use traditional peanut feeders.

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PIED WAGTAIL --------------

Pied Wagtail can be found throughout the UK, except for north-west Scotland.

They are closely related to the White Wagtail which generally replace them on mainland Europe.

A striking, long-tailed black and white bird, the Pied Wagtail is an occasional garden visitor. They usually stand and frantically wag their tail up and will dash about in search of food.

Pied Wagtails feed predominantly on insects that it finds while searching lawns, fields and verges. The insects are typically flies and caterpillars. They adapted to forage on paved areas such as car parks. If you have a lawn with a path and ground feeder then you are more likely to attract Pied Wagtails.

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ROBIN --------------

Crowned National Bird in the 1960â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and a common favourite, the Robin is found throughout the UK in woodland, hedgerows, parks and gardens.

Robins are instantly recognisable but juvenile Robins can be confusing as they lack the red breast and have brown upper parts and breast speckled with dark brown. The absence of a red breast helps stop generally aggressive adult Robins attacking them to defend territory.

The Robinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s diet is principally insects and worms. The Robin will watch its prey from a perch before swooping in to collect the food. They will also often follow a gardener that is digging the soil over for any easy pickings.

SISKIN --------------

The siskin is a small finch, about blue tit size and with similar agility. Siskins have a dark streaked belly and striking yellow rump, wing bars and on the sides of a noticeably forked tail. The male has a black cap and bib and bright yellow cheeks.

Siskins are seed eaters and have smaller bills than the other finches and this reflects in their diet, which consists mainly of cone seeds such as birch, alder, spruce and pine.

They visit gardens when food is harder to find in their natural habitats and are especially attracted to red coloured feeders containing peanuts, seeds or fat.

Their agility and fine bill makes most birdfeeders accessible to them.

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SONG THRUSH --------------

The Song Thrush is smaller than other thrushes and is less upright when standing. They are found throughout the UK, except in the Scottish highlands.

They are now on the UK conservation red list following a long term decline in numbers.

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Song Thrush are often seen flying low well below tree top height, from bush to bush. The Song Thrushâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s diet includes worms, insects, berries and snails.

Recent research suggests that they eat snails only when the ground has become baked or frozen and they cannot dig out their favoured worms. Blackbirds are often seen to steal the snail after the Song Thrush has cracked it open.

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STARLING --------------

In differing light and time of year their plumage can show remarkable variations, from speckled in the winter to bright glistening and iridescent in spring, then to add to the confusion there is the pale drab brown of the young. Even their bill colour changes from winter grey to spring yellow with a blue base in males and a pink base in females.

Starlings are omnivorous feeding on insects, worms, snails, berries, fruit, scraps and suet, but their young are only fed on invertabrates. Starlings will eat just about everything you put out for them, in fact many people use feeders that keep starlings out to allow access for only smaller birds. They are now on the UK conservation red list.

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WOOD PIGEON --------------

The Wood Pigeon is generally grey with a pinkish breast and green, white and purple patch on the neck. The tail has a black tip and the wings have a white patch. The eye is a bright yellow. The legs and bill are pink.

Juvenile birds are browner and duller and lack the white patch on the neck.

Wood Pigeons feed on seeds, grain and crops, but will feed on almost anything that is placed on a bird table.

They also drink a lot, mainly because they do not get sufficient moisture from their food, unlike birds that eat earthworms, etc. An interesting feature about how they drink is that they use their beak like a straw, their heads back to let it flow down their throats.

WREN --------------

The wren is a tiny brown bird, although it is heavier, less slim, than the even smaller goldcrest, it still only weighs the equivalent of a ÂŁ1 coin. For such a small bird it has a remarkably loud voice often singing from bush tops. It is the commonest UK breeding bird, although it suffers declines during prolonged, severely cold winters.

Wrens eat spiders and insects which they find while hopping and dashing along the ground and probing in crevices with their long thin bill. When they do venture out into the open they dart from one place to another. They will occasionally take seed or cheese from a ground feeder table. They do particularly like a regular supply of mealworms.

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Feeding your garden birds

IN WINTER

When the days are short, put out food and water on a regular basis. In severe weather, feed twice daily if you can as the birds only have 7-8 hours of daylight to gather all the food they need to create enough energy to survive the night.

A regular feeding regime will encourage the birds to time their visit to your garden. In the winter it has been estimated by the BTO that a Blue Tit has to consume the equivalent of 10g of food a day to replace the energy used to survive, and when you consider an average Blue Tit only weighs 11g you can see what a struggle this is.

Birds require high energy (high fat) foods during the cold. You should use only good quality food and scraps. Black sunflower seeds, pinhead oatmeal, soaked sultanas, raisins and currants, mild grated cheese, mealworms, good seed mixtures are all good. Soft apples and pears cut in half, bananas and grapes are also enjoyed. Peanuts should only be given in suitable mesh feeders that will not allow sizeable pieces of peanuts to be removed and provide a choking risk. Fatballs are loved by many birds. The bought ones are best as they are less likely to fall apart. If you do make your own you should keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t go rancid.

The most important ‘food’ of all is water. Birdbaths should have gently sloping sides and be sited at least away from any cover that might hide a prowling pussy. Check twice daily to make sure the water is not frozen. Do not add anything to the water (even salt) to try and prevent freezing. Some people place a pingpong ball on the water and claim it helps stop freezing.

\ Subscribe & Save gives you the peace of mind that you won’t run out of essentials or indeed goodies when you need them the most.

The products are delivered with our standard delivery, and you can set them up to be delivered at regular intervals from one week to one month. You will save up to 10%, and in the true spirit of Wigglyness there is no sign-up fee, no obligations, and you can cancel your subscription at any time with no hassle.

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Our Subsribe and Save is available on: V Live Mealworms V Huskless Mix V Colossal Hi-Energy Buckets V Mini Mealworms V Layers Mash with Bokashi V Wiggly Seed Extra

V British Mix V Mixed Corn V Wiggly Seed

YOU’ll LOVE OUR BIRDY BOX

and...

Birdy Box is a regular supply of wild bird food, tailored to the passing seasons and delivered to your door.

Every Birdy Box contains the essentials, such as one of our Wiggly Seed Mixes, but each month there’s a different collection of extras too. It’s a great way of ensuring you always have a supply of food for your birds in the house.

Available with and without peanuts.

A THE NO FUSS GUIDE

TO TYPES OF BIRDFOOD

It can often be hard to know where to start with feeding your garden birds, there are lots of different types of birdfood for even more different types of birds. On these next few pages we aim to simplify the whole thing. Make it easy enough to understand what types of food you need for certain birds.

LIVE FOOD

Live foods are absolutely best for garden birds to feed their young. Lots of different species of birds love mealworms.

House sparrows are often first to the tray, but you can expect robins, wrens, blackbirds and tits to be queuing up for their daily treat. Live food should be fed all year round. With our changing weather patterns, insects are often in short supply, so having a stock of live food in your fridge or garage (or shed) can be a life-saver for both parents and fledglings.

LOVED BY: Robins, Tits, Sparrows & Starlings

DRIED WORMS If you’re squeamish about offering your birds our live foods you’ll be pleased to hear that these high protein foods now come in a dried form. These definitely won’t wriggle away!

Easy to store and great to add to your seed mixes.

LOVED BY: Robins, Tits, Blackbirds & Wrens

FATS & SUETS Fats and Suets are Brilliant for Birdeeees… Suets and fats are a really useful food for your garden birds especially in colder weather. Animal fat is easily digested and metabolized by many birds; it’s a high-energy food, and it helps to keep them insulated/ Particularly attractive to woodpeckers, nuthatches, wrens, tits and even some warblers occasionally visit suet feeders.

LOVED BY: Tits, Robins, Woodpeckers & Wrens

NIGER SEED This seed is especially loved by goldfinches and Siskins.

It is very small, but high in oil, so ideal for smaller birds with small beaks and a high metabolism.As it is so fine it’s not recommended for use in conventional feeders, but we do stock a few different varieties of Niger Seed Feeders.The best way that we have found to feed it is by growing some Teasel and adding a sprinkling to the dead heads in your garden.

LOVED BY: Siskins & Finches

BLACK SUNFLOWER SEED Our black sunflower seeds are packed with oils and protein making them a year round alternative to peanuts, but at a significantly lower cost as they don’t need to be shipped from Africa, which is also great from a foodmiles point of view.

Black Sunflower seeds have much thinner shells so preferred by the birds over their striped relations… they also have a larger kernel than the striped so are better value.

LOVED BY: Thrushes, Tits, Finches & Chaffinches

PEANUTS Aside from sunflower seeds and hearts, peanuts are one of the most popular foods that birders put out to attract birds to their garden. Why are peanuts so popular for feeding birds?

As I said above, these nuts are powerhouses of energy and great, nutrient-rich food for birds of all sizes. Most birds big and small are quite happy to eat them, so it’s a sure-fire way of attracting birds in bulk, often in a variety of species.

LOVED BY: Woodpeckers, Finches & Dunnocks

SEED MIXES Different types of food will attract different species to your garden. Our birdseed mixtures are an essential as they include lots of different seeds which suit different birds at different times in your garden. We do NOT ever include dog biscuits, fillers, split peas or lentils in our seed mixes (they are not suitable for birds but are used in many cheap mixes)

LOVED BY: Chaffinches, Sparrows & Wood Pigeons

Lastly...

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