Wild bird feeders
Choosing a bird feeder comes down to what you want to feed and where — a seed feeder, a suet cage and a ground tray each suit different food and different birds, and most gardens end up with more than one type rather than a single feeder doing everything.
Matching the feeder to the food
A tube-style seed feeder suits loose seed and sunflower hearts, such as Johnston Jeff Sunflower Hearts, and works well hung somewhere visible from a window. A suet holder, using something like Suet to Go High Energy Mealworm Suet Cakes, needs a cage-style feeder rather than a tube.
Ground-feeding species such as blackbirds and dunnocks rarely use a hanging feeder at all, so a low tray or scattering food directly onto a clear patch of ground reaches birds that a tube feeder never will.
Siting and cleaning, not just buying
Where a feeder goes matters as much as which one you buy. The RSPB recommends positioning feeders where birds have a clear view to spot predators, away from thick cover a cat could use to approach unseen, and a sensible distance from windows to reduce collisions.
A feeder that is never cleaned becomes a place disease can spread between the many different birds visiting it, so a routine clean with hot water — the BTO's own advice — matters more to bird health than the feeder's design.
Squirrel and rat-proofing a feeding station
A caged or weighted feeder cuts down on squirrels emptying a feeder in minutes, though nothing sold as squirrel-proof is entirely squirrel-proof against a determined animal — positioning matters as much as the feeder design, ideally away from fences, low branches or anything giving a run-up.
Spilled seed on the ground can attract rats as well as the ground-feeding birds you actually want, so a catching tray under a hanging feeder, and clearing up any obvious build-up, helps keep a feeding station attracting birds rather than anything else.
In this section
Everything below is in stock with us, priced with delivery worked out, and packed and posted by hand in the UK.
Peckish Complete Seed
A husk-free garden bird seed mix with Peckish's own added vitamin pellet
From£3.00
Peckish Winter Warmer Extra Energy Seed Mix
A 1KG winter seed mix with 9 ingredients and 20% oil for extra energy
£3.99
Peckish Complete Seed and Nut No Mess Wild Bird Seed Mix
A no-mess seed and nut mix for the garden, built from 12 ingredients for up to 16 bird species
£20.99
Peckish Sunflower Hearts
Sunflower hearts for wild birds, a husk-free, high-energy straight for feeder or table
£5.39
Peckish Extra Goodness Energy Balls
A 6-plus-6-free pack of energy balls with peanuts, sunflower seed and beef tallow
£3.99
Peckish Complete Ready to Use Bird Feeder
A pre-filled, refillable wild bird feeder, ready to hang straight out of the packaging
£5.99
Peckish Robin Seed Mix
A 1KG insect-added seed mix from Peckish, marketed specifically at robins
£3.75
Peckish No Grow Seed Mix
A weed-free wild bird seed mix, husk-free and treated so it won't sprout in the garden below
From£5.49
Peckish Suet & Peanut Feeder
A perforated stainless steel feeder that takes either suet pellets or peanuts
£12.99
Peckish Extra Goodness Crumble Mix
A 1KG crumble-texture treat mix for garden birds, with added vitamins
£4.99
Peckish Winter Warmer High Energy Wild Bird Seed Mix
A high-energy winter seed mix for garden birds, feeder or table
£24.99
Common questions
- What's the difference between a seed feeder and a suet feeder?
- A seed feeder is a tube or hopper design suited to loose seed and sunflower hearts, while a suet feeder is a wire cage built to hold solid suet cakes or pellets. They suit different foods and often different birds, which is why many gardens use both.
- Do I need a ground feeder as well as a hanging one?
- If you want to attract ground-feeding species such as blackbirds, robins or dunnocks, yes — many of these birds rarely use a hanging feeder, so a low tray or a cleared patch of ground reaches birds a tube feeder does not.
- How do I stop squirrels and larger birds emptying the feeder?
- A feeder with a weighted or caged design can reduce access for squirrels and larger birds such as pigeons, though nothing is fully squirrel-proof. Positioning a feeder away from fences and low branches that give a run-up also helps.
Related
Sources
Written against guidance published by UK veterinary and welfare organisations. Always confirm specifics with your own vet.
Written by Matt Garnett, who runs Giddy Pets and is a lifelong pet owner — not a vet. This is general information, not veterinary advice, and it cannot replace an examination by the vet who knows your animal. How we write these guides.