How to Feed Garden Birds in Winter

A great tit feeding at a garden bird feeder

Winter is the hardest time of year for garden birds. The days are short, leaving little time to find food, and the nights are long and cold. A small bird such as a blue tit must eat a large proportion of its body weight every day just to survive a frosty night. Natural food, such as insects, seeds and berries, becomes scarce as the winter goes on. A well-stocked, clean feeder can make a real difference to their chances, and in return you get the pleasure of watching them from the kitchen window on the greyest days.

This guide covers the birds you are likely to see, what to feed them, which feeders to use, what to avoid, where to put feeders, how to keep them clean, and other ways to help birds through the winter.

Birds you may see in winter

Blue tits and great tits, acrobatic visitors to seed and fat feeders.
Robins, which prefer to feed on the ground or on flat surfaces.
Blackbirds and song thrushes, ground feeders that love fruit.
House sparrows and dunnocks, often in small groups.
Chaffinches and goldfinches. Goldfinches have become far more common in gardens in recent decades.
Long-tailed tits, in busy little flocks.
Starlings, often arriving in noisy groups.
Fieldfares and redwings, winter thrushes that arrive from Scandinavia, especially in cold weather, and feast on fallen apples.
Woodpeckers and nuthatches, in gardens near woodland.

What to feed

Sunflower hearts

Probably the single best all-round food. Hulled sunflower seeds are high in energy, loved by tits, finches, sparrows and many others, and leave no messy husks under the feeder.

Good seed mixes

A quality seed mix attracts a wide variety of birds. Avoid cheap mixes bulked out with whole wheat, split peas, lentils and dried rice, which most garden birds won't eat.

Nyjer seed

Tiny, oil-rich seeds that goldfinches and siskins love. Use a special nyjer feeder with very small openings.

Fat balls, suet and fat cakes

High-energy food that is ideal in cold weather. Always remove any plastic mesh from fat balls before putting them out, as birds' feet and beaks can get caught in it. Use a dedicated fat ball feeder instead.

Peanuts

Rich in fat and protein. Always buy fresh, unsalted peanuts from a reputable supplier, and put them in a steel mesh feeder so birds can only take small pieces. Whole peanuts can choke young birds in spring.

Fruit

Windfall apples and pears, cut in half and scattered on the lawn, are a feast for blackbirds, thrushes, fieldfares and redwings. Soft raisins and sultanas are also enjoyed.

Mealworms

Live or dried mealworms are a favourite of robins, blackbirds and wrens. Soak dried mealworms briefly before use.

What to avoid

Anything salted, including salted peanuts, crisps and bacon rind. Salt is harmful to birds.
Fat from the roasting tin. Cooked fat mixed with meat juices can smear on feathers, ruining their waterproofing and insulation, and it goes rancid quickly.
Too much bread. It fills birds up without giving them much nutrition. A little, soaked, is fine occasionally.
Milk. Birds can't digest it.
Desiccated coconut, which can swell inside a bird.
Mouldy or stale food. Throw it away.

Choosing feeders

Hanging seed feeders for sunflower hearts and seed mixes.
Mesh feeders for peanuts.
Fat ball feeders, cages that hold fat balls without nets.
Nyjer feeders for goldfinches.
Bird tables and ground trays for robins, blackbirds, thrushes and dunnocks, which prefer to feed lower down.

Offering a variety attracts the widest range of birds. For pots, planters and other things for the garden, see our garden collection.

Where to put feeders

Close to cover, but not too close. About two metres from a hedge, tree or shrub gives birds somewhere to dart for safety if a sparrowhawk appears, without giving cats a hiding place to ambush them.
Somewhere you can see. Half the pleasure is watching from the window.
Out of reach of cats, high enough and away from fences they can jump from.
Away from windows, or close enough to them that birds can't build up speed and fly into the glass.

Keep feeders clean

This is the most important rule. Where birds gather, disease spreads easily, especially through droppings and old, damp food. Some diseases, such as trichomonosis, have caused serious declines in species like greenfinches.

Clean feeders and bird tables regularly, ideally every week or two, with hot, soapy water or a mild disinfectant made for bird feeders.
Rinse thoroughly and let them dry before refilling.
Only put out as much food as birds will eat in a day or two.
Move feeders to a new spot now and then, so droppings don't build up underneath.
Wear gloves, and wash your hands afterwards.
If you see sick birds, stop feeding for a couple of weeks to let them disperse.

Don't forget water

Birds need water for drinking and bathing all through the winter, and in freezing weather it can be harder to find than food. Keep a shallow bird bath or dish topped up with fresh water. In a frost, pour warm, not boiling, water onto the ice to melt it, or float a small ball on the surface, which moves in the wind and helps stop it freezing. Never add salt or antifreeze.

Put up nest boxes now

Autumn and winter are the best times to put up nest boxes, before the breeding season begins in spring. Birds often explore potential nest sites in late winter, and some use boxes to roost in on cold nights. Face boxes between north and east, away from strong sun and prevailing winds, and out of reach of cats.

Plant for birds

Feeders are a supplement, not a replacement, for natural food. A bird-friendly garden includes:

Berry-bearing shrubs and trees such as holly, hawthorn, rowan, cotoneaster and pyracantha.
Ivy, which flowers and fruits late, providing food when little else is available.
Seedheads left standing: teasels, sunflowers, grasses and sedums.
A wild corner with leaves and logs for insects, which feed birds through the year.

For more, see our autumn garden jobs checklist.

Keep it up

Once you start feeding, birds come to rely on your garden, particularly in cold snaps. Try to keep feeders topped up through the winter. Many experts now recommend feeding birds all year round, adjusting the foods with the season.

Count your birds

Every winter, usually in late January, the RSPB runs the Big Garden Birdwatch, asking people to spend an hour counting the birds in their garden. It is a lovely way to learn more about your visitors, and the results help track how bird populations are changing.