Best Bird Feeders Guide

Picking the right bird feeder can be difficult. There's a lot of choices available, so to help you decide on the best bird feeder possible, we've put together this handy guide. We’ll be covering different areas, including which of our bird feeders we recommend, the types of bird feeders that could work best for you, what to put in them, and how to keep pesky pests away.

Guide contents

1. Best types of bird feeders

2. What to put in your bird feeder

3. Where should you place a bird feeder?

4. Cleaning advice

5. Keeping pests & unwanted visitors away

Take a look at our other guides here.


Best types of bird feeder

Seed Feeders

Seed feeders come in two varieties 'hopper' and 'port'. Hopper feeders work by having a seed tray at the bottom of the feeder for the birds to feed from. Port feeders have access ports up the tube with perches for the birds to access the food.

Ideal foods: Sunflower hearts, black sunflower hearts, sunflower heart chips, all seed mixes

Perfect for: Great Spotted Woodpecker, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Dunnock, Greenfinch, Nuthatch, House Sparrow, Starling, Long-Tailed Tit, Siskin and more.

When to use: Perfect all year round

Best Seller

Henry Bell Black Heavy Duty Seed Feeder

Henry Bell Black Heavy Duty Seed Feeder

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Best Value

Nature's Market Hammertone Finish Bird Seed Feeder

Nature's Market Hammertone Finish Bird Seed Feeder

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Highest Rated

Brome Squirrel Buster Mini Seed Feeder

Brome Squirrel Buster Mini Seed Feeder

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Peanut Feeders

Peanut feeders almost always have wire mesh on the feeders, making them easy to identify. Simply fill up the feeder and the birds will land anywhere on the mesh and peck at the peanuts.

Ideal foods: Peanuts, split peanuts

Perfect for: Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Collared Dove, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Great Tit, Greenfinch, House Sparrow, Long-Tailed Tit, Marsh Tit, Nuthatch, Siskin, Starling and more.

When to use: Perfect all year round. Do not feed whole peanuts loose during fledgling season, otherwise you run the risk of fledglings choking on the peanuts.

Best Seller

Chapelwood Ultra Squirrel Proof Peanut Feeder

Chapelwood Ultra Squirrel Proof Peanut Feeder

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Best Value

Essentials Wild Bird Peanut Feeder

Essentials Wild Bird Peanut Feeder

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Highest Rated

Tom Chambers Heavy Duty Flick n Click Peanut Feeder

Tom Chambers Heavy Duty Flick n Click Peanut Feeder

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Niger Seed Feeders

niger seed feeders

Niger seed (sometimes known as Thistle Seed or Nyger seed) is tiny, but certain birds absolutely love it. If you want to see more finches, then a niger seed feeder is the way to go. As the seed is so small, it won't work in a normal feeder (the seed will just pour out of the ports), so you'll have to buy a special niger seed feeder. Luckily, we stock these feeders from £4.49 and you can get a pre-filled feeder to test it out from just £3.49.

Ideal foods: Niger seed, pre-filled niger seed feeder

Perfect for: Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Redpoll, Siskin and more.

When to use: Perfect all year round.

Best Seller

Flick n Click Niger Feeder

Peckish Secret Garden Niger Feeder

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Best Value

Essentials Wild Bird Nyger Feeder

Essentials Wild Bird Nyger Feeder

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Highest Rated

Jacobi Jayne Ring Pull Niger Feeders

Jacobi Jayne Ring Pull Niger Feeders

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Squirrel Proof Feeders

brome squirrel buster

Squirrels are well known for trying their best to get a free meal and who can blame them? But when you've spent your hard earned money on bird food expecting to see birds in your garden, most people don't want to see squirrels eating it.

You'll be able to find squirrel proof versions of most of the feeders we have on our website. Typically squirrel proof feeders come in three types; caged feeders, feeders with spring loaded feeder ports and squirrel baffles.

Caged Feeders, such as the excellent Tom Chambers feeders, add a cage so the squirrels can't get to the food. This is an excellent option, although it adds some bulk and you may find juvenile squirrels still get through.

Spring Loaded Feeders such as those from Brome detect the weight of squirrels and close the feeding ports. This works well, however the lighter juvenile squirrels might still get to the food.

Squirrel Baffles such as the popular Tom Chambers Squirrel Baffle, are add-ons to your existing feeders. They work by making it more difficult for squirrels to climb onto a bird feeding station from below or above.

They're all effective methods and better suited to different situations, although you may still get a few juvenile squirrels.

Ideal foods: Available for most food types. Refer to each feeder for supported food types.

Perfect for: Smaller birds

When to use: Perfect all year round.

Best Seller

Brome Squirrel Buster Mini Seed Feeder

Brome Squirrel Buster Mini Seed Feeder

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Best Value

Premium Caged Squirrel Proof Fat Ball Feeder

Premium Caged Squirrel Proof Fat Ball Feeder

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Highest Rated

CJ Wildlife London Squirrel Resistant Suet Block Feeder

Tom Chambers Squirrel Stop Seed Feeder

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Fat/Suet Feeders

fat ball feeder

These feeders are typically supplied in a cage and hung from branches or a dining station. Different types exist for the different types of suet product, the main differences being shape and size. Peanut Butter feeders are also very popular due to how easy they are to use. Take a look at our Flutter Butter range here.

Ideal foods: Suet balls, suet blocks, suet pellets

Perfect for: Blackcap, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, House Sparrow, Robin, Starling, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Thrush, Wren, Blackbird and more.

When to use: Perfect all year round, but favoured in the colder Autumn and Winter months.

Best Seller

Henry Bell Wild Bird Essentials Plus Suet Pellet and Mealworm Feeder

Henry Bell Suet Pellet Feeder

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Best Value

Nature's Market Green Standard Suet Fat Ball Bird Feeder

Nature's Market Green Standard Suet Fat Ball Bird Feeder

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Highest Rated

Red Barn Suet Ball Feeder With Guardian

Red Barn Suet Ball Feeder With Guardian

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Window Feeders

window bird feeders

If you live in a flat, or just want to see the birds up close, window feeders are great. Be aware that if the window you want to put it on isn't close to foliage or somewhere the birds can hide, then it may take them a while to start using it consistently. They're a relatively cheap and easy way to see the birds all around your home.

Ideal foods: Sunflower hearts, suet balls, mealworms, peanuts, seed mixes

Perfect for: Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, House Sparrow, Robin and more.

When to use: Perfect all year round.

Best Seller

I Love Robins Window Feeder

I Love Robins Window Feeder

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Best Value

Chapelwood WindoWatch Bird Feeder

Chapelwood WindoWatch Bird Feeder

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Highest Rated

Nature's Market Window Bird Feeder

Nature's Market Window Bird Feeder

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Ground Feeders

ground bird feeders

Some birds like to feed from the ground rather than from hanging feeders. While you'll sometimes see them searching for scraps at the bottom of your feeders, it's often nice to see them tucking into their own food. Ground Feeders come as a simple tray, or with a cage to stop squirrels or predators such as cats getting at the birds while they feed.

Ideal foods: Sunflower hearts, suet balls, mealworms, peanuts, seed mixes

Perfect for: Chaffinch, Blackbird, Collared Dove, Dunnock, House Sparow, Mistle Thrush, Robin, Song Thrush, Starling, Wren and more.

When to use: Perfect all year round.

Best Seller

Riverside Woodcraft Ground Feeding Table

Ground Feeding Table

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Best Value

Johnston & Jeff Ground Feeder Sanctuary

Johnston & Jeff Ground Feeder Sanctuary

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Highest Rated

Gardman Compact Ground Feeder Tray

Gardman Compact Ground Feeder Tray

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Mealworm Feeders

mealworm feeders

Mealworms are a great source of energy and protein for wild birds. They're an extremely versatile and well loved food source, attracting a wide range of birds. We have both dried and live mealworms available (live mealworms are only available via telephone orders). As a bonus, you can rehydrate the dried mealworms in water before feeding to garden birds for a tasty treat.

Ideal foods: Mealworms

Perfect for: Chaffinch, House Sparrow, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Robin, Starling, Wren and more.

When to use: Perfect all year round.

Best Seller

Jacobi Jayne I Love Robins Feeder

Jacobi Jayne I Love Robins Feeder

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Best Value

Pre filled Mealworm Feeder

Pre-filled Mealworm Feeder

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Highest Rated

Suet Pellet and Mealworm Feeder

Suet Pellet and Mealworm Feeder

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What to put in your bird feeder

There is a huge variety of food that you can offer to birds from your bird feeding stations, here are our recommendations:

  • Niger bird seed
  • Sunflower seed and hearts
  • Peanuts and peanut butter
  • Suet
  • Mealworms and calci-worms
  • Maize and millet
  • Hemp
  • Oats
  • Fruit (dried fruit like raisins and fresh fruit)

You can refer to the advice above for which feeder is most suitable for your chosen food. Read more: Types of Bird Food


Where should you place a bird feeder?

Bird feeder placement is important to get right if you want birds to feel safe and secure when they are in your garden. Of course, the temptation is to pop them wherever they look best, but if you want to turn your space into a bird-feeding paradise there are a few factors to consider when you’re deciding where to place your bird feeders:

  • Viewpoint - your bird feeder is no good if birds can’t see it. It needs to be visible and high off the ground. Using a bird feeding stationto hang your feeders from is a great way to achieve a better viewpoint.
  • Water - birds need to stay hydrated as well as fed, and they can struggle to find a water source that they are able to safely drink from. Provide a bird bath or shallow dish of water near your stations.
  • Protection - place your feeders in a high up, sheltered spot to keep feeding birds away from predators. They should be no less than 10ft away from trees and bushes so that cats and other predators can’t easily leap to the feeders.

Read more: Where to Position Your Bird Feeders


Cleaning advice

Cleaning your bird feeders is essential to make sure that diseases and illnesses aren’t spread through your local bird population. This usually happens when contaminated droppings become mixed in with the food that other birds then eat.

How to clean a bird feeder

  1. Remove the feeders from their stands and dispose of any un-eaten food (do not re-use it)
  2. Rinse off any residue that is stuck to the feeders with hot, soapy water, and use a bottle brush to scrub off anything that remains
  3. Rinse with cold water and leave the feeder to dry off
  4. Wipe down with a 5% disinfectant spray, preferably a veterinary disinfectant
  5. Refill once completely dry

The same steps can be taken to clean bird baths and water stations. If your bird bath is a heavy, permanent fixture, tip or scoop the old water out before cleaning and rinsing out thoroughly.

Your feeders should be regularly cleaned regardless of whether they still have feed in them or not. If the birds aren’t eating what you are offering over 2 – 3 days, give them less food. Food, when left out, can go off if left out for too long. Cleaning your feeders is simple enough to do and will take you five minutes. We’d recommend giving them a once over every week.

Purchase safe, affordable bird hygiene products


Keeping pests & unwanted visitors away

You should take action to keep any pests and unwanted visitors like squirrels away from your bird food. This will prevent birds being preyed on in your garden, as well as stopping other wildlife eating food that hasn’t been put out for them. As well this limiting the frustration of them eating food which is meant for the birds, it is important to try and prevent cross-contamination and the spread of diseases between different species.

How to keep cats away from bird feeders

We’ve written a guide on keeping cats out of the garden to prioritise the safety of birds, but to summarise:

  • Grow plants that cats don’t like such as lavender, thyme, and holly
  • Put down thing’s cats don’t like the smell of, like coffee grounds, citrus, and vinegar
  • Make some noise! Windchimes can spook cats and make them run away but investing in an ultra-sonic sound device with a motion sensor is even better.

How to squirrel proof your bird feeder

Squirrels are every bird-lovers worst enemy. If you have a regular squirrel visitor who eats your bird food and leaves nothing for anyone else, there are plenty of steps you can take to keep them away.

Install a baffle – this is a small cone-like device that goes on the pole of your bird feeding station and prevents squirrels from climbing all the way to the top.

Make it slippery – making the pole of your feeding station slippery will stop the squirrel from being able to climb it. Vaseline does the job well.

Get a squirrel-proof feeder – you can purchase feeders that are squirrel proof. They have a cage around them that birds are able to peck through, but squirrels can’t reach through.

Do bird feeding stations attract rats?

Yes, they can attract rats if the areas around them aren’t cleaned regularly. Rats will be attracted to fallen or discarded food. Sweep up around your bird feeding stations regularly and choose bird feeders that contain the food better (like Hopper stations) if you struggle to keep up with the mess some feeding birds leave behind.


Still Unsure? Get in touch