Feeding wild birds: food, hygiene and seasons
Choose food for the birds visiting your garden, keep feeders clean and adapt feeding during the breeding season. Practical guidance with links to sources.
Feeding wild birds offers a chance to observe them closely and can supplement the food they find naturally. It does not replace habitat conservation. Choose food for the species visiting your garden, adjust it to the season and keep feeding areas clean.
Which birds use garden feeders?
Common visitors include tits, sparrows, blackbirds and finches. Their use of a feeder does not mean that feeding benefits every species equally. The German conservation organisation LBV explains that research findings vary with the species, food, location and feeding period. A particular seed mixture cannot be promised to improve the survival of an entire bird population.
Choosing food for your visitors
Start with the species you actually see. These examples are not a feeding recipe for every season:
- Hulled sunflower seeds are among the foods eaten by tits, sparrows and finches.
- Peanuts for birds are eaten by tits and woodpeckers. Read the breeding-season guidance below before offering them.
- Oat flakes, apple pieces and raisins are examples of foods taken by blackbirds and robins.
Check each product's ingredients and intended use. Browse wild bird food mixtures or the wider bird food selection to compare options.
Spring and summer need different choices
Advice on year-round feeding differs. For gardens in Germany, NABU advises against ordinary winter food containing fat, large seeds or nuts from April to July, when young birds are being raised. It recommends small, low-fat wild plant seeds or suitable fresh or frozen insect food rather than dried insects. Do not assume that adults always keep feeder food for themselves.
These recommendations concern garden feeding during the breeding season. A food chosen for winter should not automatically become the year-round choice. Take local conditions and the birds' breeding period into account.
Keep the feeding area clean
Keep food dry and protected from droppings. Silo-style feeders limit birds' contact with the stored food. Remove waste and leftover food, and clean feeders with a brush and hot water. Several smaller feeding places can reduce crowding compared with one large feeding station.
If sick or dead birds appear at a feeder, stop feeding and clean the area thoroughly. Position feeders where birds can notice an approaching cat, and prevent discarded food from building up on the ground.
Make room for natural food
Native shrubs and trees, plants left to set seed and sheltered corners for insects provide natural resources. Feeding is an addition to this habitat, not a replacement for it.
Sources and further reading
Sources checked on 8 September 2026. These German-language resources discuss bird feeding; they do not establish effects of specific Eurital products.
