​Which Wild Bird Feeder? Attracting birds to your garden

Watching wild birds enjoy your garden brings a special kind of happiness. It’s especially exciting to spot our stunning New Zealand natives thriving, such as Tui, Kereru, Fantail (Pīwakawaka) or Bellbird (Korimako). We think waking up to their vibrant chorus outside your window is an unbeatable way to start the day! One surefire way to coax more birds into your yard is to hang a bird feeder. It’s especially important to keep your feeders topped up throughout the colder months, as this is when naturally available food sources can become scarce. They will definitely appreciate the extra sustenance, and you’ll get to enjoy their company as an added bonus. Plus, birds visiting your garden will gobble up insects or bugs - making them a fantastic, natural form of pest control. A true win-win! 

Which feeder you choose depends on which birds you are wanting to attract to your garden. Different birds have different dietary needs, ranging from seed, nectar, insects & fruit. We have plenty of styles to choose from, along with a variety of seed, energy food, and nectar options to go with your feeder. Read on to find out which feeder & feed to choose. 

Wild Bird Seed & Seed Feeders

A good bird seed mix is high in energy and rich in essential nutrients - great for keeping your local birds happy and healthy. Use seed to attract common garden birds such as chaffinch, silvereye, dove, goldfinch, greenfinch, pigeon, rosella, pheasant, sparrow, thrush or yellowhammer. Our premium Coarse and Fine bird seed mixes from Topflite provide a ton of health benefits, and are grown right here in NZ! Both are available in 1kg, 2kg, 5kg & 20kg bags. The Coarse seed is ideal for larger seed-eating birds, or for use in windier areas as it’s less likely to blow away. We also have a great Wild Bird Seed Mix from Tui, available in 1kg and 5kg sizes. Pair any of our wild bird seed mixes with the following popular feeders (plus more in our Wild Bird Feeders range)…

• Topflite Splash and Feed Platform - This handy hanging ceramic dish can be used for seed as well as fruit, or even as a bird bath! 
• Mason Jar Wild Bird Feeder - Super stylish, this glass feeder features 8 feeding ports, and there’s even a matching Mason Jar Bird Waterer available separately. 
• Premium Flip Top Wild Bird Seed Feeder - Super convenient, this feeder has a flip-top lid for easy filling, four feeding perches and a quick release base for simple cleaning. 
• Topflite Bird Bach - this cute little house-shaped feeder can also be used for fruit & energy food, as well as seed. 
• Topflite Lantern Feeder - a sweet & stylish seed feeder, built to last from earth-friendly bamboo. 
• Tui Antique Wild Bird Feeder - This attractive antique-look feeder features 3 seed feeding portals on the screen and 3 openings on the seed tray base.

Seed bells
Seed bells are another great and easy option for attracting birds such as chaffinch, goldfinch, greenfinch, pigeons, rosella, sparrow, and yellowhammer. Simply hang up and watch the birds flock in! These are great for encouraging that instinctive pecking action, providing both entertainment & nutrition aplenty. Our seed bell options include... 

• Tui Wild Bird Seed Bell
• Topflite Large Wild Bird Seed Cone
• Topflite Wild Bird Seed Bell

High Energy Food
Our range of Topflite Energy Cakes, Truffles & Logs provide an immediate source of energy & protein, making them especially ideal during breeding season or throughout the winter months. Birds absolutely love these yummy vegetable oil treats; they come in flavours such as Blueberry, Peanut, Mealworm and Berry. Use them to attract birds such as silvereye, sparrow, thrush, waxeye, blackbird and yellowhammer. Our Energy Food options include…

• Wild Bird Energy Truffles - These can be served up in a Topflite Energy Truffle Feeder or a Topflite Truffle Twister Feeder. You can also put these out on your bird feeding platform, or even pierce them onto a stick or branch. 
• Wild Bird Energy Logs - Suitable for the Topflite Wild Bird Energy Log Feeder. Tip: Silvereye are particularly fond of the peanut flavoured Energy Logs! 
• Energy Cakes - Place these inside a Topflite Wild Bird Cake Feeder (or you can simply place them out on your dedicated bird table/feeding area!) 
• Energy Jumbo Log - A bigger version of the Wild Bird Energy Logs, pop one of these into your Topflite Energy Truffle Feeder or The Little Bird Feeder. A little goes a long way! 
• Topflite Wild Bird Energy Coconut feeder - a feeder & feed all in one! These coconut shells have been filled with nutritious peanut flavoured energy food. Plus once the energy food is finished, you can fill it up with seed or fruit. 

Nectar
If you’re wanting to attract NZ native birds into your garden, a nectar feeder & nectar mix is a good bet. Tui, Bellbird and Silvereye in particular are nectar feeding natives that will happily visit a feeder. Our premium quality Topflite Nectar Mix creates a honey & glucose based nectar, and has the added benefit of essential vitamins and minerals. Simply mix one part nectar powder to four parts water, and pop the mixture into one of our nectar feeders...

• Topflite Tui Nectar Nutra Feeder
• Tui Nectar Feeder

Fruit Feeders
Many of our NZ native birds also love filling themselves up with fruit, including silvereye, tui and bellbird. Freshly cut up oranges, apples, pears, or bananas on a feeder or platform can attract these stunning native birds! Try using cut up fruit with one of these stylish fruit feeders… 

• Sophie Conran - Apple Bird Feeder Heart
• Sophie Conran - Apple Bird Feeder House
• Metalbird Bird Feede
• Metalbird Hanging Bird Feeder

A few important bird feeding tips… 

• It’s a good idea to keep your feeders topped up year round (not just in winter) so your local birds know where to find it when they need it. 
• Try to top your feeders up in the morning, as birds do most of their feeding early in the day. 
• Hang your feeders up high, so your visiting birds are not vulnerable to predators while they feed. Don’t have many trees around? Take a look at our Wild Bird Feeding Station. 
• Make sure your water station or bird bath is topped up with fresh water throughout summer. 
• Clean out your bird feeders regularly (every few weeks) to prevent any harmful mold building up. 
• Do not use honey and water mixed together! Although birds love it, unfortunately so do bees - this can lead to disease among these precious pollinators. 
• Keep your bird seed dry - check out our Bird Seed Storage Tin. 
• Finally - remember to be patient! It may take some time for birds to find (and become comfortable) using your feeder. With repetition and a bit of time, they’ll soon be visiting your garden on the regular. Happy bird watching!