Start With the Birds You Already Have

Before you buy anything, spend a week or two simply watching. Note which species land on the lawn, which ones queue along the fence, and which hover at the edge of the border without quite committing. A garden in suburban Manchester with a mature hedge will pull in a different cast from a coastal plot in Norfolk or a windswept garden in the Pennines, and the seed you put out ought to reflect that. Buying a large sack of generic mix because it was cheap is the most common mistake I see; half of it ends up scattered and rotting beneath the feeder while the birds you actually wanted drift off to a neighbour's better-stocked table.

Sunflower Hearts: The Reliable All-Rounder

If you only ever put out one thing, make it sunflower hearts. These are the whole seeds with the black husk removed, which means no mess, no discarded shells, and no wrestling at the feeder. Almost everything eats them.

• Blue tits, great tits and coal tits will take them from hanging feeders, often carrying one away to wedge in a branch and hammer open.
• House sparrows prefer a hanging tray or a feeder with a decent perch, where they can crowd in together.
• Goldfinches and greenfinches will use them readily, and the hearts are soft enough for smaller beaks.
• Robins, dunnocks and blackbirds won't usually hang from a port feeder, so scatter a handful on a ground tray or a clean paving slab.

They are high in oil and energy, which matters most from October through to March, and they don't sprout beneath the feeder the way some mixes do.

Nyjer: For the Finches That Won't Commit

Nyjer is the slim, dark seed that goldfinches and siskins adore, and it needs its own feeder — a fine-port tube or a sock, because the seed is tiny and will pour straight through a standard port. Don't be tempted to tip it into a mixed feeder.

Two things to know. First, nyjer is expensive and it goes stale quickly, so buy in smaller quantities and use it within a few months. Second, goldfinches often need a fortnight to find a new nyjer feeder, especially if there is teasel, alder or thistle nearby that they are already working. Be patient. Once they arrive they tend to come in numbers, and you will hear them chattering before you see them.

Lesser redpolls and the occasional siskin will also take it, usually in the coldest weeks when natural seed is scarce.

Mixed Seed: Read the Label Before You Buy

Mixed seed has a poor reputation, and it is partly deserved — but a good mix is genuinely useful. The problem is filler. Many budget blends are padded out with wheat, kibbled maize, red milo and large striped sunflower, none of which most garden birds will touch. You end up paying by weight for seed that ends up on the ground attracting rats.

Look for a mix that lists its contents honestly and contains mostly:

• Sunflower hearts or small black sunflower — the backbone of any good blend.
• Millet and canary seed — small seeds that house sparrows, dunnocks and collared doves will clear up.
• Pinhead oatmeal or fine groats — useful for robins and other soft-billed birds.
• Peanut granules — fine pieces rather than whole nuts, which are safer for nestlings in spring.

Whole peanuts should only ever be offered in a rigid mesh feeder, never loose, and never during the breeding season in a form that chicks can choke on.

Matching Your Mix to What You See

This is where it gets practical. Use the birds already visiting as your guide.

• Mostly tits and a few goldfinches? Lead with sunflower hearts and add a nyjer feeder alongside.
• Lots of house sparrows and dunnocks? A good mixed seed in a hanging tray plus a ground tray will keep the flock happy.
• Blackbirds, thrushes and robins on the lawn? They want ground food — scatter a little mixed seed and add suet pellets or mealworms rather than relying on seed alone.
• Woodpigeons and collared doves dominating? They will hoover up anything on a tray. Switch to feeders with smaller ports or a caged feeder to give the smaller birds a chance.
• Siskins and redpolls in winter? Keep nyjer topped up and consider a second feeder so the goldfinches don't monopolise it.

Small Habits That Make a Big Difference

Whatever you choose, a few routines matter more than the name on the bag. Store seed in a cool, dry, rodent-proof container — a metal bin with a secure lid is ideal — and never use seed that smells musty or has clumped together. Clean feeders every couple of weeks with hot soapy water and a bottle brush, rinse thoroughly, and let them dry before refilling. Damp, dirty feeders spread disease quickly through a flock.

Offer a shallow dish of clean water too, both for drinking and bathing. And don't panic if a new feeder sits untouched for a fortnight; birds work to routines, and it takes time for a new food source to enter the round.

Start with one good seed, watch who arrives, then adjust. Within a season you will have a blend that suits your garden exactly — and a far busier one than you started with.