This is a guide to supporting your local wildlife. These foodstuffs are not suitable for rescued wildlife in captivity, more a list of suitable things you can supplement your furred and feathered friends diet with while they forage for their own too!

If you want to feed your birds, do so in an area away from predators such as cats and household pets! Most people like to have a pretty bird table right out in the middle of the lawn, which is great for bolder birds such as sparrows and finches, but the insect loving and shy tree creepers and woodpeckers might like their food on a tree trunk, and you could scatter a few mealworms or raisins under the bushes for blackbirds and thrushes too!

When you feed the birds try not to put too much food out at once as birds will scatter it and waste a lot, you can always refill the feeders if they have eaten everything!

Tr y a selection of foods in different places, you might be surprised at how many different birds you see just by relocating your feeders.

A huge variety of birds love suet based foods, or even a strip of suet from the butchers, try it on a tree trunk for woodpeckers!

Finches: love niger seed, but put it in a finch feeder or larger birds will eat it all

Sparrows: love a table mix or mix in a general feeder

Blackbirds and thrushes love raisins, suets and nuts

Woodpeckers love mealworms and suets

Tits love mini mealworms and suet foods

Doves and pigeons love a seed mix on a flat tray

Crows, jackdaws, rooks, etc love suet nailed to a tree, but fix it tight or it will be stolen by over zealous feeders.

Robins love suet, sunflower hearts and mealworms

Insect eaters love suet and mealworms, we always use fresh ones which we buy in bulk by the kilo, from livefoods direct

Peanuts are good for larger birds, but put them in a feeder so the birds have to break them up to take away, or provide crushed ones.

Don’t forget to put out a shallow bird bath, even in winter!

 Ark Wildlife sell feeders and seed mixes and have feeding advice for all kinds of birds