Hanging Metal Fat Ball Feeders (Set of Four)
Shepherd Hook Feeder Pole
Feeding garden birds in Leicester
Weather in Leicestershire does most of the deciding. Birds feed hardest in the cold, wet and short-daylight months when natural seed has gone and every hour of foraging counts, so a feeder that is reliably full through that stretch will hold birds that ignored it in August. Consistency matters more here than any particular seed mix.
Height is the first thing to get right. Hanging feeders want to be roughly at head height, high enough that a cat cannot reach from the ground and low enough that you can actually refill them without a stepladder. Ground trays are the exception: robins, blackbirds and dunnocks feed low by instinct and will use a tray on a lawn long before they use a tube.
Rutland Water, east of the city, is where ospreys were brought back to England, and birds drift over Leicestershire on migration.
Leicester at a glance
The ground around Leicester
Everything below is checkable. Green space and water come from OpenStreetMap; the distances are from the city centre.
NationEngland
RegionLeicestershire
PostcodesLE postcode area
Nearest reserveRutland Water
Also coversLoughborough, Hinckley, Wigston, Coalville, Oadby, Melton Mowbray
What should I feed garden birds in Leicester?
Sunflower hearts suit almost every bird in Leicester gardens, with peanuts and suet widening the range through winter. Put the feeder near cover but not against it, add a ground tray and shallow water, and keep both clean. Leicestershire brings osprey within reach of local gardens.
- Take peanuts out of open feeders during the nesting weeks
- Keep water out all year, shallow at the edge and topped up in frost
- Mix feeder types so several species can use the garden at once
- Use a caged feeder where squirrels, pigeons or magpies take everything
- Add a low tray or table for robins, blackbirds and dunnocks
Osprey around Leicester
Rutland Water, east of the city, is where ospreys were brought back to England, and birds drift over Leicestershire on migration.
Why water beats an extra feeder
Depth is the whole trick with a bath. Anything deeper than about three centimetres at the edge stops being useful to a small bird, which is why an ornamental basin often sits ignored while a plant saucer on a stump gets used every day. Add a couple of pebbles and the depth problem solves itself.
Hygiene, and why it is not optional
Clean feeders are not optional. A feeder is a place where dozens of birds touch the same surfaces, and dirty ports are how trichomonosis moves through a greenfinch population. Wash in hot soapy water every fortnight, rinse properly, and let it dry before refilling. A feeder that comes apart without tools is the one that will actually get cleaned.
The feeding year in Leicester
The two pressure points are February and June. February is the tail of winter when natural food is exhausted, and June is when adults are running themselves down feeding a brood. A garden that is stocked through both is doing more than one that only appears in December.
Our pick
What we would put up first in a Leicester garden
- Solar & Fountain Baths — moving water carries much further than a still dish
- Seed Catchers & Trays — catching the husks is how you avoid feeding rats
- Small-Bird Feeders — keeps the food for tits and finches rather than the bruisers
Where to start
Solar & Fountain Baths
Common questions
Feeding birds in Leicester
Usually one of three things: a sparrowhawk or cat has started working the garden, natural food has become abundant somewhere nearby, or the seed has gone stale. Late summer is the quietest stretch in most gardens because there is so much wild food about, and the birds return as it runs out.
Yes. Winter is the obvious time, but the spring hungry gap and the nesting weeks are just as demanding, and a summer drought closes off the water birds rely on. The one adjustment worth making is offering peanuts only in a mesh feeder during the nesting season, so nothing whole can be carried to a chick.
Early autumn is the natural point, when wild seed and insects begin to run out and birds are settling into winter routines. Anything you put up before the clocks change gets built into that routine. Starting in the middle of a cold snap still helps, but it takes longer for birds to find and trust it.
Also covering
Leicester and the surrounding towns — Loughborough, Hinckley, Wigston, Coalville, Oadby, Melton Mowbray. Delivery and returns are the same wherever you are in England.
Nearby cities
All cities we cover · Which bird visits you? · The feeding calendar