A European robin perched on a lichen-spotted twig, its orange breast lit by low morning sun against a soft olive background

Plate IWild-bird seed and feeders, Leominster

Set the tablefor the robin.

Seed weighed in our granary, feeders that come apart to clean, and a field guide that tells you which goes where.

Match my birds
See the seed room
Pl. I · fig. 1European robinErithacus rubecula
Wingspan 20–22 cm · comes for suet pellets

Plate IIThe granary on Etnam Street

Weighed in Leominster,posted the same week.

Hester Lusk buys sunflower, peanuts and suet from three farms she can drive to, sieves out the dust and husk, and weighs every sack on a brass scale behind the shop. Owain Pritchard keeps the feeding station in the yard and writes down who comes. Everything we sell has been on his table first.

Visit the station
A close view of striped sunflower seeds in their grey and cream shells
Helianthus annuus · striped, sieved twice
A robin standing on an open palm, taking small pale suet pellets
fig. 2 · a robin taking pellets in the yard, 7:40 on a February morning

Plates III–VIThe regulars

Know who is at the window

Four garden birds, what each one comes for, and the feeder that suits its beak.

A robin looking straight out from a cotoneaster bush, framed by small round green leaves

Plate III

Robin

Erithacus rubecula

Wingspan 20–22 cm
Comes for
Soft suet pellets, close to the ground
Feeder
A table or tray — robins rarely cling
Robin suet pellets, £6.40
A goldfinch with its red face and gold wing bar perched on a drooping, seeding sunflower head in a garden

Plate IV

Goldfinch

Carduelis carduelis

Wingspan 21–25 cm
Comes for
Sunflower hearts and nyjer, in small flocks
Feeder
A tube with perches, hung in the open
Finch tube with tray, £34
A blue tit with a yellow breast and blue cap perched on a mossy twig against soft green

Plate V

Blue tit

Cyanistes caeruleus

Wingspan 17–20 cm
Comes for
Peanuts through mesh, fat balls in winter
Feeder
Anything it can hang upside down from
Steel mesh peanut feeder, £24
A great spotted woodpecker clinging to the bark of a tree trunk, black and white with a red patch under the tail

Plate VI

Great spotted woodpecker

Dendrocopos major

Wingspan 34–39 cm
Comes for
Whole peanuts and suet, near a tree trunk
Feeder
Heavy mesh it can brace its tail against
Whole peanuts, 2 kg £9.20

Plate VIIFrom the seed room

Tagged, weighed, ready to post

All 11 in the catalogue
Two house sparrows at a lantern seed feeder with a brown roof and a wide seed tray

Day 9first goldfinch on the tube

“We moved the feeder to the hawthorn as Owain told us, filled it with hearts, and by the second Saturday there was a goldfinch on every perch. My mother keeps the tally from the kitchen window now.”

Margaret ElstonKington, a garden of 30 metres

A nuthatch clinging upside down to a perforated steel tube feeder against green leaves

Plate VIIIThe garden-bird matcher

Tick the birds.We blend the seed.

Choose the birds you would like to see and the matcher works out the blend, the feeder and how often to fill it. We weigh that mix for you on Monday.

Open the matcher

NotesFor a new feeding station

Field notes

Still unsure? Write to Owain at station@wingbarseed.co.uk with a photo of your garden and he will reply with a plan.

How quickly will my order arrive?

We pack on Monday and Thursday mornings and post by tracked courier: two to three working days on the mainland, £4.95, free over £60. Sacks over 10 kg travel by carrier for £7.50.

Which seed makes the least mess under the feeder?

Sunflower hearts. The husk is already off, so nothing drops to the lawn and nothing sprouts in the border. Striped seed in the shell is cheaper but leaves husk behind.

Will a feeder bring rats or squirrels?

Only if seed collects on the ground. Hang tubes with a tray, fill little and often, and sweep weekly. Our mesh and perforated tubes are steel, so a squirrel can visit but cannot chew in.

Should I keep feeding through the summer?

Yes, with care. Hearts, suet pellets and clean water help parents feeding chicks. Leave whole peanuts in mesh only — never loose — so fledglings cannot choke on a whole nut.

How do I keep a feeder clean?

Every feeder we sell comes apart without tools. Wash it in hot soapy water every fortnight, rinse, and let it dry before refilling. Each feeder ships with a long bottle brush.

Can I send something back?

Unopened seed and unused feeders come back within 30 days for a full refund. Broken parts on any feeder are replaced for as long as we make that model, free.