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Count roughly how many small birds (sparrows, finches), medium birds (blackbirds, starlings) and large birds (pigeons, doves) visit your feeders on a typical day, choose the season, and enter your feeder capacity in grams. The calculator applies per-bird daily amounts, adjusts for season, and gives seed per day, per week and per month, plus how many times you will refill the feeder each week. Start with these amounts, then adjust from what you observe: if seed is left at day end, put out less tomorrow; if the feeder empties by lunch, put out more.
Birds eat a large share of body weight every day, roughly 20 to 30 percent for small birds, because small bodies burn energy fast. This calculator uses practical daily amounts from garden bird feeding guides: small birds 20 to 30 g, here 25 g; medium birds 30 to 50 g, here 40 g; large birds 50 to 100 g, here 75 g. Season then adjusts the total: summer 0.7, because natural insects, berries and seeds are plentiful; spring and autumn 1.0; breeding season 1.3, because parents feed young as well as themselves; winter 1.5, because cold weather raises energy needs and natural food is scarce. Weekly seed is daily seed times 7, and monthly seed is daily seed times 30, converted to kilograms.
Watch your feeders for a few days and count visitors by size rather than by species: sparrows and finches count as small, blackbirds and starlings as medium, pigeons and doves as large. Enter those counts, pick the season, and enter how much seed your feeder holds in grams. The results give a starting daily amount, not a fixed rule: adjust up or down from consumption, keep the routine consistent once birds rely on it, and always provide fresh water nearby.
Sunflower seeds attract the widest variety of birds and form the foundation of most feeding programs; black oil sunflower has higher oil content than striped sunflower. Nyjer seeds attract goldfinches, siskins and other finches, while safflower suits cardinals and discourages some squirrels. Millet and canary seed suit sparrows and finches, and peanuts attract tits, woodpeckers and nuthatches. A balanced diet is roughly 50 percent seeds, 25 percent protein foods such as mealworms and suet pellets, and 25 percent fruits and fats. Avoid mixes dominated by wheat or filler seeds, which smaller birds leave uneaten and which can spoil.
In winter, increase fat-rich foods by about 50 percent, put food out twice daily, early morning and mid-afternoon, and add suet, which is high energy food that helps birds stay warm. In summer, reduce portions by 30 to 40 percent, offer more water, and include more protein-rich foods. In spring and breeding season, protein matters more, because growing chicks need it, so mealworms become especially valuable. In late summer, feeder visits often fall as natural food peaks; that is normal, not a sign your seed is wrong.
Take 10 small birds, 5 medium birds and 2 large birds in winter with a 300 g feeder. Base seed = 10 × 25 + 5 × 40 + 2 × 75 = 250 + 200 + 150 = 600 g. Winter factor 1.5 gives 900 g per day. Weekly seed = 900 × 7 = 6300 g. Monthly seed = 900 × 30 / 1000 = 27.0 kg. Feeder refills per week = 6300 / 300 = 21 refills, which shows why larger feeders or several feeding stations make winter feeding far easier.
Never fill feeders to the top at first: start with a small amount, watch how fast it is eaten, and refill only when empty or nearly empty, so seed does not go mouldy. For feeder cleaning, clean feeders every one to two weeks with hot soapy water or a diluted bleach solution, rinse well, and dry fully before refilling. Common feeding mistakes are overfilling, dirty feeders and stale seed. Discard damp, clumped or mouldy seed at once. Do not offer salted nuts, desiccated coconut, chocolate or avocado, and keep bread to an occasional small treat at most. Place feeders 2 to 3 metres from cover, at different heights, and keep fresh water in a shallow dish nearby.
It depends on visitor numbers and season. As a starting point, small birds need about 25 g each per day, medium birds about 40 g and large birds about 75 g, adjusted by season: less in summer, more in winter. Enter your counts above for your daily figure.
Small garden birds typically eat 20 to 30 g of mixed seed per day, medium birds 30 to 50 g, and large birds 50 to 100 g, roughly 20 to 30 percent of body weight for small species. Cold weather and breeding season push intake toward the upper end.
Yes. In winter, increase fat-rich foods by about 50 percent and feed twice daily, because birds burn more energy staying warm. In summer, reduce portions by 30 to 40 percent, offer more water, and add protein-rich foods.
If food remains uneaten for more than a day or goes mouldy, you are putting out too much. Start with smaller amounts and adjust from consumption: empty by lunch means more, leftovers at day end means less.
Feed at least once daily, ideally at the same time each day. During winter, feed twice daily, early morning and mid-afternoon. Once birds rely on your feeders, keep the routine consistent, especially in harsh weather.
Sunflower seeds attract the widest variety. Add nyjer for finches, peanuts for tits and woodpeckers, and millet for sparrows. Offer a few types birds in your area actually eat, rather than a cheap mix full of fillers they ignore.
Birds will eat bread, but it has little nutritional value, so use it only as an occasional treat, no more than about 10 percent of what you offer. Seeds, nuts, suet and mealworms are far better daily foods.
A good rule is one feeding station per 10 square metres of garden space, which reduces competition and lets different species feed comfortably. Several smaller stations also beat one large station for shy species.