Solar Fountain for Your Bird Bath
Shepherd Hook Feeder Pole
Feeding garden birds in Newcastle upon Tyne
There is nothing exotic about feeding birds in Newcastle upon Tyne. The species using suburban gardens here are the same dozen or so found across England, and what separates a busy feeder from an ignored one is almost never the food. It is height, cover and the simple fact that birds only trust a feeding station they have watched for a few days.
Squirrels and larger birds are the usual reason a feeder empties overnight. A caged feeder solves both at once, letting tits and finches through a mesh that a squirrel, pigeon or magpie cannot pass. Poles with a baffle work too, provided the pole is far enough from a fence or branch that nothing can jump across to it.
The Tyne Bridge and the Baltic hold the furthest inland kittiwake colony in the world, so a gull here is worth a second look.
Newcastle upon Tyne at a glance
Newcastle upon Tyne, verified
Everything below is checkable. Green space and water come from OpenStreetMap; the distances are from the city centre.
NationEngland
RegionTyne and Wear
PostcodesNE postcode area
Nearest reserveWWT Washington
Also coversGateshead, Sunderland, North Shields, Whitley Bay, Wallsend, Washington
What should I feed garden birds in Newcastle upon Tyne?
In Newcastle upon Tyne, start with sunflower hearts in a hanging tube and a low tray for robins and blackbirds. Position matters more than the mix: two to three metres from a hedge, at head height, refilled on the same schedule every morning. Add shallow water year round and clean the feeders fortnightly.
- Add a low tray or table for robins, blackbirds and dunnocks
- Sunflower hearts suit the widest range of garden birds and leave no husks
- Keep water out all year, shallow at the edge and topped up in frost
- Wash feeders in hot soapy water every fortnight and dry before refilling
- Put feeders under a metre from glass, or over three metres from it
The Kittiwake factor
The Tyne Bridge and the Baltic hold the furthest inland kittiwake colony in the world, so a gull here is worth a second look.
The bath is half the job
Moving water is a genuine draw. The sound and glint carry much further than a still dish, which is why a solar fountain sitting in a shallow bath brings birds in from further off on a bright day. It also keeps the surface from stagnating, which is the usual reason a bath stops being used by midsummer.
The fortnightly wash
Watch what collects underneath as well as inside. A ring of wet, sprouting seed under a feeder is the sign the tray is missing or the mix is wrong, and it is what turns a feeding station into a rat problem. Sweep it, and switch to husk-free hearts if it keeps happening.
When to feed in Newcastle upon Tyne
The feeding year starts earlier this far north. Natural seed and insects run out sooner, the first real frosts arrive ahead of the south, and birds are looking for a reliable garden feeder from early autumn. Keep it going through to late spring: the hungry gap in March and April, when winter stores are gone and nothing has ripened, is harder on birds than midwinter.
Our pick
What we would put up first in a Newcastle upon Tyne garden
- Hanging Feeders — a hanging feeder near cover is the simplest thing that works
- Metal Feeders — metal ports survive squirrels far better than moulded plastic
- Seed Catchers & Trays — catching the husks is how you avoid feeding rats
Where to start
Hanging Feeders
Common questions
Feeding birds in Newcastle upon Tyne
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.
Every fortnight as a habit, and sooner if the food is damp or the ports look dirty. Feeders concentrate a lot of birds onto a few surfaces, which is how disease spreads through finch flocks in particular. Hot soapy water, a proper rinse and a full dry before refilling is all it takes.
Sunflower hearts. Almost every garden bird will take them, they leave no husks on the ground, and they do not sour as quickly as a cheap mixed seed full of wheat. Once that is working, peanuts in a mesh feeder and fat balls in the colder months widen the range considerably.
Also covering
Newcastle upon Tyne and the surrounding towns — Gateshead, Sunderland, North Shields, Whitley Bay, Wallsend, Washington. Delivery and returns are the same wherever you are in England.
Nearby cities
All cities we cover · Which bird visits you? · The feeding calendar