Latest in at Really Wild Bird Food online birdfeed store is a great variety of items to encourage a varied wildlife in addition to birds to your garden.

We now have in stock attractive ceramic Frog and Toad Houses and mini mammal houses for frogs and other small mammals. The frog houses are your best habitat options for the frogs and other small amphibians. They provide good protection from larger predators.

There is a great variety of bird feed available for the wild birds. Amongst these seeds and mealworms are the fatballs which are one of the most popular forms of bird feed. Fatballs prove to be excellent feed options for the birds especially during the winter.

What started off as just bird friendly gardens has expanded to butterfly and even hedgehog friendly gardens; and now, in an attempt to help the dwindling population of UK bats, there are many people who are encouraging bats to be their garden guests.

Photo courtesy of Jared Belson

There are about seventeen different hedgehog species all over the world. Hedgehogs are commonly found in wild, rural, and urban habitats in almost all parts of Britain.

This year’s harvest of grain for bird feed was truly a bumper crop with record yields recorded across most varieties. All our available barn space is filled to the rafters with grain and every nook and cranny (including a few trailers!) seems to be holding grain of some sort.

Swallows are an interesting species of bird. These birds tend to return to their previous nests after their long and tiring migration journeys from their winter locations. At the onset of the spring you generally start receiving these tiny feathered friends around the roof tops looking for a nest to prepare for their next brood.

The swallows are not usually very picky and can even settle in cavities that exist here and there or might even make use of some other existing nests. There are of course those swallows who like to create new nests using soft mud. These birds tend to build their nests in places that are well hidden from the bigger predators as also safe from the harsh weather.

It fills my heart with pride to see our Swallows back and swooping over our Really Wild Bird feed production farm. They are miracles of migration. It is very humbling to think that they navigated the 3,000 miles back from South Africa ( via the treacherous Sahara desert ) to Street End Farm, without any need for a post code or a TomTom! Weighing in at a meagre 20g (about the weight of 2 x £1 coins) - I wonder how much they lose during their trip? The coincidental arrival of Eleanor's pony, Megan, and the pile of associated pony dung will create an additional source of airborne insects for the Swallows to replenish their depleted stores. Isn't it amazing to think that Barn Swallows will feed their young about 400 times in a day…that is dedication for you! I can only hope that this summer will be better for them than last - surely it has to be?

In addition to bird feed we now offer a wildflower seeds to enable you to grow your own area of wild flowers that is so beneficial for wildlife. The new seed mixes in stock include the Cornflower Annuals, Bumblebee Mixture, Blaze and the Old English Meadow.

If you are looking for something that will last the entire summer, then the Cornflower Annuals are your best choice. Often found in the corn fields these beautiful bright flowers will bring in a mass of colour to your garden and are also great for insects and birds as the provide pollen and nectar. A light cultivation of the land will also ensure new growth as these multiply by dropping their seed.