What to Feed Garden Birds in Spring
Spring is the most important feeding period of the year for UK garden birds. Natural food is returning, but calcium, the nutrient birds need most during breeding, can still be scarce. Here’s what to offer, when, and why.
The most useful thing you can do in spring: offer a calcium-rich insect food daily from March through June. Egg-laying females need a lot of extra calcium to form shells, and tidy modern gardens often can’t supply it. Dried calciworms are an easy way to help.
Why calcium is the priority in spring
Most gardeners think about protein in spring, and protein matters. But calcium is critical for eggshell formation. In the wild, birds top up on snail shells, bone fragments and calcium-rich invertebrates, all of which are harder to find in managed gardens.
That’s where dried calciworms (black soldier fly larvae) help: they contain up to 50 times more calcium than dried mealworms, which are high in protein but very low in calcium.
The best foods for garden birds in spring
Dried calciworms, the spring essential
Calciworms (also written calci worms) are the most valuable insect food to offer from March to June. The calcium supports egg formation, and the protein supports parents feeding chicks.
How to offer them: soak in warm water for 15 to 20 minutes first. Soft food is easier for parents to carry to nestlings than hard, dry food. Full soaking guide → Offer daily from mid-March, a tablespoon or two per session. Our British-grown dried calciworms start from £6.99.
Sunflower hearts
High in fat and protein, with no husks and little waste. Reliable for tits, finches, sparrows and nuthatches.
Suet pellets
Energy-dense, and birds in breeding condition visit often. Choose plain or insect varieties.
What to avoid in spring
- Dry bread: little nutritional value.
- Salted or seasoned food: harmful to birds. Only offer plain food.
- Hard dry food near nest sites: soak insect foods so they’re safe for nestlings.
- Relying on dried mealworms for calcium: they won’t supply it.
Spring feeding calendar
- March: birds return to territories and some begin laying. Start daily calciworms, plus sunflower hearts and suet.
- April: peak egg-laying and calcium demand. Soak calciworms before offering.
- May: chicks in nests and constant feeding trips. Keep calciworms and suet well stocked.
- June: fledglings leave and second broods begin. Keep going.
- July: moult begins. Natural insects are plentiful, but robins and late nesters still appreciate a top-up.
Dried calciworms for spring feeding
British-grown dried Calci Worms. Bags from £6.99.
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