One of the questions I’m asked most often—especially once the temperatures drop and the snow starts piling up—is simple: what seed do you feed your wild birds in winter? My answer is always the same, and I don’t hesitate for a second: sunflower hearts.
Winter is the most demanding time of year for our local birds. Cold temperatures, snow cover, and strong winds mean food is harder to find, and simply staying warm requires a huge amount of energy. During these months, survival depends on one thing above all else: high-energy food that’s easy to eat.
Sunflower hearts tick every box. They are extremely rich in fat and calories, exactly what birds need to fuel their metabolism during cold weather. Even more importantly, sunflower hearts have no shells. That may sound like a small detail, but it makes a big difference. Birds don’t need to waste precious energy cracking shells or sorting through mixed seed to find the good stuff. Every bite they take delivers instant, usable energy.
There’s also a very practical bonus for us as bird feeders. Because sunflower hearts are shellless, there’s no pile of empty husks or discarded, unwanted seed building up beneath the feeders. When the snow eventually melts, I’m not left raking soggy shells out of the lawn or flowerbeds. It’s cleaner, tidier, and far kinder to the garden—something I always appreciate come spring.
In winter, feeding birds isn’t about variety for variety’s sake—it’s about maximum nutrition with minimum effort. The less energy a bird has to expend eating, the more it has available to stay warm, avoid predators, and make it through the night. That’s why my feeders are always full of sunflower hearts once winter arrives.
Alongside sunflower hearts, another winter essential in my garden is ultra-rich suet. Good quality suet is one of the most valuable foods you can offer birds in cold weather. It’s packed with fats and calories, and it attracts a wide range of species—from tits and woodpeckers to starlings and robins.
I’m particularly fond of the locally made Mill Creek suet we stock at Urban Nature Store. It’s consistently popular with the birds in my own backyard, and on cold mornings it’s often the first feeder they visit. When natural food sources are frozen or buried under snow, suet can be a literal lifeline.
Winter feeding is one of the simplest ways we can support wildlife close to home. With sunflower hearts, rich suet, and a reliable source of fresh water, we can make a real difference—one feeder at a time.
By Paul Oliver, Founder, Urban Nature Store
