Wild bird food advice, please!

I buy 'no waste, no grow' birdfood, which seems to work. I get it online.

However, the niger seed produces lots of little plants and I'm wondering if I should just let them grow and seed so that the birds can help themselves!

The little birds don't like wheat and will always throw it out. Best to buy a mix that doesn't have wheat seeds in, even though it is likely to be a bit more expensive. They are fussy little blighters !

Agree. Birds don't like mixes. I have four feeders: sunflower seeds (not hearts - too expensive), niger seeds, peanuts and fat balls.

Used to have one feeder for mixed. Watched them throwing it left, right and centre till they found what they wanted. Mainly the coal tits did this.

We have the same problem. Our feeder is a pole which slots into a tube in the ground. I wonder if a tube could be put in the lawn just below the grass surface, then the pole could be removed for cutting the grass and the seedlings would be mowed along with the grass.

The wheat in the mix I buy does get eaten, but probably by the bigger birds - including the pheasant that arrives at the dish on the balcony.

I found I had a lots of fancy flours bought at various mills etc. and which hadn't been used so were out of date. I also had some dried fruit that had been around a long time. I bought some cheap fat and mixed it all up, with a bit of water, rolled it into sausages and stuck it in the oven. The birds can't get through it fast enough.

I buy nibbed sunflower hearts which dont produce much waste. They are more expensive but it is mostly eaten not thrown around.

I buy 'wild bird seed' for the seed eaters, and often use any fat from bacon to coat it.
But I throw it on the drive where there is no chance of germination.

I'm reluctant to put it out on anything other than the very coldest day because we live near the bush with abundant food supplies : bugs, spiders, slugs, berries etc., and that's better for the birds than anything I can offer.

I knew I could rely on GNetters for some answers!

Now I know why it’s mainly wheat that’s flicked overboard!

Thank you all ?

Only buy sunflowers seeds, and non palm oil fat balls. None of our mountain birds would eat the wheat or cracked corn.