Which brand food do you use?

Hi Paul,    at our last house which had a very large garden we got through an enormous amount of bird food;   we found the premium grade sunflower hearts the most popular with less waste;  I never bought mixed seed containing wheat as half of it was wasted when birds chucked the wheat out !       I also bought berry suet pellets (for some reason the pink suet pellets were the most popular),    I found birds tend to prefer softer suet pellets so avoided suet pellets that are rock hard.      I used brands like Peckers, Bucktons,  Johnston & Jeff and also bought from this company         Although it cost a little more to buy premium hearts and mixed seeds without wheat I found there was less waste on the whole and saved me money in the long run;     I tried all sorts of brands some more popular than others so it was a bit of trial and error by seeing which food gets taken regularly and adjust the amount I put in a feeder to ensure the food stayed fresh and tended not top up a feeder until it was empty so I could wash the feeder out and then refill with a new batch.        I also made raw pastry for the winter months which like the fat balls the birds enjoy.     Plain flour, lard  (half fat to flour ratio - no salt ! )  mix flour and lard together so it resembles breadcrumbs,  throw in to the mix some suet pellets, a small amount of mild cheddar cheese and a few seeds or crushed peanuts if you wish and bind together with just enough water to bring the pastry together without it being sticky.   You can place it in a fat feeder or place pieces on the twigs/shrubs.     Good luck and hope the birds are flocking to your feeders.