Robins are struggling to find food as autumn sets in, and gardeners who feed them are doing a great service – but many make a simple mistake that can be harmfulKatherine McPhillips and Steffan Rhys Deputy Content Hub Director
02:00, 29 Sep 2025
Robins prefer to eat mealworms, chopped up berries, suet balls and sunflower hearts (Image: Getty)
Autumn proves challenging for robins as their food supplies rapidly dwindle and they urgently require fat reserves to endure the approaching bitter winter conditions. Well-meaning gardeners feeding these vulnerable birds show tremendous kindness, yet numerous people err by scattering random kitchen leftovers, which can prove more damaging than beneficial.
Jaymi Heimbuch, a specialist from Better with Birds, has cautioned that a major error many bird lovers commit involves giving robins bread, as this actually harms or potentially kills them when winter sets in. He explained: “It’s basically junk food for birds-fills them up with no nutritional value.”
Why should you never feed robins bread?
Bread offers merely hollow calories for robins, failing to supply the proteins or fats essential for maintaining health as temperatures plummet. The bread satisfies their hunger, preventing them from seeking foods that genuinely provide energy, such as insects and berries, reports the Express.
Many people throw out bread for robins but this can actually really harm them(Image: Getty)
Robins must accumulate fat stores to maintain warmth during winter, and without proper nutrients, they face a high likelihood of freezing to death.
Undernourished robins become sluggish, develop compromised immune systems, and struggle to evade predators, meaning bread feeding can inadvertently inflict severe damage.
What other foods prove dangerous to robins?
Numerous individuals place milk saucers for robins, yet birds lack the ability to process dairy products, and consuming milk can cause serious illness. Robins love nuts, but peanuts are packed with salt levels that could poison or severely dehydrate them.
They’re also unable to consume citrus fruits due to their harmful acidity, whilst avocados contain persin, a compound that proves highly poisonous to birds.
Whilst it may appear there’s an extensive catalogue of foods to steer clear of, maintaining robins’ wellbeing and contentment is straightforward provided you avoid bread, salt, dairy products, oranges and avocados.
What should you offer robins to help them endure the cold weather?
Robins are absolutely mad about mealworms, which are crammed with the protein they require to maintain warmth throughout the winter period.
Mealworms represent the most effective method of drawing robins into your garden, though they’ll also relish soft fruits that deliver natural sugars and vitamins to strengthen their immune systems.
The expert explained: “Serve up apple slices, raisins, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and cherries.”
It’s crucial to chop and remove seeds from any fruit before putting it outside, since robins possess delicate beaks and require softer food for easy consumption.
Suet balls and sunflower hearts also make superb options, brimming with the fats robins need to accumulate their energy stores.
Investing effort into understanding proper robin feeding techniques will maintain your neighbourhood bird community’s health this autumn, allowing you to take pleasure in watching them gather in your garden.
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