Before Brexit we could get 25kg of dehulled sunflower seeds delivered to the door from Lancashire for twenty five quid. Now the French don't allow cereals to be imported. A 20kg sack of poor quality locally grown whole seeds costs over thirty quid. The problem that we had with these seeds is that the sparrows would carry the seeds back to our balcony railings for processing. We ended up with a thick black covering of seeds combined with their guano. Cutting the sunflowers and just feeding peanuts and fat balls has solved the sparrow prpblem.
We only get hawfinches, siskins and bramblings when it is a hard winter. The last two winters have been milder than normal so it has been a no show. We get golden orioles and hoopoes nesting in the garden every summer and there are bee eaters nesting locally. There are four species of woodpecker, three of which are regulars to the bird table. The black woodpecker just passes by. There are ravens, barn owls, tawneys and little owls popping in from time to time. The most unusual visitor was a wryneck. And, we now have a resident thrush. I had only seen two in the first ten years, both miles from home.
It is heaven