Clive Watson
Friday 1st February 2008, 19:20
I've posted this on the feeding forum, but I thought I'd post it here too, since many people reading this are likely to have photography feeding stations set up like mine:
Most bird feeding stations, it seems, have problems with 'trash' species. When I had access to a garden, it used to be squirrels. Now I've got a new station set up on local farmland where I work, it's Carrion Crows, Magpies and Jackdaws. They start with the fat, which is supposed to attract woodpeckers and Nuthatches, and polish that off in minutes. Then they move onto the mixed seed feeders and demolish that too, leaving nothing for the small birds. They don't seem to be too interested in the sunflower feeder at the moment, or the niger feeder, although they probably can't access that one.
So I wanted to ask if anyone had any tips for discouraging these birds? I know it is possible to get feeder guardians, but I wanted to canvas opinion before I spent £100 on what I consider to be rather overpriced items.
Most bird feeding stations, it seems, have problems with 'trash' species. When I had access to a garden, it used to be squirrels. Now I've got a new station set up on local farmland where I work, it's Carrion Crows, Magpies and Jackdaws. They start with the fat, which is supposed to attract woodpeckers and Nuthatches, and polish that off in minutes. Then they move onto the mixed seed feeders and demolish that too, leaving nothing for the small birds. They don't seem to be too interested in the sunflower feeder at the moment, or the niger feeder, although they probably can't access that one.
So I wanted to ask if anyone had any tips for discouraging these birds? I know it is possible to get feeder guardians, but I wanted to canvas opinion before I spent £100 on what I consider to be rather overpriced items.