Food and feeders

[Elizabeth Bigg]

What sort of bird feeders do people have in their gardens? I have the one shown on the attached photo (we call it the monstrosity), as well as five other feeders for peanuts, one for mixed seed, and two for mealworms that only tits and robins can access. The tubes on the monstrosity are 33cm long, and the one with the black sunflower seeds needs to be re-filled every 2 or 3 days.

As well as these I have one squirrel-proof bird table, and two ground feeder tables that are used more by squirrels than anything else. I buy food in bulk, and store it in plastic dustbins in the garage - necessary because of the mice.

On another forum, someone posted a list of how much bird food he used each week - I costed it out and it came to £20!!! Since then I have been putting more food out for my poor deprived little birds.

[Euan Buchan]

I have 1 that you can stick on a window and its nice watching the birds fvery close up at the window I have a long 1 in the garden which is the birds favourite cus it seems 2 get empyed alot I use peanuts in both of them I have a wooden one aswell but that doesn't get used much

[helenol]

Elizabeth, I'd better not tell you how much I spend then!! Come to think of it, hubby doesn't know either; I always say I am investing in the welfare of local birds so that future generations may enjoy them as much as I do ;-)

[seb_seb]

Id say the squirrels eat 40 percent of the food that goes out

[robinm]

At the moment I'm just putting out feeder seed (which I buy in bulk). In the winter I put out nuts and table food - although I have rigged up my bird table so the collared doves and wood pigeons can't get on it. They clear up what the other birds spill. At present we are getting mostly house sparrows (20+) and greenfich (about the same)

As for spending £20 a week if I did that my financial controller would be asking for a divorce!

[pete schofield]

Hi all
I am about to stop putting out peanuts because they just don't seem to be going. My feeder is about 12 inches and if i half fill it it lasts about 2 months. All the other feed is fine just the peanuts has anybody else seen this happen?

Pete

[helenol]

Pete, I stopped with peanuts last year. Now I provide a "hi-energy" no mess seed, which the goldfinches, tits etc enjoy very much.

[Elizabeth Bigg]

Pete - what birds do you have in your garden? At the moment I am regularly counting up to 7 great tits, and 5 or 6 bluetits, and these are the ones gobbling up the peanuts. The great tits also enjoy the black sunflower seeds, and the bluetits like the mealworms when I replenish the window feeder.

[pduxon]

Since you asked - hey you used my name ;)

Interestingly the feeders in the front garden are going much much quicker than those in the back, more cover.

The sparrows are monopolising the seed feeder. The greenfinches go for the nuts. With the Tits going anywhere they can!!

[pete schofield]

Elizabeth
I have a good variety of garden birds inc all the tit range in good numbers about a dozen of each. 6-8 goldfinches with about the same number of greenfinches starting to come back now.

Sparrows too many to count, the general consensus is they are in decline but we have at least 50 at any one time.

The Robins are also starting to re-appear after the summer lay off, last year we had 4 although they do squabble a bit.

So as you can see there are a good number to have a go at the peanuts, but as I said they just don't seem interested and I got them from CJ wildfoods.

As for the rest of the feed a mixture of high Energy, sunflower and kernels niger all this seems to go well.

Perhaps it's just the birds in Snettisham they can be a stuck up lot!

Pete

[Elizabeth Bigg]

Hi Pete (golfnut type again - sorry pduxon!!). I just asked because I was surprised that the peanuts were not being eaten, when the ones in my feeders are going down pretty rapidly. My birds are stuck up about niger seed - I bought it specially when I had seen a goldfinch in the garden, but it was ignored, as were the teasels I grew. I reckon the birds here just don't read the books!!

You certainly have far more birds than I do here in Mayford (near Woking) - perhaps your neighbours are more bird-minded, or maybe there is much more natural food?

It's very useful to know where people live - but perhaps we need some sort of coding system on our profiles to indicate the resources available to our garden visitors - now there's a challenge for the admin people!!!! I wonder if they might see this????

[Red_Kite]

Does anyone else have experience of Chaffinches using feeders? I hadn't ever seen them use them, they seemed to much prefer picking up what was dropped onto the ground, but lately a male Chaffinch has started using the feeder in my garden. He's very wobbly on the perch and doesn't like to sit on it for too long, but he still uses it. A femalehas tried too, but more often than not just ends up hovering around the ports picking at them.

[helenol]

Red kite - the chaffinches last year used to ground feed, but this year they all go on the feeders. Some of them took a couple of go's before they managed to perch on them, but they've all got the hang of it now. when the goldfinches and greenfinches are present, there is a right squabble between them all vying for the feeders.

H

[pduxon]

I've seen the odd chaffy on a feeder

[Euan Buchan]

on the window feeder I get a few Sparrows n Bluie Tits and on the big feeder alot more Blue Tits

[Red_Kite]

Glad to see someone else has seen them on feeders too! We had quite a lot of Siskins on the peanut feeder earlier this year, lots of Goldfinches on the niger seed feeder, and a Redpoll also paid a visit. A female Sparrowhawk was terrorising them all for some time, but haven't seen her for a while.

Most of 'my' birds tend to appreciate the sunflower hearts feeder the most - the Greenfinches and Bullfinches love it. You'd think that a bigger bird like the Greenfinch or House Sparrow would boss everyone else around out there, but it's the Goldfinches that seem to rule the roost! They're very aggressive and protective of their food source.

[Geoff Brown]

I usually get greenfinches on the seed feeders + house + a few tree sparrows. Also some chaffinches cleaning up underneath them with a couple of collared doves. What amazed me early on saturday morning was to see a grey squirrel as, apart from the few small trees in mine and the next door neighbours garden, the nearest sizeable trees are about a quarter of a mile away. There are only fenland fields with no sizeable hedges or any meaningful wild vegetation between those trees and my house. This must be a squirrel who likes to move along grass verges beside a fairly busy B road: a brave or very hungry animal?

[Elizabeth Bigg]

Geoff - I've never seen a tree sparrow (I'm mainly a garden bird watcher though). I'll send you a few squirrels if you'll let me have some tree sparrows, I'm sure they'd like it here!

[Red_Kite]

Geoff - a very greedy animal! Grey Squirrels turn up just about anywhere, I've often wondered how on earth they've managed it. They always have a good go at destroying my feeders though, so if I see any whilst I'm outside I throw teatowels at them! lol Ridiculous I know, they just come back then when I've gone. I just don't like them though, try as I might, they're very destructive and I don't like them taking all the food from the birds. Suppose I'm a bit mean really.

:cat:

[Viv]

Hi there!

I have peanuts (which go very quickly), mixed seeds, sunflowers, fat balls and I am trying these suet treats at the moment. They also get bird cake if I can't get fat balls. On the bird table I usually put out dried fruit and "hedgehog" peanuts which go very well and seeds which don't go as well.

We have LOADS of sparrows, starlings, at least 3 blue tits (these appear every day) and have just acquired a pair of robins and a pair of Great Tits which appear every couple of days or so. The greenfinches we had during the summer haven't reappeared yet, but the occasional chaffinch has been seen locally so hopefully these will be back soon as well. As we have cats I don't encourage ground feeders but there are woodpigeons and collared doves about, as well as the occasional blackbird and thrush, these don't come in the garden very often though.

We have (I think) one tree sparrow who visits regularly - it's either a tree sparrow or a hybrid and certainly the picture in the book looks like our visitor.

;) :cool: :cool: 3:-) 3:-)

[Trevor Lee]

Hi Elizabeth, I have spent the afternoon cleaning and making new feeders for the coming winter.

I have a large home made post similar in shape to a footpath sign but with lots of feeders hanging from it.

We hace a squirrel proof ceramic nut feeder, a wooden nut feeder, two seed feeders, a covered open seed feeder for the robins and smaller birds. I have today made several small wire cages to accept small fat balls (2 at a time) as hanging them by string meant the starlings usually broke them up and they scattered very quickly. I had only just hung them up when two Great tits and 3 Blue tits vwere vying for the honour to be the first to dine.

I have also just made a new ground feeding table. This is probably for a third or less of the price than those you buy.

Theres something really satisfaying about constructing your own feeders for a fraction of the cost. Birds are reaaly not fussy about how they look so long as they do the job and they can get at the food.

I also make my own nest boxes and give these to freinds and hang them in local woods with peoples permission.

Birds we have at the moment are Song thrush (recently returned after long absence) GSW (new addition) Robin (pair) dunnocks, Wrens (lots of them) Great, Blue long tailed Tits, Blackbirds, starlings, Collared Doves, Woody's, Jacky's, Jay ocassionally, Chaffinch, Greenfinch.

We have had Gold finches at the back of the garden and grew teasels for the last 2-3 years to tempt them in but with no look.

Have you noticed how on RSPB garden bird watches the birds seem to stay away? They obviously have a sense of humour!!

Best wishes

Trevor

:cool:

[Susan C]

Hello - I've just begun to put out seed again this fall - and have been amazed at the variety of birds that visit. I've seen a downy woodpecker at a suet /peanut butter/seed cage, nuthatches on an old tree trunk, chickadees and goldfinches at the nyjer (nyger?) seed feeds, lots of starlings, red-winged blackbirds and grackles, who's main objective seems to be to make a big a mess as possible. The mourning doves come in to clean up after them. Also spotted a ruby-throated hummingbird on a regular basis.
We've also had a small flock of waxwings the other day, who were after the fruit on the old crab-apple (I thinkk).
Not too bad for a start!