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What are the chances? (1 Viewer)

Tim100

Well-known member
Hello,

I was wondering what chances do I have of seeing any of the following in my garden this winter and how I might enocurage them...

Siskin
Redpoll
Waxwing
Any others?

I have some bird seed for the ground and am planning a feeder with peanuts or sunflower hearts.

I live in Kent.

I've recently seen greenfinch, goldfinch, a chaffinch and a linnet. Any ideas how to encourage these other species in?

(I've read the thread on encouraging brambling)

Thanks,

Tim
 
Siskin is easy.. they are suckers for Red bags of Peanuts....
Redpoll - well hard.. if you have a big enough corner to set aside for weeds you might get them... birch trees are good too, but I'm not aware of them being big on feeders.

Waxwing.. PLant a Rowan.... cotoneaster, Guilder Rose and wait... sorry no quick solution
 
Tim100 said:
Hello,

I was wondering what chances do I have of seeing any of the following in my garden this winter and how I might enocurage them...

Siskin
Redpoll
Waxwing
Any others?

I have some bird seed for the ground and am planning a feeder with peanuts or sunflower hearts.

I live in Kent.

I've recently seen greenfinch, goldfinch, a chaffinch and a linnet. Any ideas how to encourage these other species in?

(I've read the thread on encouraging brambling)

Thanks,

Tim

Siskins are a definite possibility but not a probability, they reputedly like the red netted peanut bags, both Siskins and Redpolls like Alder trees, so if you've got those or there are some nearby... In Kent you're lucky to see a Waxwing, small numbers do sometimes occur (although I've never been lucky enough to see one) and if you've got berry rich shrubs it's not an impossibility but...

Richard
 
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Siskin - plant alder and put red nutbags up.
Redpoll - plant birch or alder but you'll be very very lucky.
Waxwing - plant rown or tall cotoneaster. Or go and get some sprays of rowan berries from elsewhere and hang them up.
If you get waxwing in your trees, you might get redwing too.

others:
Pied wagtail - crumb food on the ground
Blackcap -berries
goldfinch - niger seed in feeders, or sprinkled in dried teasel heads and set up in bunches
chaffinch/greenfinch - mixed seed on a bird table (or the ground)

providing water will bring in more birds (especially a pond), and I find a good covering of snow brings in allsorts!
 
I agree with Offord regarding water. A bird bath attracts all sorts of birds, usually before the food does! Good luck.
 
Thanks for all your responses.

3 further questions...

How much food should I put on the ground and when?

Will putting food on the ground attract cats to the birds?

Is there a website with a list of what food each bird likes to eat?

Wouldn't mind seeing some bullfinches, great tits and LTTs?
 
Tim100 said:
Thanks for all your responses.

3 further questions...

How much food should I put on the ground and when?

Will putting food on the ground attract cats to the birds?

Is there a website with a list of what food each bird likes to eat?

Wouldn't mind seeing some bullfinches, great tits and LTTs?

Hi - have a look at the RSPB site ([url]www.rspb.org.uk)[/URL] for advice on feeding and cats. Bullfinches supposedly like honeysuckle berries, but I can't remember the last time I saw a Bullfinch locally. Great Tits will happily feed on peanuts. Long Tailed Tits will feed on peanuts but they're less frequent visitors to feeders than the Parus Tits.

Regards Richard
 
Redpolls, like Goldfinches and Siskins, are attracted to niger. I took this photo of a Redpoll in the garden today. Siskins tend to visit the garden in late winter and early spring, I haven`t seen any yet this winter.
 

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I live in kent, and havnt had any goldfinches or linnets! niger proved to be a waste of money for me, it attracted nothing and didnt even get eaten!!!
 
Thanks for the feedback.

I've had blue tits, coal tit, great tit, 2 robins, long tailed tits and collared dove to seed table.

Also had chaffinch (male), dunnock, blackbirds and robins to ground seed.

Other random birds in garden include female/juv linnet (once), up to 6 song thrushes, house sparrows and starlings, 2 goldcrests, goldfinch and greenfinch, 1 wren and 1 female bullfinch.

Wood pigeons and Magpies fly around and a Sparrowhawk has been seen flying over house or garden on 2 occasions.

"Rarities" for the garden in the past include green woodpecker, blackcap (male), pheasant (wherever that came from?!) and possible kingfisher at pond (didn't see it myself).

Think that's it. Must get some peanuts for the greenfinches and hopefully to attract the siskins. A great spotted woodpecker would be nice too.
 
Hi Tim,

I'm in N Kent. For the last two years I've had Siskins at the feeders in January, they happily feed on general seed mix (I get the type specifically for feeders).

Great Spotted Woodpecker visited the metal cage with peanuts but has not been regular.
LTT are regular over winter, they flit through the garden, look at the feeders but I've never actually see them feed.
Niger seed did attract Goldfinch - current garden record of 17.
Sunflower hearts attracted Greenfinch.

I don't ground feed anymore because of vermin rather than cats so I'm not sure how that will work for you.

Also think about shelter and cover for the feeding birds (close enough to escape to but far enough away not to hide predators).

Paul
 
Thanks for the info! 17 goldfinches is very impressive!

Possible sighting of a redpoll but I need alot of convincing it wasn't a linnet. It's in the bird identification forum on worldwide (description not picture)

Greenfinches always liked peanuts at my last house and they haven't come to table yet.

Cheers for siskin advice. That would be a good way to start new year!
 
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I live in East Kent and have a small garden in a new estate. In 4 years this is my total:

Grey Heron, Sparrowhawk, Pheasant, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Meadow Pipit, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Black Redstart, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Siskin.

Good luck
 
pauljones said:
I don't ground feed anymore because of vermin rather than cats so I'm not sure how that will work for you.

Paul

I have two ground feeder tables, and I put mixed seed and porridge oats into shallow dishes on these, then as it becomes dark in the evening, I put the dishes onto the squirrel proof bird table - I reckon if squirrels can't get onto it neither will rats or mice! We do occasionally see a little mouse during the day, but it is many years since we saw a rat during the day (and we've only ever seen a rat twice in the 14 years we have lived here).
 
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