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Recent content by ahinrichs

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    Lonely Blackbird??

    I don't think so - the others pay him absolutely no mind, just sqabble among themselves, each taking its turn grabbing worms. They are hilarious. But, of course, it's deadly serious to them.... Cheers - A
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    Lonely Blackbird??

    Hi Ian - I watch with great interest the antics of the male blackbirds, there's one who's the obvious dominant one, the one the others watch out for as they all jockey for position at the various bowls of mealworms I put out. My singing guy doesn't even enter the fray - he perches on high and...
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    Lonely Blackbird??

    Thanks Ian and Sue - I'm sure he feeds at times but all my other male birds come immediately - and I mean IMMEDIATELY - when I walk out, expecting me to have worms....which I usually do. <G> I find this particular male's behaviour quite unique. I've never had one which sings pretty much...
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    Lonely Blackbird??

    I have several male blackbirds in my garden all of which come to stuff their beaks with worms - which I provide - and fly off to (probably) feed their nesting mates. However, since yesterday I have had one solo male bb which has been in the trees, singing the entire time. It doesn't come down...
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    Suitable blue tit food?

    "The only thing you can do, if you want to try and help, is to provide mini-mealworms, but this is expensive and will probably be raided by every passing starling and blackbird too. " There are meal worm feeders available which exclude starlings and, unfortunately, blackbirds, but allow the...
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    breeding mealworm

    mealworms Hi Toni - No, the beetles don't fly. I put a sheet of newspaper over the container - it allows for suficient ventilation and gives them a degree of darkness which they like. They escape by becoming attached to your hand, clothing or whatever which you've just not noticed. Or...
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    Breeding Mealworms

    Rich - Thanks for the advice - good idea about the dried skim milk, et al. I have never heard of mealworms eating meat - ie, road kill - as suggested by Touty in a previous post. Have you or anyone else in this thread heard of this?? Cheers - Ann
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    Breeding Mealworms

    breeding mealworms Hi Willowa - Just saw your post. You must feed your mealworms if you keep them for anytime, even just a day or two. If they have no food they begin to eat one another plus they'll be in such poor condition as to be pretty useless to the birds. Get some wheatbran either...
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    Breeding Mealworms

    mealworms Hi Rich - I've never had luck with potatoes, either. My worms seem to prefer apple, carrot and banana skins. I have to keep a close eye on the apples as they can go moldy very quickly. Interesting about the vitamins - I was going to get some when breeding and nesting season...
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    Breeding Mealworms

    breeding mealworms Hi Rich - Breeding mealworms is easy and much less expensive than buyinng but it is very slow process, partly dependent on how warm it is. If you want mealworms for right now and, more importanly, for spring when the birds really need help with their babies, then you...
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    Breeding Mealworms

    Mealworms Hi Paul - I've also found that using oats is not the best substrate for the worms or the beetles which is why I recommended wheat or oat bran - not the porridge oats themselves. If you get bran at a pet shopor feed store be sure to freeze it for several days to kill any mites...
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    What's been in your garden today?

    Female Chaffinch w/ yellow wing bars?? Hi - I've just seen what at first glance I took to be a female chaffinch but when I looked in my bird book, the female c has white wing bars. This bird had yellow wing bars. Is this an aberation? A different species? Can anyone shed light on this...
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    Breeding Mealworms

    Mealworms Hi Paul - I've been breeding mealworms for 2 - 3 years now. Mix some wheat bran or oat bran in with your flour. That will give the beetles something on which to gain purchase. It's very difficult for them to get any kind of traction on fine flour. I assume you're putting...
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    What's been in your garden today?

    Pam - No starlings??? I'm being mobbed by them. I'm in Bedfordshire and our day was beautiful too. Lots of H sparrows : 25 - 30; blue and great tits, green finches - 5; dunnocks -2 chaffinch - 2 - 3 several collared doves NO blackbirds! I don't know where mine have gone. I have about 10...
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    What's been in your garden today?

    Amazing sighting of blue tit! I just saw the most amazing thing - to me, that is. While working at my desk [home office] I heard a tapping on the window, turned to look and there was a blue tit tapping first on the window, then over onto the pebble dashed wall grazing up and down it obviously...
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