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Help with back garden feeder! (1 Viewer)

vixx1603

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Hi all, I am new to back garden bird feeding so please bear with me. I invested in a feeding station for the back garden at the end of May. The feeder is positioned at the bottom of the garden near to a fence and some conifers from the neighbours garden. I have been using mixed seed, suet balls and suet pellets in the feeders but in all this time have only had a couple of visitors. I have been changing the seed to stop it from getting stale but still having no joy. There were a couple of wood pigeons gobbling up all the seed so I have changed the feeders so they have a protective cage around to give the smaller birds a chance. I have tried scattering some seed in the ground as I have read that this helps birds find the station but the seed it eaten quickly by the wood pigeons. I have also noticed that a rat has found its way into the garden and scaled up the feeder sticking its head through the cage to get at the seed. I have now purchased a baffle to prevent and squirrels or rats from climbing the pole but I am starting to despair. Where am I going wrong!?
 
Hi! Not sure how long it has taken other people, but when we moved into this house a few years back, we had no birds visiting. It took a *very* long time for us to start seeing lots of birds regularly, probably close to 2 years. This really confused me as the feeding station we have on our property was already here when we moved in, so one could assume they had been fed at this location before, so why it took so long to get a nice variety of birds is beyond me! But I can assure you that in the 2 years, our population and variety grew and grew over time. I must say that the biggest increase of birds for us happened once we put out the suet blocks... I think these are better than the suet pellets, in my experience.

You may want to experiment with different types of seed/feed. You say you are using mixed seed, but a lot of mixed seed contain "filler seeds" that won't really attract much more than some sparrows or finches. Not all seeds are created equal, and once we started getting *quality* seeds and mixes, our populations increased. These days, we have probably 60% black oil sunflower seeds 30% suet blocks, and 10% mixed seeds like millet/nyjer/safflower. Seed mixes that contain already shelled nuts and sunflower hearts are more attractive to birds since not all of them can crack open the shells, but these mixes are more expensive.


You could also try using different *types* of feeders. Some birds can't sit on the tiny perches, so maybe a platform feeder or a hopper style would be better for them. Maybe add one of those shelled peanut feeders, although I don't know what types of birds in the UK eat shelled peanuts, over here our cardinals, Blue jays, and woodpeckers will gobble up the peanuts. Other birds will eat fruit mixes. Have you researched what types of birds are most likely to be in your surrounding area? You could also try a bird bath with a fountain or water agitator.


Patience is key here, they *will* find your feeding station!
 
Hi! Not sure how long it has taken other people, but when we moved into this house a few years back, we had no birds visiting. It took a *very* long time for us to start seeing lots of birds regularly, probably close to 2 years. This really confused me as the feeding station we have on our property was already here when we moved in, so one could assume they had been fed at this location before, so why it took so long to get a nice variety of birds is beyond me! But I can assure you that in the 2 years, our population and variety grew and grew over time. I must say that the biggest increase of birds for us happened once we put out the suet blocks... I think these are better than the suet pellets, in my experience.

You may want to experiment with different types of seed/feed. You say you are using mixed seed, but a lot of mixed seed contain "filler seeds" that won't really attract much more than some sparrows or finches. Not all seeds are created equal, and once we started getting *quality* seeds and mixes, our populations increased. These days, we have probably 60% black oil sunflower seeds 30% suet blocks, and 10% mixed seeds like millet/nyjer/safflower. Seed mixes that contain already shelled nuts and sunflower hearts are more attractive to birds since not all of them can crack open the shells, but these mixes are more expensive.


You could also try using different *types* of feeders. Some birds can't sit on the tiny perches, so maybe a platform feeder or a hopper style would be better for them. Maybe add one of those shelled peanut feeders, although I don't know what types of birds in the UK eat shelled peanuts, over here our cardinals, Blue jays, and woodpeckers will gobble up the peanuts. Other birds will eat fruit mixes. Have you researched what types of birds are most likely to be in your surrounding area? You could also try a bird bath with a fountain or water agitator.


Patience is key here, they *will* find your feeding station!


Thanks for replying, there are definitely a lot of birds in the area. I’ve noticed that one of the neighbours has a fantastic feeder which looks far more magnificent than ours! It may just be that they’re all going there filling up for now…

I will definitely be changing the seed to see if that has any effect, strange though because all the local reviews said it was by far the best seed people had used. I currently have a fat ball feeders, a seed feeder with four perches and a peanut feeder. I’ve been putting suet pellets in the peanut feeder as an alternative as my partner has a nut allergy.

There is a water tray attached to the feeding station, unfortunately that only seems to attract wood pigeons who perch on it trying to get at the seed in the feeders. I have now attached a baffle to the pole to prevent any unwanted visitors climbing the pole, hopefully I will have more luck in the coming weeks/months.
 
Perhaps it's a combination of the birds knowing where your neighbour's feeder is and they haven't cottoned on to yours yet PLUS they may just be out enjoying the food in the nearby countryside/woods etc.

Come the winter I'm sure they'll soon start flocking to your feeder :t:
 
If your neighbor has a really enticing setup then you're probably right about them going there since that's what they're accustomed to. I have read that a bird bath needs to make some sort of sound for the birds to want to use it, which is why they suggest either a fountain or water agitator. I have never seen a bird use our bird bath, it might as well be invisible to the birds since it has no sounds to draw them in. Maybe try some black oil sunflower seeds, if you don't already have a feeder with those in it. Do you live by any forests?? I know there are some really GORGEOUS woodpeckers over in the UK, so keep the suet out for them! Hopefully you'll see an increase in the winter and by this time next year, you'll have a nice variety.
 
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