Just started feeding wild birds.

[Benchwayze]

But they haven't been near my new seed feeder (one month in a static position)
I have to put meal-worms and seed on the ground! Result; trouble with starlings. Greedy noisy blighters.

So I have bought a squirrel 'proof' 'nut feeder', some chopped up nuts, and some suet pellets.

Already, I have my own half-tame Robin, who comes out when I open the patio door, to spread the repast.

I am trying to get him to feed from my palm. He weighs me up, and seems to want to risk it, but so far just ignores my presence, and goes for what's on the ground. Pictures will follow, if he plucks up the sand to perch on me 'and.

All this gear has cost a tidy sum! Oh well I have enough tools at last. :lol:


Cheers
John

 

[RogerP]

I have several feeders around the garden some with peanuts and others with sunflower seed hearts. Also a bird table on which we put scraps. Between them they constantly attract all manner of birds from tiny wrens to crows. Costs a fair bit for the food but it's great entertainment.

 

[whiskywill]

Result; trouble with starlings. Greedy noisy blighters.

Send some to me. I haven't seen a starling for at least five years. Jackdaws, which used to be the most common bird in my garden, are also now a rarity.

 

[MrTeroo]

Our Robin feeds from the hand. Are you using live mealworms?

They can't resist those.

He's even worked out where we keep them in the garden shed and goes in to help himself!

 

[Fitzroy]

There was a giant bang on my shed roof the other day, came out to find a crow flapping about in the tree above and half a cocnutshell/fatball thingumy on the floor by the shed. Must have weighed 1/2lb, which from 20' up scared the life out of me, lord knows how the crow had carried it up the tree.

F.

 

[Random Orbital Bob]

Fat Balls probably

I'll get me coat!

 

[lurker]

John,

**** like coconuts

 

[NazNomad]

Kill 'em, kill'em all, little bleeders ... My chickens HATE being shut in the shed until January.

I'm kidding, don't kill 'em (except some of the open license ones maybe).

 

[Benchwayze]

Our Robin feeds from the hand. Are you using live mealworms?

They can't resist those.

He's even worked out where we keep them in the garden shed and goes in to help himself!

Not live meal worms. I can't think of a means to store the things, nor how to feed them; presumably you need to, in order to keep them tasty for the birds! Knowing me, I'd forget the worms, and finish up with loads of beetles.

i like the idea of stations all round the garden. it would be great to see the birds doing the rounds of all the 'subs'!

John

 

[MrTeroo]

Easy.

Plasic container with airhole or two in the lid, pop some newspaper in for them to munch on.

https://www.birdfood.co.uk/live-mea...=355&aid=355&gclid=CKCduvWJ99ACFcaV7QodBVgDLA

 

[graduate_owner]

We have been feeding for about a month, one feeder with mixed seed and one with fat balls. They need re-filling every day, usually more than once. A few years ago we bought cheapish bird seed, about £11 for 15 kg or thereabouts, but it contained a high proportion of barley or something and the birds didn't eat it. We had inches depth of seeds under the feeder, just going mouldy. The following spring we had a healthg crop of green stuff sprouting under the feeder. So now, despite being a tight wad, we buy more expensive seed and most of it gets eaten.

When it comes to feeding the birds, my thoughts are to give them something to fill their little tums before the long nights, and again after surviving the long nights, then they can forage for themselves during the main part of the day. We get blackbirds, starlings, sparrows, assorted **** and finches, and a regular visit from a lesser spotted woodpecker and (I think) a nuthatch.

K

 

[CHJ]

We spend a ridiculous amount on bird feed, about 50 kilos of nuts and 60-80 kilos of mixed seed a year, not easy to find quality mix, many of the chains sell a lot of rape or old oat husk rubbish etc. in their bulk bags. We get ours through a farm feeds outlet.

I think there are nine peanut feeders around the property at the moment usually a couple more in spring with anti squirrel/large bird screens on most but with access for the woodpeckers.

A Table with wild bird and a Floor tray with wild bird for the ground feeders like yellowhammers and wagtails.

And two large water sources, one open container near the house and a large 6 ltr. Eltex hopper up the top of the property.

Robins seem to prefer rummaging in the nut debris on the ground from the feeders or searching for spiders etc. in the open fronted shed.

What surprises me is how territorial the feeding areas are wrens are always to be seen around or on the ground under the ones in the front of the property but very rarely in the rear garden where the bulk of the feeders are.

 

[Lons]

We get a huge variety of birds and any seed chucked from the feeders gets vacuumed up by the pigeons, doves and pheasants. I actively discourage crows and damned magpies though.
We have a number of apple trees and always leave a decent amount on the trees as well as windfalls for the blackbirds, thrushes and visiting fieldfares though we've only had 2 of those so far this winter and they've "claimed" a bramley tree each to the annoyance of the resident blackbird population. :lol:

Great entertainment but not cheap however Costco sell reasonable seed all year round at less than £7 for 12kg, even less when on promo and no VAT and 20kg bags can be bought cheaply from JTF wholesalers if one anywhere close.

Bob

 

[Harbo]

The RSPB's advice is to feed birds all year round and not just over Winter etc.
I've bought seed from our local agricultural shop but it's full of wheat and other things that the birds don't really like and eat. I buy a better quality (and more expensive) "Premium Wild Bird " mix from Haith's, plus other mixes suitable for different birds.
From some reason "my" birds don't seem to like peanuts - preferring other mixes.
I don't put feed on the ground but use a raised table for the ground feeders.
I occasionally get rats feeding on the dropped food but an air rifle and a trap puts paid to them.
Local Sparrow hawks keep the Dove population down.

Rod

 

[graduate_owner]

We used to buy 25kg sacks of peanuts, about 2 each winter, until the price went way up. Now we just put out fat balls and premium seeds. Apparently the barley etc in cheap seed mix is only of interest to pigeons and other large birds, and we don't want to start encouraging them.
We don't feed all year round, just from about November to March, one seed feeder and one fat ball feeder. That will cost us comfortably over £100 for the season, little wonder we don't feed all year round. It is nice to see the songbirds though, and I do feel very sorry for them in the winter. The worst bit is when the occasional bird flies into out windows. Last week a (I think) kestrel broke its neck doing that. Hell of a noise when it hit the glass. Doesn't happen often, thankfully.

 

[bernienufc]

Just bought some mealworms for the first time ever for our pair of robins, i even made a box for them hoping they will take to it next season.

I rmember a couple of years ago we spotted red squirrels in the garden so purchased a sack Yes a giant sack of hazelnuts, £80, did we get ripped at by everyone in the pub blimey . We watched them taking the nuts away but never knew to where....until........next door cut his hedge and said it was like a war zone with nuts flying everywhere as he cut it back

 

[david123]

We use a lot of bird seed, fat balls and peanuts and can see the feeders from our front room window, gives us a lot of pleasure. We have seen a couple of times (feeding of the peanuts) a great spotted woodpecker, unfortunatly I was not able to get a photograph of him. An amazing bird.
If you live in Devon or Cornwall you can buy 20Kg of Gardman seeds for I think it was £12.99 last week at Trago Mills, it was on offer.

 

[heronviewer]

We have been feeding birds for a long time and get blue, great, longtailed and coal ****, chaffinches, greenfinches, goldfinches, tree and hedge sparrows, robins, greater spotted woodpeckers, nuthatches, linnets, blackbirds, thrushes, pheasants, an occasional partridge and even a treecreeper (cleaning up under the feeders). Sunflower seed hearts are the most popular for the small birds, the woodpeckers like peanuts and oatmeal (and the small birds like these too).
I get Tesco value oatmeal and the other seeds from Croston Cornmill at https://www.thecornmill.com/ Good value and very fast delivery.
There are almost always, during daylight hours, birds to watch - today, 9 goldfinches together.

 

[davem62]

+1 for croston cornmill we buy sunflower hearts and premium seed from them no wheat or barley , we make our own mixture from Asda's dripping and sunflower hearts and chopped raisins for log feeders