Garden Bird Fans

tim

tim

Messages
783
Name
Tim Preston
Edit My Images
Yes
Hello,

Just thought I would share this with you. Yesterday I purchased from Pets at Home a garden bird feeder starter kit.

For just £9.99 I got a seed feeder, a peanut feeder, 1.8kg bag of nuts, 1kg of seed, a net full of peanuts, a net full of seed, 2 x fat balls a fat ball feeder a little garden bird book and it all came in a handy storage tub!

I only put it out yesterday and so far I am amazed at the amount of birds it has brought into the garden! Today I have had a wood pidgeon, magpies, wrens, blue tits etc etc!!

Saves me chasing them round the woods now! I can sit in the comfort of my own home and photograph them!!

Wood Pidgeon (Got to take the washing line down behind)
Woodpidgeon.jpg


Tim
 
Wow Tim, that's heck of a coincidence. For the first time in 3 months since I put my feeding stuff out, I spotted some Blue Tits and Great Tits on the thing and my wife said to me I need to get out to Pets at Home and buy exactly the sort of thing you mentioned here!!
 
What do people do for Garden bird Shots.

Do you take them through the glass windows/doors,

or through Open doors/windows and sit and wait??
 
I have been taking them today through the patio glass (had to clean the windows lol)

But my mum has a bird table at their house and you can stand 6-10ft away without spooking them!!??

I suppose it is how used to people the birds get.
 
I have done something very similar to encourage birdies! I got my kit at B&Q! You will be surprised how quickly they will fly to you now there is food, especially now it's getting so cold.

I don't seem to have taken any pictures yet:thinking:, so well done for yours!

PS, My parents now have so many feathered visitors they have to buy the food in very large sacks!
 
It's very addictive, and can end up costing a fortune!

Variety is the key to getting a lot of different species in. I have about 5 feeders (niger seed, mixed seed, sunflower whites, maggot/mealworm, fat cake), plus a bird table and fat balls hanging on bushes/trees. They're here everyday, and the most I've counted was 70 birds.. all over the lawn, in the pond, on the shed! Crazy! Got dozens of sparrows (theyre rare apparently :shrug: !), starlings, robins, blackbirds, wren, doves, blue tits, great tits, chaffinches, greenfinches, goldfinches...

If you can, sit out in the garden with a cuppa - you'll soon find the birds will feed with you there... once they're used to you, then take the camera out too...

Another little tip, is to make your own food. Save the fat from when you have bacon, mince etc, add some breadcrumbs and berries, chopped nuts etc and put that out. They go mad for it, especially now it's cold
 
.... getting a bird bath is essential too! My lounge and summer house both look out onto the garden, I just sit and look! With a cup of tea obviously! :LOL:
 
Ladybird said:
.... getting a bird bath is essential too! My lounge and summer house both look out onto the garden, I just sit and look! With a cup of tea obviously! :LOL:
Click to expand...

Absolutely - or a pond. The wren we have gets right in, under the waterfall and takes a proper drenching!
 
I shoot through glass now and again and find I lose about 1 stop in speed. The biggest problem is the glass is slightly tinted and it's double glazed. Hardly noticeable when you look at it, but it puts an awful cast on shots, so I try to avoid doing it.
 
Weggy said:
It's very addictive, and can end up costing a fortune!
Click to expand...


My mum and dad get a massive bulk bag of feed from CostCo and its only about £3-4 think its a 25kg if not bigger.
 
Weggy said:
It's very addictive, and can end up costing a fortune!

Another little tip, is to make your own food. Save the fat from when you have bacon, mince etc, add some breadcrumbs and berries, chopped nuts etc and put that out. They go mad for it, especially now it's cold
Click to expand...

Making your own food is an excellent way to feed the birds, but be sure not to put anything salty out there for the birds as it is toxic for them. There is a bit on the RSPB website which I've quoted underneath warning of the harm that salt can do to birds.

Lee.


RSPB Website

Bacon and other fats

Fat from cuts of meat (as long as it comes from only unsalted varieties) can be put out in large pieces, from which birds such as tits can remove morsels. Make sure that these are well anchored to prevent large birds flying away with the whole piece. This kind of food can attract larger birds such as magpies and gulls, and also neighbourhood cats. If this is likely to be a problem, it is best avoided.

There is a lot of debate about the suitability of bacon rind, since much of it is salted during the curing process. As long as you can be sure the bacon is not salty it can be put on the bird table. Since bacon can be too tough for many birds to tackle, chopping it finely will allow a wider variety of birds to benefit.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top