Please feed the birds !!!

Hi Matt,...............I get lots at a good quality seed mix, sunflower seeds with husks get fabulous results and the Niger seed gets the goldie's. ...Dean

:plus1:.........dont buy seedmix in bags where you cannot see the actual mix

the stupid RSPB does this - i wont buy what i cannot see
most 'cheaper' mixes contain lotsa unsuitable stuff such as cracked corn [yellow], barley, even crushed dog biscuits [ pink]...all you'll feed is pigeons with this stuff

black sunflower seeds contain lotsa oil [good] but the husks create a ****** mess.....bit more expensive but i use sunflower hearts
 
What about me?
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I'am spending hours feeding all my birds, so yous all can have your Turkey,Duck or Chicken on your plate this christmas......:LOL:
 
Yep , please do feed the birds

I am a RSPB member and pay a monthly fee towards the upkeep of our little feathered friends

Imagen life without them :(
 
Must be hard winter already, for the first time ever this morning I had a pair of nuthatches on the feeders, we have plenty of woodland and trees locally so we don't normally see them in the garden. MInd you, its positively tropical here in north london today, its warmed right up to 3 degrees! :LOL:
 
Must be hard winter already, for the first time ever this morning I had a pair of nuthatches on the feeders, we have plenty of woodland and trees locally so we don't normally see them in the garden. MInd you, its positively tropical here in north london today, its warmed right up to 3 degrees! :LOL:

Lol, we're even better here in Devon. A staggering 6.5 degrees this afternoon, but steady rain. I'd rather have dry and cold. But not too cold as our water supply froze last weekend (it's a moorland spring), the problem is now fixed though as we've upgraded the insulation with.......hay bales :)
 
Lol, we're even better here in Devon. A staggering 6.5 degrees this afternoon, but steady rain. I'd rather have dry and cold. But not too cold as our water supply froze last weekend (it's a moorland spring), the problem is now fixed though as we've upgraded the insulation with.......hay bales :)

ooeerrr, stick some bales on the spring darling! ;)

It rained here overnight, but been dry all day. I went to our local petfood place earlier, got some more stuff, in particular a couple more 'squirrel proof' feeders for the peanuts and fatballs - the sunflower hearts have been in one all year - and then sat at the window awaiting the first of the 3 squirrels we have visiting to appear. Oh the amusement when one did, it was sooooo frustrated and tried everything to get at the peanuts! It finally worked out that it could, just about, get its head through the holes, but only allows for nibbling at bits of nuts and is high risk as it takes a bit a wriggling to get out again, which could be a problem when the Jack Russells are let out in the garden [no, I didnt] Shows how absolutely determined they are though. :bonk:
 
The birds I get at my feeders really do prefer the sunflower hearts over the peanuts, they only seem to visit the peanuts after they have emptied the sunflower hearts.

This is my feeding station, a little different now as the green feeder was totally destroyed by a squirrel as was the fat ball feeder, bits of plastic everywhere, so I now use a large thick wooden feeder, which is still intact... Oh and just a reminder on the fatballs, take them out of there nets, which are a danger to the birds. I also have half cocnuts dotted around the trees too, as the Long tailed tits love these. I also now have a seed feeder with metal feeding ports, no more squirrel damage!

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Sorry about a rubbish picture :D
 
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Nothing seems to come to my feeder(s), I keep them clean and they are not near any predators, but still nothing, summer or winter. We do have birds in the area as I have seen them but alas they pass me by.
No idea why though, any thoughts anyone?

Matt


Same here for me, too.

I put peanuts, mixed seeds, water, fat, apples, sunflower seeds, all the usual stuff. Decent stuff and cheap stuff. Might get a Pigeon and a couple of tits and the occasional Robin a week.
I only put small amounts out now as the peanuts go black before they get eaten and the seeds start to sprout.
 
I get plenty of birds about my feeders,so I have to keep up the feeding in winter
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I'm feeding our birds too. I am also finding the nuts are being left, the favourite by far seems to be mealworms. I've need to buy some more tomorrow as they've cleaned me out! I've tried setting the camera up in the garden and using a wireless remote. It's hit and miss but have managed a couple of decent shots.



 
Same here Ced`s and yes you are right about them being frozen. I have just stuffed the fatball feeder and blocks of suet food inside a thick Laurel bush which is in the garden. Whilst we have not had the amount of snow some have experienced the wind factor is still very cold. Being an evergreen I believe the Laurel still photosynthesize`s in winter and generates O2, this plus the protection from the wind might help keep the food edible for them :shrug:
I wondered why they were not eating the fat balls
we feed ours all year round :clap:
 
............ mealworms. I've need to buy some more tomorrow as they've cleaned me out!

you can buy 'cultures' to breed your own...."link"

My Sainsburys is charging £5 a plastic tub - sirloin steak is cheaper..:razz:
 
we have been out and brought all sorts of stuff new bird tables with and without roofs feeders etc etc the birds just sit on the fence and look at it all and just fly off.

Even been putting tubs of luke warm water out for them changing them on a daily basis not even a bloody starling so far.
 
Trudged 4 miles through a snow storm yesterday with over 12inches of snow on the ground.
It was all worth it though when the Coal Tits came & fed off my hand. They really are plucky little birds.
 
I know what you mean Charlie, I froze my watsits off over the weekend to fill the feeders up,feed the buzzards ,stoats and my new friends, the snipe............(y)
 
Is it wrong to put leftovers out for the birds?

I do feed them with fatballs, wild bird seed, sunflower seeds and niger seeds but they empty my feeders pretty quickly.
Year before last rather than throwing out the left overs from a Sunday dinner I chopped them up and put them out for the birds [in an old oven try], left overs would have included roast potatoes, veg even the chicken carcass. The birds ate the lot:eek: I've always do it in the winter months now, seems a shame to throw it when there's not a lot of food about for them.

We have had magpies and jays in, wagtails, starling, robin, blackbirds, wren I have my own flock of collared doves and wood pigeons. I had about 40 starving black headed gulls in yesterday [they never normally come down into the garden as it's quite small], I fill the tray up with left overs from every meal now.

Just seems a shame to throw what might help the birds that come into my garden survive another winter.

I know it's not natural but aren't some of them scavengers and do they know what's good to eat and what's not.

Just wondering

Brian
 
They are costing me a fortune:LOL: I even have the Kites on the bird table nicking the seed bags, little gits :thinking:

They are eating 1 feeder each day of sunflower hearts and loving the fat balls I make for them.(y)
 
,feed the buzzards ,.............

what do you do/feed..?

have 4 buzzards and a kestrel on the BT poles along my road

the fields are snow covered - slim pickings

squeamish look away now :puke:... do they eat dead crows..or just mammal carrion?
 
I'm not 100% sure but I believe they will eat anything when push comes to shove.
 
Trudged 4 miles through a snow storm yesterday with over 12inches of snow on the ground.
It was all worth it though when the Coal Tits came & fed off my hand. They really are plucky little birds.

Dont forget that Robin Charlie ;) Glad you are keeping ok (y)
That is interesting about the Coal tit. I had one the other day when hand feeding the Robin with mealworms, the Ct was getting more brave by the minute but just held off from coming on to my hand :(
 
I don't have my own garden but i do help my mum out, pouring boiling water into frozen bird baths if the ice wont shift and using shallow pot plant dishes, plenty of cheese and bacon rind cut into small pieces helps a lot, i do get fed up with the selfish aggressive starlings & pidgeons and doves, the sparrows and blackbirds become tame enough to know we bang the window to scare the bad guys away.....some of the time :)#

BTW, a lot of snow and a drop in temperature is coming for next week people, from an amateur weather forecaster !!!!
 
i read just the other day ...not to feed bacon as it contains salt = dehydration which is bad if free-standing water is not available
 
We've had deep snow lying now since late November - I've just replenished all the feeders this morning having been away for a week down South.

Topped up the nut's, seeds, fat balls, coconut halves and nijer seeds and worm cake - it took about 5 mins before the feeders were mobbed. Just goes to show how ready they were for it.
 
I'm very disappointed, put out a couple of bird feeders an 3 fat balls a week before Christmas, very little activity . . . a few pecks at the fat balls, the feeders have gone down 1"!!! dont have cats or any thing, there is an aviary a few doors down?

Am I doing something wrong?

CJS
 
I'm very disappointed, put out a couple of bird feeders an 3 fat balls a week before Christmas, very little activity . . . a few pecks at the fat balls, the feeders have gone down 1"!!! dont have cats or any thing, there is an aviary a few doors down?

Am I doing something wrong?

CJS

As I say, it might be because they were too hard and frozen for the birds. Hence why the went for the seed feeders instead. :)
 
The fat balls are not something they will demolish straight away but a great source for them non the less... It takes them more energy to eat from the fat ball and so frozen, they will have given up and go for the easy option - seed :)
 
The fat balls are not something they will demolish straight away but a great source for them non the less... It takes them more energy to eat from the fat ball and so frozen, they will have given up and go for the easy option - seed :)

We tend to crush thed fat balls up and put them on the bird table, Black birds love it and since the cold spell started we have had a pair of Grey wagtails visist the bird table every day.

Dean
 
Mine ignored the fatballs for weeks. Changed the feeder to a non squirrel proof one and they have been using it. Need to get one of those pole thingies to hang off a greater choice of food. Only really seen sparrows. They wait in the hedge, fly down then fly back to the hedge. Can often see 6 to 8 of them at a time queuing! They seem to bathe in the guttering. Wake me up flapping about at all hours.
 
My bird table gets cleared in less than a couple of hours thanks to 3 squirrels who live in the tree at the bottom of the garden. I've tried making it difficult by doing the food in bird feeders but they are resourceful chaps and hang upside down to get at it.
 
Have we still got to feed them during the breeding season and if so do we use the same foods ?
Keith (y)
 
Some research suggested that small birds are clever enough not to feed whole peanuts unsuitable for young, even if you put them out or some scatter when refilling. Key thing is to keep feeding regualr and throughout the year as birds learn where the food supply is and will use the feeding station at any time they need a top up. Small passerines will tend to use garden stations less when they are feeding pulli high protein food (bugs & caterpillars) but often need an energy fix for themselves.
 
Any recommendations for a squirrel proof feeder which will allow woodpecker to use.
Looking for something that doesn't require a remortgage and does the job.
 
Any recommendations for a squirrel proof feeder which will allow woodpecker to use.
Looking for something that doesn't require a remortgage and does the job.

Tried for ages to find one and no luck. Best to get rid of the squirrels
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