Birds and garden visitors...

[Firestorm]

we have a badger who visits

 

[Baggy]

It was one of the green ones with a red head - is that a green woodpecker or something like that?

Yup!

Solty, there will probably have been a few mousies out looking for food so hopefully the wols will have found something to nibble on.

 

[Baggy]

we have a badger who visits

Do you feed it, or does it just trundle through?

 

[CanucksTraveller]

Am just pondering the blurb on bird seed that says "attract species x by putting y in the garden". If you've never, ever had a particular variety of bird in your garden is it really likely they're going to spot whatever it is you've put out, and start visiting?

Yeah they do. Surprising, but it works somehow. I really like Goldfinch, but I'd never had any in my current garden in 6 years... I put a Niger seed feeder out just to see how we got on, and within 10 days I had Goldfinch visiting in numbers daily. I guess they must call by now and then, just to search for their favourites.


Oh and yes, I'm also a visiting place for woodpeckers. The grey and black ones with a bit of red on them. I get them occasionally on the peanut cages.

 

[GordonB]

Am just pondering the blurb on bird seed that says "attract species x by putting y in the garden". If you've never, ever had a particular variety of bird in your garden is it really likely they're going to spot whatever it is you've put out, and start visiting?

Bill Oddie wrote a book on birding many years ago and I vaguely recall the advert in the back for a bird food that attracted tits, finches, sparrows, etc (contains nuts, seeds, cereals) and for another bird food that attracted sparrowhawks, falcons and other raptors (contains tits, finches, sparrows etc)

Gordon

 

[Firestorm]

Do you feed it, or does it just trundle through?

If you count digging up our lawn and shrubs as feeding I suppose we do, but generally he just smashes through one fence trundles across the garden then smashes through another fence on his way to the sett byt the railway embankment

 

[vernon]

We've had a Jay pay a visit every day for the past week or so.

 

[rich p]

40 Waxwings the other day !!! Only the second time I've ever seen waxwings. Apparently there is an "eruption" on.

Fantastic! I'm envious - whereabouts are you 26x25?

 

[Tim Bennet.]

We've had a sparrowhawk in the garden and now one less collar dove.

 

[biggs682]

just seen jenny wren as well this morning

we get the occasional red kite high above but never down in garden

 

[DiddlyDodds]

looking out the window this morning to see them from next door digging and clearing off 3inch of snow from the patio furniture and barby.
If they are going to try and sit out there today id class them as right pair of Tits

 

[Baggy]

Yeah they do. Surprising, but it works somehow. I really like Goldfinch, but I'd never had any in my current garden in 6 years... I put a Niger seed feeder out just to see how we got on, and within 10 days I had Goldfinch visiting in numbers daily. I guess they must call by now and then, just to search for their favourites.

That was one of the examples I was thinking of! Maybe I'll give it a go.

Think I was wrong about the fieldfares - the first visitor I think was a fieldfare, the subsequent ones are redwings. There are about 10 of them scoffing all the windfall apples.

Janny wren has also made an appearance, and there's a thrush bashing seven bells out of a variety of snails.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Fantastic! I'm envious - whereabouts are you 26x25?

Worcestershire. Also reports from Herefordshire too. Not seen them last few days tho'......

 

[longers]

We get a huge amount of birds and we have 4 cats... yet some people seem to say cats scare away the birds.

I'd love to put food out for the birds but have a tiny yard and two cats. Do people think it's a good idea or a very bad one?

I could hang feeders off the side of the shed on hanging basket brackets and that's about it for suitable locations. Neither cat hunts very well but there are alley cats who may be more successful. What does the panel think please?

 

[DrSquirrel]

I'd love to put food out for the birds but have a tiny yard and two cats. Do people think it's a good idea or a very bad one?

I could hang feeders off the side of the shed on hanging basket brackets and that's about it for suitable locations. Neither cat hunts very well but there are alley cats who may be more successful. What does the panel think please?

Even though we have space, we use bird feeder poles... putting something on the edge of a shed is likely to have a cat on top of the shed etc.

Otherwise go for it, specially in this weather as birds will struggle a bit more to find food.