I wish......I wish I wouldn't keep losing my birds...

[Crackle]

...out the garden.


They've got a nice seed feeder and some fat balls, all hung up in the tree but I rarely get visitors. Tree's by the back of the garden, near a brick built shed, which has a window in it. You don't think it's the window do you? Or do I need to sabotage any neighbourly feeders?

 

[Cubist]

How long have they been out for the birds? Give it time, and you'll eventually get a good selection! They tend to be wary at first.

Just to make you jealous I had a pair of bullfinches in the garden at breakfast time.

 

[BigonaBianchi]

I miss the birds..all we have here is bloody seagulls...which are ok but they seem to scare away the other ones

 

[Crackle]

Since late summer. Someone is eating from the seed feeder but when I put the fat balls out near it, it went quiet again. I've just moved the fat balls elsewhere.

I had some goldfinches and a few Tits on there. Often get Blackbirds and Thrushes grubbing around, had a Wren in the snow but it's all very sporadic.

 

[Crackle]

I miss the birds..all we have here is bloody seagulls...which are ok but they seem to scare away the other ones

I used to get Seagulls up in the Highlands of Scotland. Mind you, there's so many lochs it's no surprise. Other bird visitors were a bit patchy though. Thought it'd be better here, near a park.

 

[ChrisKH]

I have two squirrels who have taken everything the birds usually eat in the back garden. We have some very unusual tits (colourings I haven't seen before) nesting nearby though, who have taken up residence in the trees in our front garden.

 

[andharwheel]

I can see two blue tits and two great tits from my window.

 

[accountantpete]

I have never had any success with the fat balls- however a lady in the local shop swears by the blocks of seed cake that you get from the cheap shops- might be worth a try.

 

[upsidedown]

Bread soaked in lamb or chicken fat has them in a frenzy, as does dried worms.

 

[nigelb]

We find we get far more "clients" when the weather is hard, but having said that the Gold finches come for the Niger seed whatever - well worth getting one of the little feeders for it, come ready filled, and give it a try.

We live on a housing estate, but have had Woodpeckers (evidenced by the holes and the attack to the bluetit nesting box), Blue tits,great tits, long tailed tits, dunnocks, common sparrows, blackbirds, thrushes, starlings, fieldfares, wood pigeons, collared doves, the odd wren, robins, chaffinches, green finches, occasional magpie, but no herons (they're around, but we don't have a pond, the garden is tiny, and has a great big apple tree in the middle, so even if a heronmanaged to fly in, it would have to walk out!).

Providing fresh water in a shallow tray is also a big attractor, haven't done so yet, so when the weather warms (and food is plentiful, but water in short supply) we see very few - soon come back when the frost bites though!

Nige

 

[sheddy]

Has anyone tried an 'open front' design of nest box for Robins ? I thought I might make one

 

[nigelb]

Just need to make sure you can put it up somewhere where cats can't get.

I made one as a kid, was put up nice and high in a tree, and was used several years :-)

You can also make tit ones, and buy pre drilled plates with the right sized hole in (has the advantage that woodpeckers can't break in too!).

Nige

 

[Cubist]

Comedy moment this afternoon. I had nailed a silver takeaway tray to a treestump to create a seed tray. Huge fat woodpigeon lands on it, totters sideways and pulls it off the stump. It hopped to one side with a "Wasn't me" look on it's face then set abut the mound of seed. It was still there an hour later, greedy bugger.

Also fun watching the starlings doing bluetit impressions on the nut feeder!

 

[nigelb]

That's interesting, the starlings go a bundle on our nut feeders too, but a friend at work never sees starlings on the nuts, just fat (and ground feeding).

Nige

 

[Crackle]

Nothing, nada, natch, so far this morning, as I'm sat here drinking coffee.