Small things that give immense satisfaction?

[Fnaar]

I make my own bird food, and Miss Goodbody says my fat balls attract tits from all over the neighbourhood.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

paraquat?
or parakeet?

Mind you, the former might sort out the latter!

This is rocky we are talking about, did you need to ask?

 

[John the Canuck]

...I have two wild bird feeders in my garden, one seeds the other fat balls..................

hi----you may already know this.....

1...commercial 'wild bird seed' is usually utter rubbish
contains lotsa barley - useless except for pidgeons, and cracked corn [yellow hard bits] = inedible
buy 'sunflower hearts' - bit more money but WAY better calories per ££
you could just buy black sunflower seeds - but numerous shells leave a mess

2.. fat balls are expensive
melt 2 blocks suet in old saucepan - dont overheat - it will separate
buy milk in 1L cardboard cartoons - when finished cut off top bit
inside suspend a chain, wire or string with big washer/plastic lid on bottom
fill with 2'' peanuts, add liquid suet to cover - repeat till full
when cool, into fridge - when solid, score down sides with a sharp knife and peel off carton
hang in tree --- far far better calorific value and lasts longer
dont use lard - too soft/greasy and sticks to feathers

3... buy 'niger seeds' ......goldfinch and siskins love 'em
they are tiny, so a dedicated seed feeder with smaller apertures is needed however

4...dont forget the 'ground' feeding birds - dunnocks etc
scatter seeds, peanuts, and especially soft raisins for blackbirds
sliced apple is supposed to be good too
dont use white bread -- just fills them up and no value

5... peanuts in a feeder...are considered the best calories per ££
i put a plastic plate over mine to deter the squirrels

NB ....water and feed should be at least 6feet from bushes
i feed 7 semi-feral farm cats - and try to minimise their hunting ambushes..!!
also - come spring - dont put out whole peanuts [ smash or grind them ] - they will choke the fledglings

lotsa viewing fun and well worthwhile during a hard winter
make sure feeders are full in the MORNING as they will come early after a hard night

 

[ianrauk]

We also have the Parakeet problem. They are decimating all my neighbours fruit trees. Noisy green bastards.

We used to have about 15-20 house sparrows living in one of our large bushes. Little chattering, busy buggers. Used to love watching them. But since next door moved in with a couple of cats, they've all been frightened away. Along with most of the other birdlife that used to frequent our garden

 

[Cyclopathic]

My cock.

 

[EltonFrog]

What with "small things" "Fat balls" , Great tits", "cocks" and " having ivy up against the wall" this thread is getting naughty.

 

[raleighnut]

@rich p and @SatNavSaysStraightOn

Can I just point out that the rich person's parakeet is known as a paraqueet? @vernon would understand. It's just how we pronounce things in this neck of the woods. Now where is that wobin I was looking for?

Its looking for the wascally wabbit

 

[glenn forger]

I got my bird food from Big Betty Mavery's aviary. She's got the biggest parakeets I've ever seen.

 

[John the Canuck]

[QUOTE 3423510, member: 9609"]I have never managed to get a picture of our sparrowhawk, but have seen him taking small birds, comes low over the fence at great speed and will take a small bird in the blink of an eye. It's part of what its all about and I don't condemn him, its what he does and amazing to see.[/QUOTE]

i have a long hedge by the drive
my sparrow hawk runs along under the braches - flushes the [usually] sparrows up ----- then...........................

i did have one which actually waited on a branch next to the feeders....
sort of an 'Avian Drive-In'

 

[Cyclopathic]

So w

@rich p and @SatNavSaysStraightOn

Can I just point out that the rich person's parakeet is known as a paraqueet? @vernon would understand. It's just how we pronounce things in this neck of the woods. Now where is that wobin I was looking for?

What is parakeet flooring? Is it noisy?

 

[Sara_H]

...I have two wild bird feeders in my garden, one seeds the other fat balls..................

hi----you may already know this.....

1...commercial 'wild bird seed' is usually utter rubbish
contains lotsa barley - useless except for pidgeons, and cracked corn [yellow hard bits] = inedible
buy 'sunflower hearts' - bit more money but WAY better calories per ££
you could just buy black sunflower seeds - but numerous shells leave a mess

2.. fat balls are expensive
melt 2 blocks suet in old saucepan - dont overheat - it will separate
buy milk in 1L cardboard cartoons - when finished cut off top bit
inside suspend a chain, wire or string with big washer/plastic lid on bottom
fill with 2'' peanuts, add liquid suet to cover - repeat till full
when cool, into fridge - when solid, score down sides with a sharp knife and peel off carton
hang in tree --- far far better calorific value and lasts longer
dont use lard - too soft/greasy and sticks to feathers

3... buy 'niger seeds' ......goldfinch and siskins love 'em
they are tiny, so a dedicated seed feeder with smaller apertures is needed however

4...dont forget the 'ground' feeding birds - dunnocks etc
scatter seeds, peanuts, and especially soft raisins for blackbirds
sliced apple is supposed to be good too
dont use white bread -- just fills them up and no value

5... peanuts in a feeder...are considered the best calories per ££
i put a plastic plate over mine to deter the squirrels

NB ....water and feed should be at least 6feet from bushes
i feed 7 semi-feral farm cats - and try to minimise their hunting ambushes..!!
also - come spring - dont put out whole peanuts [ smash or grind them ] - they will choke the fledglings

lotsa viewing fun and well worthwhile during a hard winter
make sure feeders are full in the MORNING as they will come early after a hard night

Thanks for that. TBH I just get whatever's at the supermarket when I go. I'll look for an online seed supplier.

 

[coffeejo]

I put out wheat-free mixed seed, sunflower hearts, niger seed and suet blocks, and scatter extra seed, crushed peanuts and mealworms on the ground. Costs me a lot, especially in spring and summer when they're nesting, but it's worth every penny.

Regular visitors include greater spotted woodpeckers, green woodpeckers, tree sparrows, house sparrows, blue tits, great tits, long-tailed tits, blackbirds, green finches, bull finches, gold finches, robins and wrens, plus a sparrowhawk.

 

[phil_hg_uk]

@rich p and @SatNavSaysStraightOn

Can I just point out that the rich person's parakeet is known as a paraqueet? @vernon would understand. It's just how we pronounce things in this neck of the woods. Now where is that wobin I was looking for?

Is that a wocky wobin

 

[MarkF]

I have a bird feeder, but also 3 cats, I've fixed the feeder to a steel black cat "silhouette" (it doesn't bother the birds) at a high point above my garage door. Usually the cats sit at the bottom, looking up, but sometimes they sit on my neighbouis car roof, within jumping distance of the hanger and a small (for a cat) leap onto the garage roof. I can see all this going on from my dining room window, I don't know about satisfcation but sometimes the suspense drives me nuts.

 

[Accy cyclist]

I used to break bread up and throw it on my kitchen roof for the birds. The main problem was that with it being a fairly steep roof it tended to slide off when the birds went for it so i'd spend a while throwing it back up. Now i just throw half a loaf up at a time for them to peck at and if it falls off it's easier to throw back up than loads of little pieces.