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Produce => Wildlife forum => Topic started by: lorna on December 20, 2005, 12:57:53
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OK so I am trying to encourage birds in to my garden. Put out food this morning... what did I see....12 STARLINGS... Where are you Mr Blackbird?
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Put a few halves of apple or pear out Lorna. Under some bushes and I am sure the Blackbird will come back. He is also partial to raisons, currants or sultanas and grated cheese. Mind you the stralings will find it as well but 'Blacky' really loves the fruit.
My garden gets the birds but in spurts. When it is frosty I get up to 8 or 9 Blackbirds, chaffinches, couple Robins, few tits. The main visitors are Pheasants, Red legged partridges, wood pigeon and the collared doves and off course a stray starling. Once the winter goes on a bit and food in our countryside is getting low, then I seem to get them in greater numbers.
Do try some fruit.
:-* :-* :-*
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I only get greenfinches if I put out sunflower seed for them.. If there is none they don't come. Aren't they fussy eaters ;D They don't like the mixed stuff at all but I have about a hundredweight of that so it's got to get eaten before I buy any more :)
Have you got a lawn Lorn? Blackbirds like a bit of open space as do thrushes, I also put a bit of food out on the patio floor as they seem to prefer their food at low level :-\
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I only get starlings if I put out bread.
Finely chopped peanuts appeal to ground feeders like blackbirds, dunnocks, collared doves, robins, wrens, and..er, that mouse from next door.
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Have noted and will take action on all the advice. Thanks for that. Boy am I envious that you get all those birds in your gardens. I did feed on the lawn this morning (kept the pest... Elsa.. indoors for a while) Tomorrow I will feed on patio and do some hanging feed things.
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Blackbirds like a bit of open space as do thrushes, I also put a bit of food out on the patio floor as they seem to prefer their food at low level :-\
No-one has told my blackbirds that - or my robins, which are also supposed to be ground feeders, for that matter - they have all taken to perching in the prunus & eating from the seed feeder - even though there's a tub of fat with seeds in sitting on the patio!
My greenfinches don't mind mixed food - they just eat the sunflower seeds and drop the rest ::). They eat from the peanut feeder, too, though, so obviously not as fussy as yours, Wardy.
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Juliet. I won't mind if they get REALLY fussy just as long they come and visit ;D
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aweeee lorna...
this thread saddens me as not many people realise just what global warming is about... mr blackbird along with Ms Robin.. are gonna be extinct within the next 40 years... will try and find the link.. and am in 2 minds if extinct is the right word.. but one thing is for sure.. they will definately be strangers to these shores as ou5r climate gets warmer it attracts many more species of birds and therefore edges out our robins and blackbirds...
really does sadden me to think in a few generations form now a wee child from these shores will not get to hear a blackbird sing or see their first robin.... on a political note, the US should have signed up to Kyoto in the first instance and the fact that GW BUSH is in the pockets of the oil industry.. mahn makes u think for sure....
babbling here albiet environmentally
ozzy
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It seems quite uncertain whether the UK will get warmer or colder; if the Gulf Stream fails we could end up with a climate like that of British Columbia, which is at very much the same latitude and a lot colder.
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Recent measurements indicate the Gulf Stream is already cooling from all the extra glacier melt from the Arctic ice cap. Here in mid Belgium we get colder and longer winters than much of the UK. We also have blackbirds though it's taken a while for me to establish them as regular visitors in my graden which used to be cow pasture.
I've planted shrubs for bird shelter and food and feed all year round with a combination of hanging feeders containing mixed seeds, peanuts and fat balls as well as ground feeds of loose mixed seeds, sunflower heads and any left over bread and cooked rice to which i add extra water and oil for it to plump up thoroughly before they ingest it. I also put out fruit such as apples in winter.
We have a patch of teasels but not a goldfinch in sight though we do have all the usual suspects - sparrows, assorted tits, greenfinches, chaffinches, robins, wrens, blackbirds, spotted woodpeckers and, in season, siskins, black redstarts and garden warblers.
We also have a recently "acquired" sparrowhawk who has spotted the feeding frenzy here and tries it on from time to time but not - as far as I can tell - with any success yet.
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The more I hear of the lovely birds that visit some of you the more determind I am to try and persuade them to visit my garden. This morning few starlings and ONE blackbird.. I should really get more blackbirds as they nested in my conifers earlier in the year. Elsa is probably a deterrant in the summer as I spend so much time in the garden and she is always one step behind me.
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Do you garden organically, Lorna? We've had a massive increase in the amount of wildlife visiting this garden since we moved in (when we had a few starlings & the occasional blackbird or robin) & I'm sure it's much more to do with gardening without chemicals than it is to do with putting out feeders - or even the birdbath, which is quite popular. There are simply a lot more insects here than there used to be and the birds & frogs & hedgehogs come to eat them.
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Juliet. No I am afraid I don't. I don't use many chemicals in the garden I do have to spray now and again against white fly in the greenhouse. I do put a few slug pellets (hidden) down in the garden. Thought I would try the beer method this year for slug problems. I am also removing most of the several lots of ivy from the garden., as the snails have lovely hiding places with the ivy. Going to put clematis where the ivies are growing.
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Lorna by encouraging the birds you'll get thrushes (hopefully) and they've cleared my garden of snails. The snails congregate on my brick walls and hide under the overhanging edges of coping stones but the birds have winkled em out. You can hear the thrushes banging the snails shells on the ground to get in to eat them. My husband came back with all manner of birds foods and feeders the other day and three of them the birds can't get the food out!
I don't think they're particularly well designed. they might keep squirrels out but what's the point if the birds can't get at the food either. One was a very expensive ceramic lidded job!
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Also they tend to feed at different times,I've noticed blackbirds out very early and very late, one of the last ones to go to bed I think. I think we also notice starlings and sparrows more because they feed in packs....or whatever the term is for a lot of them. ;)We get loads of different birds here but we also have a lot of different habitats around, sea, woody, country, that must make a difference.
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Lorna, My Christmas present last year was a bird feeding station. It is easy to erect and move, as it pushes into the ground. There are all sorts of accessories available to go with it, including a feeding tray. I haven't bought a tray yet but will have a look next time I am in the Garden Centre.
Have you a got a niger feeder in your garden? The goldfinches love this and flock to it in droves. There are nine on my feeders at the moment and at least another nine sitting waiting for their turn. The seed is quite expensive though (about £1 per lb) but they can get through a lb in a few days. The answer is to buy in bulk as it does become cheaper. Once the goldfinches are here, other birds seem to follow and I can see a blackbird at the moment on the grass under the feeder.
I took this photo earlier this morning and it will give you some idea of the feeding station too. Most of the birds flew away when I appeared at the window with my camera!
Pauline
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Lucky you to get goldfinches. I need some seed for the greenfinches. Will try that niger as well. Ta Pauline for that tip. :)
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Hi Pauline. I have only got two small ordinary feeders so will have to do something about that after Christmas. That feeding station really does look great. I did look in the pet shop (I was getting Elsa's treats) but they really didn't have anything. Will have to look in garden centre.
I don't know a lot about birds but I do love all the finches, dear Father-in-law used to breed them .
Thanks for all the info, will try things after Christmas.
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Definately go the apple route for blackbirds. We still have a few red apples on our tree in the garden, they were the ones that had holes in or were mishappen so I never bothered to pick them. Over the last week or so there have been several blackbirds sitting in the tree pecking away at the fruits! I also leave all of the seed heads on plants, like grasses and teasles, and have plenty of berried shrubs so at the moment the garden is an orgy of little birds sitting in the shrubs and on the big grasses eating the seeds.
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Lorna, I have just visited the Flowerland Garden Centre in Salisbury and bought the food tray (£6.99) and the bird bath (£8.10) to add to my feeding station. The product name is "Just Birds" and it says on the package that it is a Lincoln Wrought Iron Product. I have given you the price I paid for those accessories as some places on the web are charging a lot more for them so do shop around if you are going to buy a feeding station and any extras to go on it.
Whilst there I found some specialised bird food from Chapel Wood. They actually sell mixes for specific birds. I came away with the wren food and blackbird food. They also had mixes for robins, finches, tits and thrushes. I thought I would put a little of both mixes together and see who comes to eat.
Happy Christmas.
Pauline
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Blackbirds do really love apples - I put out all the large cores(?) that the children leave at school and Mrs Blackbird is especially keen. It's fascinating to look at them after she has finished.
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I know Rc. I buy loads in a week for the blackbirds. I try and get the waisted ones from markets but if not buy the cheapest on sale.
;D ;D ;D ;D
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Whilst there I found some specialised bird food from Chapel Wood. They actually sell mixes for specific birds. I came away with the wren food and blackbird food. They also had mixes for robins, finches, tits and thrushes. I thought I would put a little of both mixes together and see who comes to eat.
what's in the mix for the wrens P?
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what's in the mix for the wrens P?
Mix for wrens contains: peanut nibs, pinhead oatmeal and flaked oats.
Mix for blackbirds: flaked oats, wheat and maize, peanut nibs, currants and oatmeal.
I haven't put any out for the birds yet as I have been otherwise engaged. See Yummy Parsnips in Edible Plants.
Pauline
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thanks P7 :)
love your feeding station :)
post some pics when you add your other pieces on
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I think Wren mix will be a compelte waste of money becuase they spend their energy looking for their food in every nook n cranny in your garden. Not sure they will bother with food put out for them, even if it is put among the bushes.
>:( >:( >:( >:(
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hoping to entice my wee wren to stay abit longer so i can maybe capture a pic or two of him ;D
but i know what you mean C, he darts about all over the place.
i've managed to get some video footage but never a pic :( :(
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No, don't think you will have a chance of capturing a wren, but then you may get lucky. Lovely wee birds. In and out of all the crevaces? would be ok if you knew it was coming near you but then they are reclusive. Good luck. You could always build yourself a 'hide'. am kidding!!! but thats how the wildlife photographers do it dont they.
;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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thanks P7 :)
love your feeding station :)
post some pics when you add your other pieces on
I added the other bits this morning. I refilled the two niger seed feeders, put a mixture of wren and blackbird feed on the tray and filled the bath. The first and only visitor to the tray was a robin. The goldfinches then came to feed on the niger seed so I went upstairs to take photos. They are not very good though as they were taken through the double glazing. Here is the best of the bunch. Whilst taking photos I noticed the finches were dropping seeds into the bath water so I have changed the position of feeders. Just looked out and a robin took something from the tray. Shortly after, one of the goldfinches ate from the tray. A blackbird has just appeared and is feeding on the ground under the feeding station but hasn't used the tray yet.
Pauline
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I have the same set up with the pole outside our bedroom window Pauline. It don't get used much but have the same problem as you with the seed being dropped into the water dish. The Robin enjoys sitting and eating from the seed tray tho.
;D ;D ;D
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Pauline I am so envious. As I said in previous post as soon as Christmas is over I am going to try and do some serious things to entice birds.Not sure if I can afford such a lovely set up but if son John has any spare time I may persuade him to make something from the metal in the garage., he has his Dad's welder and is quite a clever lad.(Pauline if only Charlie was still here, he was so clever making things be it wooden, metal etc. although he never had training for anything) Keep the pics coming please. Best regards Lorna.xx
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Improvise Lorna. My feeding station is two very tall rustic poles pushed in the ground either side of the path up the veggie garden with a horizontal bar screwed in place across them. This keeps everything out of feline range. There are 6 hooks for hanging nut and fat ball feeders and I put loose seed and sliced apples on a tray on the ground nearby along with a bird bath - well away from shrubs where girl thingies can hide and pounce.
It works well - loads of birds and no casualties to the felines. At this time of year I have to refill the fat ball feeder every two days and the nut feeders twice a week. This rate of consumption will stay pretty much the same through the nest-building and mating season then go down for the summer but I feed all year so the parents have energy to hunt out insects and caterpillars for the babies. This year, for the first time, mum woodpecker brought her baby to feed and this winter we have the whole family feeding, along with generations of sparrows and tits. Other birds come too but not in such numbers as robins and blackbirds and such tend not to live in colonies.
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excellent P7 ;D
here's my feeding stations
washing line
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y31/GREENWIZARD/Copyof100_3263.jpg)
&
bird table
(http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y31/GREENWIZARD/100_3409.jpg)
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Blimey GW, wot's that white stuff on the bird table? ;)
Love your feeding station but don't the glass twirly thingies scare off the birds? ???
G xx
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Pauline I am so envious. As I said in previous post as soon as Christmas is over I am going to try and do some serious things to entice birds.Not sure if I can afford such a lovely set up but if son John has any spare time I may persuade him to make something from the metal in the garage., he has his Dad's welder and is quite a clever lad.(Pauline if only Charlie was still here, he was so clever making things be it wooden, metal etc. although he never had training for anything) Keep the pics coming please. Best regards Lorna.xx
Lorna, you could just add another feeder with niger seed, then put a feeding station down on your Christmas list for next year!. The best thing about them is that they are so easily moved; very useful at mowing time. I don't know about you but I can never think of anything when asked by my children what I want for Christmas.
Carol, if your feeding station doesn't get used much perhaps it is too near the house. Do the nuts and seed go down at all? If so I suspect they are feeding before you draw your curtains back of a morning.
GW, lovely pictures and a very good idea. I love the robin sheltering from the snow. Not taken today I hope!
Pauline
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I know the reason Pauline and Why I do not get many birds at all really. The bleeding 'SPARROWHAWK' sits on a tree at the bottom of our garden and waits and waits and watches. She was sat there this whole morning. I was out 3 times yelling at her but she was back in 5 mins. So you see I cannot win, birds aint daft. I do have the blackbirds eating at the back door feeding station but again usually first thing in the morning, as the day goes on they disappear again probably cos of the Sparrowhawk being up and about.
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Any time you feed a seed mix you get a lot of the less favourite seeds being dropped; when I had a tit feeder outside the window (I gave up in the end because of the family complaining about the mess) I gave up on mixes and just fed sunflower seed since that was the favourite.
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I feed a mix on a table, but add about 50% sunflower seeds because they're favoured by the tits and greenfinches. Also get sparrows, robin, chaffinch and bullfinch. I don't encourage the birds to hang around too long because of a sparrowhawk, too. There's definitely a problem with discarded seed inviting unwelcome visitors such as mice and a rat (now history) - and squirrels. Little s*ds have learned to like sunflower seed :(
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Love your feeding station but don't the glass twirly thingies scare off the birds? ???
G xx
they don't deter the birds at all
GW, lovely pictures and a very good idea. I love the robin sheltering from the snow. Not taken today I hope!
pic taken last month
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Hi Lorna,
I feed my birds, chopped and soaked Sultanas, grated mild Cheddar and bread broken up into very small pieces which are then moistened with water and a little Sunflower Oil. This little lot gets scattered over the lawn and some of each goes into the Holly bush for the birds that prefer to feed in there. This little mixture is loved by Blackbirds, Robins, Wrens, Dunnocks and Starlings. I put it out before first light and have so far managed to avoid feeding the Feral Pigeons. I also have a small ceramic pot of mixed seed (50/50 general wild bird mix and Robin mix) under an up turned wire hanging basket. This is eaten by Robins, Wrens, Dunnocks, Blue and Great Tits and Greenfinches and the odd Starling that can squeeze between the wires. There is also a Peanut feeder and a Nyger Seed feeder and hopefully caged Peanut and Seed feeders joining them soon.
I put out Apple cores when I have them but strangely the Blackbirds aren't really interested in them :-\
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I also have a small ceramic pot of mixed seed (50/50 general wild bird mix and Robin mix) under an up turned wire hanging basket.
that's a good idea TL ~i'll give it a go :)
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I know the reason Pauline and Why I do not get many birds at all really. The bleeding 'SPARROWHAWK' sits on a tree at the bottom of our garden and waits and waits and watches. She was sat there this whole morning. I was out 3 times yelling at her but she was back in 5 mins. So you see I cannot win, birds aint daft. I do have the blackbirds eating at the back door feeding station but again usually first thing in the morning, as the day goes on they disappear again probably cos of the Sparrowhawk being up and about.
I have a sparrowhawk too. Ours flies the whole length of the village along the boundary of peoples gardens and the farmers field. I often see it at the end of our paddock causing havoc amongst the birds but only once have I seen it sitting within 15 feet of my feeding station. I have a love/hate relationship with it and at the end of the day convince myself that it has a right to exist. It is certainly spectacular to watch. Can we condone the sparrowhawk when mankind also kills other animals for food?
There is a kestrel that sits on my chicken shed or on the telegraph pole just inside the farmer's field or on top of an old chimney on an outhouse in our paddock. He only consumes those with 4 feet and a long tail so is very welcome in my garden.
Pauline
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Yes I know the Sparrowhawk needs to eat as well, its just I wish it didn't use that silver birch tree to sit on for hours at a time. It does move around the village as well but it seems to choose my garden because of the feeding stations I expect. I also have a Kestrel which hovers above my garden but they are welcome. I am in a rural setting too, being the last house on the end of our village with fields surrounding me. You should ahve seen the lady pheasants this morning as well. They were sauntering down the garden right up to the Sparrowhawk where she was perched. they froze, then carried on eating. It was quite funny.
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Lots of great ideas and not expensive. (I have a couple of spare hanging baskets so can try that immediately) A real thank you to all who have posted. Regards ....Lorna.
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Hi Lorna...same here...all starlings...can't actually see my feeding station, it's at the bottom of the garden.
Just been down ( in dressing gown and jym jams?) with fat ball mix and defrosted cherries and sloes.
Know it will all be gone in an hour or two and hope it's only the birds.
Too many cats here to feed closer, tho do have a long thin metal stake .
p.s.... light snow here in w.norfolk.
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Hi Ken. Yes we have light snow here in March. As I said previously the starlings seem to nest in chimneys. I do think the lack of hedgerow has a lot to do with missing birds but going to have a real try to encourage other birds. Best wishes Lorna.
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..er....March, Lorna...tis December. ;)
This took before Christmas, but too near cats so moved it further down nearer Golden Leylandii to give birds and escape route.....
[img width= height= alt=Image hosted by Photobucket.com]http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a48/ken69/starlings003.jpg[/img]
Just been down the garden , mainly starlings but some blackbirds. Must keep up the feeding now til warmer weather.Can't afford special seed, tho thinking of gathering hay seed and whatever next year from my ex allotment, which is destined for building.
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Ah Ken, silly old me, perhaps that is why my seeds don't germinate, I try to sow them in March.!! You wait until you arrive at the next decade you may sympathise with me then ;D ;D ;D
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Know what you mean Lorna. Have folks in March. Sorry about the picture size. Have one of a narrowboat on March river (Fox's?) but dare not post it until learnt to re-size. Cheers for now.I know the trail going east out of your town under a black bridge and along to the new wind turbines.
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After reading that thread a week ago, I put apples out for the blackbirds, on the ground. Had previously been ignored on the bird table and ended in the compost.
Been out this morning to replenish the seed feeders, put more 'fat cakes' in the branches. Not ONE bird has touched the apples(not homegrown, supermarket stuff). Yikes.
D
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In the 20 or so years I've been feeding birds apples have always been ignored - the blackbirds much prefer "cornflake"-like seed in the various mixes available, presumably because it's far more concentrated food. The only apple that was eaten was one left on a tree a few years ago, which one bird found and came back to every night until it was gone - but this was September-October, not winter.
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I have a beautiful thrush in my garden and he's been sheltering on my bird table all day. All the chicken I put out for all the birds he's scoffed and he's plumped up his feathers and is lying low. I hope he's quite well and just too stuffed to do much else than flake out on my bird table :)
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I saw my lovely fat robin again today and a blue tit. :D
Then I spotted an unknown bird on the fence. It didn't stay long enough for me to get a good look but on flicking through my bird book the closest I can see to the correct size and colouring is a snow bunting. Is this possible in London?
G xx
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Wardy and Georgie. In the words of Tommy Trinder YOU LUCKY PEOPLE> I will keep trying
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Yes do, Lorna. I get very few birds in my tiny garden but I never give up trying to attract them and even spotting one or two a day is a delight, I think. I love this thread, so interesting to hear of other's experiences and hints and tips. :)
G xx
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my blackies adore apples as well as all the food that i put out
mr&mrs blackie were tucking into duck & bacon fat the other day ;D
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Maybe its the North/south split again. Northern Blackbirds adore the apples. Know mine do.
;D ;D ;D ;D
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Don't think it's a North/South split Carol, I'm in the North and my Blackies tend to ignore apples.
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Maybe blackbirds are really fussy and whether or not they get eaten could be dependent on the particular variety put out for them.
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Poor little beggers, they are queuing up on the fence, have loadsa apples, which they wont touch, so just going now to get cheap bread (do you remember not so long ago in a price war when it was 7p, now 25pence). Might have to cook some taters for 'em.
Frozen snow laying here.
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Maybe blackbirds are really fussy and whether or not they get eaten could be dependent on the particular variety put out for them.
my blackies enjoy granny smith,golden delicious,gala,pink lady & macintosh red
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OMG Greenwizard you must be a vellly velly rich lady to feed them blackys 'Pink Lady' My OH who thinks he is velly velly reech buys them at 85p each from m&S Where do they get them prices. My Blackbirds have scoffed the halfed Golden Delicious apples today. They are rather partial to halved 'nectarines as well.
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Ken.(bit off subject) Fox's is just down the road from me. I came along the by-pass couple of days ago and Fox's Marina was chock ablock with long boats. Another place where they moor up is along the river just by the town bridge. Some are so colourful especially in the summer.
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OMG Greenwizard you must be a vellly velly rich lady to feed them blackys 'Pink Lady' My OH who thinks he is velly velly reech buys them at 85p each from m&S .
wish i was C ;D
it's mostly the cores they get because i also love pink lady ;D
mine also love grapes
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Granny Smiths!!! All my birds turn their beaks up at those. Starlings love Cox's, Blackies only just eat them. Have had a bit more luck with Golden Delicious but I'm not buying tasteless apples (I'm a Granny Smith eater) just for the birds.
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I only buy Golden Delicious for the Blackys. cos they are the cheapest apples usually. around 45p a lb. sometimes I get to the market at Berwick and ask the fruit stall holders for any bashed apples. They are usually obliging and give me a big bag of apples for a £1.
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What a cheek, Carol. They should give you a £1 to take their waste away!
G xx
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Hmm maybe I should try Golden Del then :-\
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I went into Tesco yesterday with Hubbie and they had just reduced all their produce. I picked up 4 Pink Lady apples in a pack for 20p. I then found 8 Braeburn for 20p but Hubbie said he didn't like them that much and wouldn't be able eat them all so we came away with just the Pink lady. I don't like raw apples but eat cookers stewed or baked so didn't want any for myself. Ten miles down the road and I remembered what everyone had said about blackbirds eating apples. It was too late and too far to go back for them and I was annoyed with myself for not getting them.
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Awww, he's lovely, GW. I haven't seen my blackbird for a while. :'( But my fat robin is visiting regularly so I'll try and get a pic. :D
G xx
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Lovely photos GW. I wish mine turned out as good as yours but it is a new camera and I haven't really got the hang of it yet.
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Just bringing this to the top so we can see the Pauline's photo of her bird feeder! Reply No. 28