Encouraging birds onto plots?

[southernsteve]

No! I can hear you cry.

I am not talking about pigeons and the sort, (nor that sort either!)

Do the smaller birds such as tits, sparrows etc benefit the plot at all. I know Thrush's and Blackbirds will eat my snails and slugs.

The reason for asking is I have a large shrub on the plot, which I was thinking of placing bird feeders on, specifically for the smaller birds. By doing this, it would encourage them to then go on and help keep down bugs etc. Was also going to use some those insect boxes you can now get for bees and lacewings.

Am I likely to cause more problems than good, as well as upset all my neighburs?

Steve

[southernsteve]

[calendula]

if all the plots have plenty of fruit on them then birds will find their way there anyway, believe me and then you have to do a deal with the birds, i.e. 5% to nature, 95% to moi (or whatever percentage you want) - some plot members might not like their red currants, strawberries, blueberries etc being nibbled by extra birds but personally I think it is lovely to see them at anytime, scoffing or not  ;D

[saddad]

We have loads of birds, we are quite a woody site! The Wood Pigeons and Magpies are a pest but we don't need to net fruit. Brassicas in Winter is another matter... >:(
;D

[ACE]

Put your bird feeders up, fill them with seed, next summer hoe like hell to keep up with the weeds from the spilt seed. That is what the mice and rats don't eat. Bird feeders! allotments? No.

There are enough seeds and bugs in the neglected areas of allotment sites to keep them going.

[Robert_Brenchley]

If you use a seed mixture in the feeders then the birds will sort through them to find their favourites, and strew seed everywhere. If you use a single seed type in a feeder, there's a lot less waste, and a lot less accidentals coming up in the area.

[Mrs Ava]

There are so many birdies on my plot I let them fend for themselves!  They seem to do quite nicely eating my freshly sown seeds and my ripening strawberries and currants!!  I agree with what has been said before, you will end up adding to your weed mountain, could encourage meeces and ratus to linger, and you want the birdies to do the graft, eat your slugs and greenfly and catterpillas, not rely on being fattened up by your birdtable!  :)