Do you Feed The Birds?

halfmanhalfbiscuit · Post by **halfmanhalfbiscuit** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 3:13 pm

I consider this forum to be somewhat cross sectional.
So do you feed the birds?
Yes or no is good.
But if yes, I'd really appreciate you saying what you feed and how you feed our little feathered friends.

Thank you.

Pstotto · Post by **Pstotto** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 3:15 pm

I've tried stale Cheerios but I think that mice probably eat them instead.

halfmanhalfbiscuit · Post by **halfmanhalfbiscuit** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 3:17 pm

Pstotto wrote:I've tried stale Cheerios but I think that mice probably eat them instead.

Feed the mice, show them you care.

MACCA · Post by **MACCA** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 3:23 pm

Nah, but I like feeding the pony....

Quickenthetempo · Post by **Quickenthetempo** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 3:23 pm

I would like to but there's too many dam cats around here.

I don't want to be the reason they die. Sneaky buggers.

Lowbankclaret · Post by **Lowbankclaret** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 3:24 pm

Yes we feed the birds.
Mealworms
I buy a large bag of mixed grain and add sunflower seed hearts and small seeds to get a large bag that last a month or so.

Fat balls for the Tit family of birds.

ElectroClaret · Post by **ElectroClaret** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 3:27 pm

the Tit family

A very large nest of em up Bolton Road.

halfmanhalfbiscuit · Post by **halfmanhalfbiscuit** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 3:33 pm

Lowbankclaret wrote:Yes we feed the birds.
Mealworms
I buy a large bag of mixed grain and add sunflower seed hearts and small seeds to get a large bag that last a month or so.

Fat balls for the Tit family of birds.

That's brilliant stuff. How much do you reckon it costs you a week/month? if you don't mind me asking.

Also, do you put the fat balls in a feeder or hang up the net thingys?

LeadBelly · Post by **LeadBelly** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 3:39 pm

I've been a regular bird-feeder for 7/8 years since I retired & have time to organise doing so (and the time to observe).

I have a small garden only c 10 yards long but with a blackthorn tree at the bottom opposite the patio window. I hang food in the tree; a couple of fat ball containers & 2 general seed containers + sometimes put suet pellets on a flat grid wedged in the tree. Last autumn I put a niger seed container out & it had no takers until c. a month ago but now gets a fair smattering of finches so I added a 2nd.

This morning, Ive swept snow from the pavings around my pond & put some food down for ground feeders. (Got to be careful with placement because of the neighbourhood cats).

In order of how many, I now get the usual common types: house sparrows, starlings (gangsters), blue tits, gold finches, long-tailed tits, great tits, blackbirds feeding off the dropped fatball bits. The odd dunnock, robin, wood pigeon. Ive seen a few wrens and thrushes hanging around but not specifically eating the stuff I put out.

Burnleybabe · Post by **Burnleybabe** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 3:41 pm

We have Nuts, Sunflower Hearts, Suet coconuts hanging in the trees.

Meal worms and seeds on the ground feeders and tree logs.

Also bread in lard I make and put in the wooden holes we made in various logs.

claretgimmer · Post by **claretgimmer** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 3:47 pm

Very similar to LB but I built a feeding station for them so I could see them, tried niger seeds but no takers full stop, in fact they ate everything else but them so discontinued that, they seem to prefer the suet block of all the stuff avaialable and as was said earlier the ground feeders hoover up the bits. Biggest problem is the bloody squirrels, the greedy gets just gorge themselves so a BB gun was found useful, just powerful enough to feel like a slap for them so they bugger off for a while but they still come back later.

CaptJohn · Post by **CaptJohn** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 3:47 pm

Most definitely.
Fat balls, suet logs with mealworms, sunflower hearts, peanuts, niger seeds coconut halves containing fat and bread soaked in water.
Lots of birds are very busy in the garden. Blackbirds, Gold Finches, Green Finches, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Long Tailed Tits, Robins, Wrens, Albatross, Stormy Petrel

This morning though I noted it was very quiet in the garden and immediately thought cat. It was however a Sparrow Hawk on the fence.

Gnulty · Post by **Gnulty** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 4:26 pm

I feed the birds, squirrels, rats, mice, badgers, deers and the occasional moose..The menu varies from a blend of birdseeds, bread, apples/fruits etc..
1.5 meter of snow and 10-15 degrees celsius in these parts, so important they have a steady supply of food. birdy birdy nam nam and UTC!

Buxtonclaret · Post by **Buxtonclaret** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 4:29 pm

Yes.
Fat ball, which they all like-Tits, Sparrows, Dunnocks...
The Collared Doves like the seed mix I use that's laced with corn. They've become pretty pushy, sitting on the fence next to the window where I sit.
The smaller ones, including wrens, like the oatcake I put out for them.
Also put fruit out too.
We've lots of cats around here, put the bird tables safe and, the oatcakes go on the Hawthorne hedges.

I like watching them all tuck in.

spadesclaret · Post by **spadesclaret** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 4:39 pm

Yes, we've fed the birds for as long as I can remember. We use all the things that other posters have mentioned above. I don't understand why some posters are finding niger seeds unpopular. Our niger seed feeder empties almost as quickly as the sunflower heart feeder. We have recently had a sparrowhawk too. It was strange to see the garden so quiet.

chaffinch and goldfinch with sunflower hearts and niger seeds

: IMG_1373.JPG (89.36 KiB) Viewed 2921 times

starlings with meal worms

: IMG_7893.JPG (96.79 KiB) Viewed 2921 times

sparrowhawk

: IMG_9085.JPG (117.78 KiB) Viewed 2921 times

Lowbankclaret · Post by **Lowbankclaret** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 4:58 pm

halfmanhalfbiscuit wrote:That's brilliant stuff. How much do you reckon it costs you a week/month? if you don't mind me asking.

Also, do you put the fat balls in a feeder or hang up the net thingys?

Buy meal worms and seeds from Boyes in Padiham.

Get a 20 kg bag of mixed corn for under a tenner at Hapton feeds.

So £15 to £20 lasts a couple of months depending on weather. Putting more out at the moment.
Fat
Balls hung in the trees and the feeders.

ŽižkovClaret · Post by **ŽižkovClaret** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 4:59 pm

At tuppence a bag, it would be rude not to

BennyD · Post by **BennyD** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 5:02 pm

Yes, but only if they ‘put out’ on the first date.

evensteadiereddie · Post by **evensteadiereddie** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 5:03 pm

Do you know anybody who sweeps chim - chim - eny - chim - chim cheroos, me old china ? Fake American/Cockney accent obligatory.

Bfc · Post by **Bfc** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 5:03 pm

I've been out 3 times to feed birds in my bk garden with lots of sunflower hearts, suet pellets, mealworms and like Burnley Babe filling holes in a length of timber with whole meal bread mixed with lard and mealworm. Each time the seed and pellets have been completely covered in drifting snow very soon after. Luckily the Woodpecker and a robin have not been affected as they've fed a few times a day, from the food in the pole. When the snow thaws my garden will look a right mess with uneaten seed, but better than having birds go without a meal.

ŽižkovClaret · Post by **ŽižkovClaret** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 5:04 pm

evensteadiereddie wrote:Do you know anybody who sweeps chim - chim - eny - chim - chim cheroos, me old china ? Fake American/Cockney accent obligatory.

There is one chap, quite handy with chalk on pavements too i hear

Woodleyclaret · Post by **Woodleyclaret** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 5:18 pm

Yes and our hedgehogs which are hibernating at present.

Vintage Claret · Post by **Vintage Claret** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 5:21 pm

Used to always put out bread and also fat balls in a feeder but the birds would usually thank us by depositing great blobs of shite all over the car, driveway and garden furniture.

This got worse when one of our near neighbours set up a whole range of bird feeding tables in his garden and we were under the flight path.

Birds would flock to our garden for a nice appetizer, shite to make room and reduce take off weight, then fly next door for the main course.

Now we have removed the fat balls and installed a couple of fake cats with light up eyes stuck in the ground so they tend to make a westerly approach to Buffet City and we don't have as much cleaning up to do.

karatekid · Post by **karatekid** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 5:48 pm

Yes I feed the birds and its cheep to do so.

JohnMac · Post by **JohnMac** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 5:53 pm

Always leave seed out and high fat content foodcin winter. Water is essential but it is difficult to keep it from freezing over. A wily Blackbird is feeding on a patch where I discard the seeds in the morning before putting in fresh stuff, he dug a little holevin the snow just for himself

Hipper · Post by **Hipper** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 5:56 pm

Vintage Claret wrote:Used to always put out bread and also fat balls in a feeder but the birds would usually thank us by depositing great blobs of shite all over the car, driveway and garden furniture.

This got worse when one of our near neighbours set up a whole range of bird feeding tables in his garden and we were under the flight path.

Birds would flock to our garden for a nice appetizer, shite to make room and reduce take off weight, then fly next door for the main course.

Now we have removed the fat balls and installed a couple of fake cats with light up eyes stuck in the ground so they tend to make a westerly approach to Buffet City and we don't have as much cleaning up to do.

What you need to do is to persuade them to eat soap nuts. Then use the deposits to clean your car!

tim_noone · Post by **tim_noone** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 6:06 pm

Feed them everything and anything.one of life's pleasures.

Marney&Mee · Post by **Marney&Mee** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 7:05 pm

There's a lot of blue tits around at the mo..and shrivelled peckers...

bfcjg · Post by **bfcjg** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 8:58 pm

Yes fat balls seeds and water make sure water stays unfrozen.

box_of_frogs · Post by **box_of_frogs** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 9:14 pm

Yes, on a selection of bird treats. However the cat occasionally treats herself to a bird or two.....

boatshed bill · Post by **boatshed bill** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 9:35 pm

Yes, have done for years.

Cirrus_Minor · Post by **Cirrus_Minor** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 9:46 pm

Mrs CM fed them for years until the rats got involved. Tried everything to stop them but had to give up in the end which was a shame. I used to grease the pole but the buggers still shinned up and helped themselves,

Be glad of any advice anyone has on how to feed birds and not rats,

BennyD · Post by **BennyD** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 10:04 pm

Move to a nicer area.

tim_noone · Post by **tim_noone** » Thu Mar 01, 2018 10:12 pm

Haven't greased my pole in a while............... No rats....I should add nibbling my nuts.

CnBtruntru · Post by **CnBtruntru** » Fri Mar 02, 2018 10:19 am

Yes, Bird food of course!

houseboy · Post by **houseboy** » Fri Mar 02, 2018 10:27 am

Lowbankclaret wrote: Fat balls for the Tit family of birds.

Is this a euphemism?

houseboy · Post by **houseboy** » Fri Mar 02, 2018 10:28 am

I'd love to feed 'em but unfortunately we have a cat and so does just about everyone around us. It would be a massacre I tell you, a massacre.

Garnerssoap · Post by **Garnerssoap** » Fri Mar 02, 2018 10:34 am

Fat balls always work well with Great Tits

halfmanhalfbiscuit · Post by **halfmanhalfbiscuit** » Fri Mar 02, 2018 2:29 pm

spadesclaret wrote:Yes, we've fed the birds for as long as I can remember. We use all the things that other posters have mentioned above. I don't understand why some posters are finding niger seeds unpopular. Our niger seed feeder empties almost as quickly as the sunflower heart feeder. We have recently had a sparrowhawk too. It was strange to see the garden so quiet.

chaffinch and goldfinch with sunflower hearts and niger seeds
IMG_1373.JPG
starlings with meal worms
IMG_7893.JPG
sparrowhawk
IMG_9085.JPG

I bet it went quiet when that sparrowhawk turned up.
There's something I really like about watching the chaffinch walking about. Not the poster boys of the bird world but a real favourite of mine.

halfmanhalfbiscuit · Post by **halfmanhalfbiscuit** » Fri Mar 02, 2018 2:34 pm

Lowbankclaret wrote:Buy meal worms and seeds from Boyes in Padiham.

Get a 20 kg bag of mixed corn for under a tenner at Hapton feeds.

So £15 to £20 lasts a couple of months depending on weather. Putting more out at the moment.
Fat
Balls hung in the trees and the feeders.

So if it's 20 quid every two months or so, it's a couple of quid a week. Not a bad return given how much pleasure you probably get from watching them.

BooRadley · Post by **BooRadley** » Fri Mar 02, 2018 2:51 pm

It's great having a garden full of birds so I keep my feeders pretty full, though with the abundance of squirrels they all have to be pest proof. As with some previous posts the occasional visit of a Sparrowhawk is always kind of exciting and rarely ends in a kill. Now and again I have visits from mice and when I approach the feeders they remain there perfectly still until I can almost touch them before they flee.

ClaretCliff · Post by **ClaretCliff** » Fri Mar 02, 2018 7:59 pm

Have tried various seeds, fatballs, etc. but due to popular demand I now just put out sunflower hearts. Buy them online from Croston Mill - get 20 or 25kg bags which last for a few weeks. Goldfinches used to eat niger seeds but as soon as I started putting out sunflower hearts they ignored the niger seeds.

Get blue tits, great tits, long-tailed tits, robins, greenfinches, goldfinches and bullfinches which are stunning birds. Blackbirds and Wood-pigeons pick up the dropped seeds.

Love watching them - very relaxing.

Dressinggown · Post by **Dressinggown** » Sat Mar 03, 2018 12:03 am

I went to Bowness on Windermere a couple of weeks ago and, sh*t, it was frightening.

Alfred Hitchcockesque.

The larger birds pecked constantly on my genitals and the more agile winged buggers removed the poor old Lady's eyes.

steve_f · Post by **steve_f** » Sat Mar 03, 2018 7:34 am

steve_f · Post by **steve_f** » Sat Mar 03, 2018 7:39 am