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My garden birds are so fussy!

rowan

rowan

Well-Known Member
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1,462
Location
Tamar Valley, West Devon
Type of diabetes
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Tablets (oral)
I moved to my new bungalow mid December and immediately started feeding the birds. Unfortunately all I got were starlings and jackdaws, and the little birds had to wait for their turn, which didn't come very often! So I bought some of the feeders in protective cages so only the small ones can get to it, there are lots of bluetits and other small birds around here. I got peanut, suet block, fatball and seed feeders.
But the new feeders have remained untouched since I put them up a month or so ago! Either they're not hungry, which doesn't seem likely, or they're particularly daft birds and can't work out that it's all for them! Any suggestions? :confused:
 
It can take time for them to get used to new feed stations. Where are they located? Mine are quite close to other trees and hedges which they might prefer for confidence and security.
 
No idea, to be honest: we have a seed feeder, which I have to fill up at least once a week, and a suet block which lasts about a month. There's usually a couple of blue-****, some robins and sparrows in evidence and, because they spill as much seed out of the feeder as they eat themselves, they provide a regular supply for the ground feeders, like blackbirds, thrushes and starlings. We also have a bird bath, which I suspect draws some of them in. The other thing that probably acts as a lure is that small birds (particularly robins) like it if you garden a bit - digging and raking stirs up lots of worms and insects and - hey presto! - lunch, cafeteria-stylee.

On the down-side, we get lots of pigeons, which is a bit of a pain, but in the summer we get sparrow-hawks nesting nearby, and they like a nice plump, juicy pigeon ;) :). We also see jays, magpies (also not my favourite birds, but at least they provide a removal service for the dead mice that our cats leave on the lawn) and at the moment I can hear, but have not seen, our neighbourhood woodpecker. Then this evening, the owls will start up. We're surrounded by trees, which gives us lots of variety - and also lots of leaf-sweeping to do in the autumn, but that's the price you pay for having rus in Urbis.

They're all eating us out of house and home, so maybe I should send some of them your way? :D
 
Yes please! I bought big boxes/packs of the food as there's no shortage of birds here, there are 3 oak trees at the bottom of the garden with a lot more nearby, and I'm on the edge of farmland not far from woods and the river, so we get all sorts. They just seem to be boycotting the newest neighbourhood cafe!
 
rowan said:
Yes please! I bought big boxes/packs of the food as there's no shortage of birds here, there are 3 oak trees at the bottom of the garden with a lot more nearby, and I'm on the edge of farmland not far from woods and the river, so we get all sorts. They just seem to be boycotting the newest neighbourhood cafe!
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I wonder if that's your problem? There are probably rich pickings in the surrounding fields and maybe they don't feel the need to investigate your garden, particularly if there hasn't been food there before. Give 'em time, I'm sure they will discover you sooner or later :)
 
The neighbours either side put food out but they have wooden table types and they get lots of big birds too, so I really thought the little ones would appreciate the added safety. Oh well, can't say i didn't try. I might put teh oridnary feeders out again and see what happens, will probably get the little birds waiting till the big birds have finished again!
 
Lol I put a feeder up a couple of weeks ago I have never seen a bird on it yet.
I know they visit t cos the seed is going down but the little bleeders are hiding from me.
I'm hoping the local bats have survived the winter and we may see Some sign of them in the next few weeks.
 
The type of food you offer can make a big difference, I feed a good quality mixed seed, sunflower hearts, niger seeds and fat balls

I am lucky enough to have a large hedge in my garden and I have my feeders close to it maybe 3 or 4 feet so the birds can fly to the feeders and back and feel safe, although I still lose a few to sparrow-hawks every year which swoop in and take them straight off the feeders. I even had sparrow hawks fly into my windows a couple of times having overshoot the feeders which is a little alarming!!

I read somewhere that birds like to fly to feeders at an angle of around 45 degrees so if you have trees that the birds sit in try placing your feeders at a distance to give a 45 degree angle of flight to the feeders. I dont know how true that is but I took it into account when deciding where to place mine and I get lots of birds visiting my feeders from sparrows to ring neck parakeets..

Just persevere and sooner or later the birds will find the feeders.

gold.jpg

Goldfinch feeding young, the young dont have the red cap.

pecker.jpg

Red headed woodpecker

keets.jpg

Young ring neck parakeets, too young to have the ringed neck.
 
Sid Bonkers said:
The type of food you offer can make a big difference, I feed a good quality mixed seed, sunflower hearts, niger seeds and fat balls

I am lucky enough to have a large hedge in my garden and I have my feeders close to it maybe 3 or 4 feet so the birds can fly to the feeders and back and feel safe, although I still lose a few to sparrow-hawks every year which swoop in and take them straight off the feeders. I even had sparrow hawks fly into my windows a couple of times having overshoot the feeders which is a little alarming!!

I read somewhere that birds like to fly to feeders at an angle of around 45 degrees so if you have trees that the birds sit in try placing your feeders at a distance to give a 45 degree angle of flight to the feeders. I dont know how true that is but I took it into account when deciding where to place mine and I get lots of birds visiting my feeders from sparrows to ring neck parakeets..

Just persevere and sooner or later the birds will find the feeders.

gold.jpg

Goldfinch feeding young, the young dont have the red cap.

pecker.jpg

Red headed woodpecker

keets.jpg

Young ring neck parakeets, too young to have the ringed neck.
Click to expand...
What lovely photos sid ...
 
Hi rowan, about two years ago I found a wooden bird table, I took it home, cleaned it up, banged in a few nails and put it in my back garden, it looked lovely. Not one bird came down to feed from it, actually not one of the birds came to my garden, I think they were scared of it:eek:. After months and months, I gave up and gave it to friends and they put it their back garden. I have been in this house for over 30 years lol

RRB :)
 
rowan said:
I've fed birds for many years now, in lot of different gardens, and have never come across a fussy lot like this before!
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Hi Rowan , I have also always fed the birds ...I found that a squirrel box helped the bird feeding balance and I love the squirrels ...and they love their nuts ...
I have a mixture of feeders , open and squirrel proofed ...like the cage ones ..it took a few weeks for those to be used ..they still prefer the open feeders ....
I use the bird table as well ....have to suit all tastes ...
Just fed two red legged partridges ...they are almost tame ...

I love feeding the birds ..I love this thread ...@rowan ...thanks ..kat
 
Kat100 said:
Hi Rowan , I have also always fed the birds ...I found that a squirrel box helped the bird feeding balance and I love the squirrels ...and they love their nuts ...
I have a mixture of feeders , open and squirrel proofed ...like the cage ones ..it took a few weeks for those to be used ..they still prefer the open feeders ....
I use the bird table as well ....have to suit all tastes ...
Just fed two red legged partridges ...they are almost tame ...

I love feeding the birds ..I love this thread ...@rowan ...thanks ..kat
Click to expand...


I really got into it when I lived on Dartmoor with moorland at the front and woodland at the back. Every day I had nuthatches, all the different ****, chaffinches, bullfinches, jays, robins, a few others I never did identify, and a pair of really cheeky woodpeckers who would tap on my window if the feeders needed filling up, they were so funny :D
I don't know if you need a facebook account to see this, but I've made it public :)
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/edit/a.238266977499.138547.524137499/
 
Most of the birds we get are seagulls, pigeons and magpies. I do see a robin but he sonly seems to appear once or twice a year. I think the cats around here scare the birds off, there'are my two, next doors two, Peters cat (called Sweetie -n if ever a cat was misnamed!) a couple of cats in the road next to ours, so I reckon about 7 cats in all. I put a nesting box on the tree in the front garden, but no one's come to stay yet. If I want to see birds I have to go to a tiny nature reserve (sounds grand, but it's more of a big meadow) just down the road. My friend Malcom spends hours down there photographing the birds. There's a kingfisher, egret, various ****, robin and the Siberian Chiff Chaff has decided to stick aorund, There are also water voles in the river bank.
 
Robinredbreast said:
Hi rowan, about two years ago I found a wooden bird table, I took it home, cleaned it up, banged in a few nails and put it in my back garden, it looked lovely. Not one bird came down to feed from it, actually not one of the birds came to my garden, I think they were scared of it:eek:. After months and months, I gave up and gave it to friends and they put it their back garden. I have been in this house for over 30 years lol

RRB :)
Click to expand...

Did your friend have any luck with it?
 
We get lots of small birds on the feeders. Then there are the **** seagulls but the dog sees them off pronto, funny though he leaves the pigeons & crows alone. The crows are clever devils, they get bread & such we throw out & if it goes hard they dip it in the bird baths to soften it, then they get the leftover parrot food that's thrown in the garden & take a plant out the soil, put the food in the hole & put the plant back.lol.
 
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