Bird Feeders - best food and 'stuff' to attract 'em...?

theMusicMan

theMusicMan

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John
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Hey All

Not specifically a tog question, but I have seen many great pics on here from people with bird feeders in their gardens and I was wondering what food you feel is the best to get the little critters on your table or feeding 'thing'...?

I have some peanuts, and manky stuff - bought from a pet store, and live in a quiet suburban area with plenty of trees, a river and golf course all within 20 yards... but can't get many birds to come to my garden.

Perhaps I should find a twitchers forum, but we have plenty on here and it seemed an appropriate question to ask... so I asked it :)

Any thoughts...
 
we get a lot more since our moggie passed away
if you have a cat it will scare the birds away
trouble is if next door has a pet - the birds don't know whose it is!
 
No cats in the vicinity - well, at night we hear them sometimes, but see none during the daytime. Maybe I shall post pics of the vicinity so you could see what I mean... maybe!
 
Im not sure about the specific food, but my advice is make sure the feeders are topped up all the time. You have to let the birds know that your garden is a place where they can get easy food at any time of the year.
 
Meal worms are pretty damned good, live if possible dead ones can be bought from the likes of Jolley's pet super store
 
I have three cats and still get birds in the garden. Must get it up high so the birds feel safe in getting to the food. if they feel safe and they know food is there they will come to the feeder. I had mine hanging from a tree without too many branches

As for food I just used the fatballs which are th ones they peck at to get chunks of it off. Got mine for a ludicrously cheap price at Wilkinson's :thumbs:
 
I just use a general wild bird seed which you can get from any good pets store and a peanut feeder and fatball feeder which is more off an attraction to Tits and Finches. You don't really need much more, but there are other seeds which are more of an attraction to particular species.

The main thing is that once you start daily feeding you have to keep it up. Once the birds know the food is there they'll start to come - they're not daft.;)

Birds will start having to work much harder for their food over the next few weeks as the berries and insects which have been plentiful, start to die off, so if they know the cafe is open, they'll turn up.
 
We have 2 terriers and a cat, and still the birds frequent the garden, a lot more so since installing the feeder several weeks ago, but it did take about 4 weeks to see anything more then the resident robin and the the very occasional passing blue tit. Now, even when I am out in the garden with the dogs, a few are brave enough to feed, having realised that the feeder is inaccessible to the mutts and the cat :D

basic wild bird seed, lard cakes, fat balls and peanuts...oh, and V. important if you can, water. Also got some dried meal worms, but they are not totally popular so once I get back will get some live ones. The RSPB's advice is to place feeders out in the open so the birds can spot approaching predators like cats and scarper, unless you get regular visits from sparrow hawks, in which case, near bushes/low tree branches so they can hide quickly.

EDIT: to add, that if you have such a decent food supply nearby [golfcourse, trees, etc] the birds might be less inclined to venture further into human territory at the moment while natural food is plentiful, but like CT says, keep the feeders supplied [and clean and replace with fresh food regularly] and as soon as the natural supply dries up, they will find all the local 'cafes' ;)
 
Im attempting to get the Kingfisher into our garden (Hard to do I know), so ive put up a pole over the pond (Full of sticklebacks) at Kingfisher fishing height. We've had the Heron fishing in our pond before so it would be nice to have him back. We also quite often get the Sparrow Hawk munching on smaller birds. And the last few days we've had coaltits in the Rowantree. Oh, and on a slightly differnt note.. I saw a Barn Owl last night. Only a very brief view alongside the road, but still nice to see one. :)
 
We have all sorts coming into the garden and the feeders. We have two cats, they can't be arsed with the birds it's two much like hard work.

Last weekend it looked like one of the squirels was going to slap one of the cats just to get a reaction out of them. The squirels try to wind them up it's fun to watch!!
 
Messiah Khan said:
Im attempting to get the Kingfisher into our garden (Hard to do I know), so ive put up a pole over the pond (Full of sticklebacks) at Kingfisher fishing height. We've had the Heron fishing in our pond before so it would be nice to have him back. We also quite often get the Sparrow Hawk munching on smaller birds. And the last few days we've had coaltits in the Rowantree. Oh, and on a slightly differnt note.. I saw a Barn Owl last night. Only a very brief view alongside the road, but still nice to see one. :)
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Wow MK what is your garden, the garden of eden or something :lol:...

But back to the post, im having the same trouble i have got some seeds and a table with food on but all i'm getting is jackdaws i'm in a town but people near us have gardens with loads of little birds that i would like to have a visit to my garden, im just waiting at the moment ....
 
looks like its all been covered pretty much but like many of the others I have two cats who are both committed hunters. I still get loads of rare birds in my garden. It all comes down to making the birds feel safe.
Its much better to put the seed and food on a flat level well drained table up high like a bird table. I made my own.
Also put it close to a tree if poss so the birds can fly in and out of the tree first then go back and forth to the table from the nearby tree, That way they will know they can get to safety quickly.
What you need to think about is most birds are vulnerable from above to other birds like sparrow hawks . Feeding birds will attract sparrow hawks. We have a nesting pair now that have had 4 broods. They take a lot of small birds because we serve them up on the bird table lol.....
Be patient it will take months before word gets around . Eventually you may get amazing sights like 22x long tailed tits at once ! and siskins and fly catchers, wood peckers . When birds get a consistant food source they start to breed nearby and you get even more .

Also I forgot to mention if you leave the table open to above its an easy access for the bigger birds like magpies jackdaws and wood pigeons that will drive the smaller birds away. I solved that by putting a roof on my bird table which made it very difficult for bigger birds to get in but doesn't offer ideal picture taking opportunities. You are going to need to be inventive with natural materials that won't spoil the photography

Peanut likes a little `edge'
Peaonbirdtable.jpg
 
^^^ nice one! :lol: ^^^

not so good for the birdies though :(
 
Well, it's been several weeks now and the birds still haven't even touched the food I have put out for them. I'll take a pic later of how I have the feeders and post it here...:shrug:

What can I do...?
 
The pic would be handy. :)

Be patient - as the cold weather approaches and food gets scarce for them, they'll start to come. Garden activity seems to go in cycles throughout the year anyway - with manic activity in late spring with all the youngsters about, then it slowly tails off and varies enormously just from day to day.

Fatball and nut feeders are an easy source of high energy filling food for the birds, particularly when it's colder, but I wouldn't rely on them completely, we scatter wild bird seed in a couple of key places every morning - well Jan does mostly.;)

We've been feeding regularly now for a couple of years, and we've noticed a large increase in the general numbers of birds visiting the garden, which we put down to the fact that the feeders help retain the young birds, as the area supports more birds than previously.

Don't overlook water - you really should supply water too if you're feeding them, and a cheapo bird bath which you can get from any garden centre and some pet shops is a huge attraction both for drinking and bathing. They just love splashing about in it.

gathering.jpg
 
Thanks for the advice CT, I might try that birdbath you elude to. I am off out now to Bristol with my 17yr old son (it's his b'day today - where does time go eh) and he wants to spend some of his money.

Will take and post pic later.
 
Thanks to Greebo and his policy of "Catch it, sh*g it, kill it" (though not necessarily in that order) we get birds in the kitchen, mice under the bed, rabbits skinned in the hallway....
I can't understand why he turned into the reincarnation of Ronnie and Reggie Cray, he was so cute when we got him...

Kingofthejungle.jpg
 
Try clicking on the following image, there are loads of notes on it to show you what we have and where. That wooden feeder was VERY good, and attracted loads and loads of different birds. But it also attracted loads of rats too :sick: so we have recently changed it to one like this CLICKY only ours has only two of the top arms, and we paid £19.99 from B&Q. The birds seem to like it just as much, and will like it even more once I put some live wax worms and meal worms out I suspect :lol:

Anyway, here is the picture:



And as someone else said, it is very important to provide drinking water, plus ensure that the feeders are kept clean and topped up daily.
 
Mum and Dad phoned me the other night, Dad was in the garden topping their feeders up, Mum says "theres an Owl in the Garden" im like yeah yeah then all i can hear over the phone is the bloomin thing calling out lol Was a Tawny Owl, its never there when i am :( but have heard it in the distance. Then they inform me they had a Sparrow Hawk on the Garden table, which is by the kitchen window, eating a sparrow, and then to top it off, a flaming woodpecker on the trees at the end fo the garden too, how sickening is that lol Only unusual bird i have seen there was a Merlin or Hobby that flew past the window at some speed, and a Jay.
 
DiddyDave said:
John - advertise mate!

Leaflet drop the local woods

Tell everyone you know you're a bird feeder and they'll come flocking

HTH?
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I read that first without looking to see who posted it. How did I guess with 100% accuracy who'd made thi post then eh!.... :)

Cheers for the advice Dave, I'll get to making some 'flyers' now, and make use of the 'feathered' effects in Photoshop OK.. :)
 
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