Why wont the birds come?

delmar39

Perhaps put food on a bird table. Blue tits should come to your nut feeders and fat balls in due course. We're lucky in that we live opposite some rural land, so we get lots of variety some quite rare. Good luck!

TraceyB_2

delmar39 wrote: »

Perhaps put food on a bird table. Blue tits should come to your nut feeders and fat balls in due course. We're lucky in that we live opposite some rural land, so we get lots of variety some quite rare. Good luck!

Just wanted to report back that as I was leaving for work - a blue tit appeared - am SO happy - and to think I was doing this for my DD!!

Now have to work on preventing next doors cat scaring off my new friends - it is unfortunately an outdoor cat so is always about!

YorkiePud_3

A lot of "ground feeding" birds tend to like to eat high up ... especially if they have seen a cat on the prowl in your area!

I have a bird house/table and I mix Bill Oddie Really Wild Seed (£2 a bag in Morrisons at the moment) with half a small box of Atora Beef suet (it's already in small bite size strands) and half a small box of Atora Veg suet ... I chop up some Red Leicester cheese into tiny tiny cubes and I mix it all up together than stick it into the bird house.
I guarantee by the time I walk a few feet away, the birds are in it! They love it!!

I don't feed bread because it has no nutritional value at all and just swells up in their tummy. I have a flat shed roof and put two "sausages" of Webbox dog food out there, all chopped up into tiny cubes.
It has a high moisture content so even if the birds are having trouble finding water, they are getting some moisture from it. With it being soft they tend to bring their babies and set them off eating it. At least there is no chance of them choking on it. Mealworms (dried ones) are a HUGE risk to baby birds!!!

I have tried all kinds of seeds and bits to stick out, but this seems to be what works for me. I have birds in the garden from early morning just as it is getting light and in summer, they are still here feeding around 9pm!

When the weather is warm I chop up a can of Del Monte fruit cocktail (in its own juice, not in syrup) and I throw that on the shed roof. It's usually gone in minutes!!

I get starlings, blackbirds, dunnocks, robins, blue tits, long tailed tits, chaffinch, great tits, coal tits, waxwings, collared doves, wood pigeons, wrens, thrush, wagtails, grey wagtails ... none of them fight and they will eat side by side quite happily - it is amazing and you just don't know where to look!!!

sportsfreak

Mortal wrote: »

Have you tried Mealworms? The birds around here can't get enough of them. They're quite cheap in Wilko's, and if you pop a few into a pot of hot water, they soon rehydrate, and those little robins will love you forever.
Suet sticks work well too. The birds here prefer those to the fatballs and blocks, and the shyer birds can grab one and fly off again instead of hanging around where they're not sure of. Raisins are a favourite too. The blackbirds like bits of chopped apple, and as they're ground feeders, I just pop them on the wall. what else...oooh yes, sunflower hearts. Again cheaper at Wilko's

I bought a big bag of mealworms convinced the birds would go crazy for them but nothing - now sunflower hearts on the other hand !!!!!

sportsfreak

YorkiePud wrote: »

A lot of "ground feeding" birds tend to like to eat high up ... especially if they have seen a cat on the prowl in your area!

I have a bird house/table and I mix Bill Oddie Really Wild Seed (£2 a bag in Morrisons at the moment) with half a small box of Atora Beef suet (it's already in small bite size strands) and half a small box of Atora Veg suet ... I chop up some Red Leicester cheese into tiny tiny cubes and I mix it all up together than stick it into the bird house.
I guarantee by the time I walk a few feet away, the birds are in it! They love it!!

I don't feed bread because it has no nutritional value at all and just swells up in their tummy. I have a flat shed roof and put two "sausages" of Webbox dog food out there, all chopped up into tiny cubes.
It has a high moisture content so even if the birds are having trouble finding water, they are getting some moisture from it. With it being soft they tend to bring their babies and set them off eating it. At least there is no chance of them choking on it. Mealworms (dried ones) are a HUGE risk to baby birds!!!

I have tried all kinds of seeds and bits to stick out, but this seems to be what works for me. I have birds in the garden from early morning just as it is getting light and in summer, they are still here feeding around 9pm!

When the weather is warm I chop up a can of Del Monte fruit cocktail (in its own juice, not in syrup) and I throw that on the shed roof. It's usually gone in minutes!!

I get starlings, blackbirds, dunnocks, robins, blue tits, long tailed tits, chaffinch, great tits, coal tits, waxwings, collared doves, wood pigeons, wrens, thrush, wagtails, grey wagtails ... none of them fight and they will eat side by side quite happily - it is amazing and you just don't know where to look!!!

I am suprised you get no fighting - I have a robin that is so territorial - he exhausts himself daily trying to fend off all the other birds - it's quite funny to watch!

I get pretty much the same as you, with 2 new spots in the last 2 weeks Field Fares and Redstarts - I was made up!

Dustykitten

Glad you are all enjoying our feathered friends. This weekend is the RSPB garden birdwatch, maybe some of you would like to spend an hour looking out of the window and recording what you see.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/

YorkiePud_3

sportsfreak wrote: »

I am suprised you get no fighting - I have a robin that is so territorial - he exhausts himself daily trying to fend off all the other birds - it's quite funny to watch!

I get pretty much the same as you, with 2 new spots in the last 2 weeks Field Fares and Redstarts - I was made up!

I know!! The best of it is when the grey squirrel comes .. (I string monkey nuts in shells on wool and tie em on the fence for him and he sits on top of the fence, pulling the wool up and eats em one at a time!) ... but, whatever birds can't fit into the table will sit alongside him!

Someone told me to be careful cos the squirrels would chase the birds off but I had to laugh the other day when he came along the fence. A wood pigeon was sat there and wouldn't move for him to get past so he could get to his nut string .. so the little oink leapfrogged OVER the bird (which just stayed stock still and didn't take off!!) ... omg, I howled laughing!!

I think though it's probably cos I have so much food out in different parts of the garden ... there is always someplace free for them to eat. Last year I regularly had three robins in the garden at one time and they didn't fight and they're supposed to be terrors with each other!

paddy's_mum

You fellow bird lovers might care to take a look at the BirdGuides Photo of the Year 2009 pictures - be ready to be astounded.

shegar

Dont forget its RSPB Garden bird watch weekend this sat and sun, in the two days you have to count as many birds that visit your garden for an hour, this is so that the RSPB can do surveys on birds to see wants on the decline plus whats new to the gardens, you can find out a

bout this on RSPB website, Its been done for a lot of years last weekend of january. :T RSPB. big garden bird watch . website.

help_me_please_3

paddy's_mum wrote: »

You fellow bird lovers might care to take a look at the BirdGuides Photo of the Year 2009 pictures - be ready to be astounded.

You were right, those photos were beautiful.