Feeding the Birds

pretz_2

i have to say even though i live in a flat in the middle of a town center i have still been feeding the birds today i took down to the park next to us mixed fruit, nuts and seeds some hamster food mixed with suet and the fat left over from our roast pork dinner.

i dont bring it back in at the end of the day as then it feeds the foxes to in the evening but it is always gone by the morning when i take the next lot down.

pretz

cooking-mama

:AI find this post very heartwarming,whilst were all trying to make things go a wee bit further we can still spare our scraps(and more;))with the wee birdies,so many kind people around.
poundland have fat balls and Bill oddie bird food bags.
I didnt put my soup solids out,feel guilty as i had to "flush it"but RSPB site advised againt anything salty(main reason soup was uneaten was cos gammon shank was excessively salty)dont want to kill with kindness.
noticed a bit of a thaw in our area today,altho birdbath had frozen over again before 4pm.
will stick in an extra tato or 2 with tomorrows dinner,and il maybe buy some mealworms(think poundland had those too)as weve had a pair of wagtails who live on insects scratching around(i wondered why they didnt eat the other scarps or seeds until i read RSPB site).
Also ive a day off work tommorw.a good day to go through my cupboards and clear out the unwanted cereals etc,at least now they be going to a good cause:A
PS,dont mean to be cheeky but i noticed a warning on RSPB website,asking us not to use the netbags that fatballs etc are sold in,birds can get feet and tongues tangled in them....anyone any idea how else to put them out? I usualy hang the net from a large nail in my fence.
PPS/How do i make homemade lard balls?,is it simply from blocks of lard bought beside butter etc in supermarket?,could i even just put out the lard block?would that be any good for them?thanks.

NualaBuala

I noticed a lot of you have seen redwings this year - I have them too for the first time. This post explains that they have flown south this year as their food is scarce in Scandanavia. Apparently they are feeding on the last of the berries.

I bought Value lard and sultanas plus some reduced bird seed as I've been worried about them. With the heavy snow and ice it's been impossible to keep water for them but due to a burst pipe outside, they probably do have access to water now!

I'm a little worried about where to place the food to minimise the risk of attracting rats. I noticed some tracks in the snow leading to where I'd left out food and they did not look like the usual bird foot prints. :eek: I don't have a bird table; maybe I should stick with hanging fat balls?

parsonswife8

I've just made up a dinner plate of cooked pastry scraps, bread, seeds, nuts and scraps of cooked, soft, pork sausage meat, for OH to put out on the field.
Plastic knives and forks on the side.
:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

conradmum

NualaBuala wrote: »

I'm a little worried about where to place the food to minimise the risk of attracting rats. I noticed some tracks in the snow leading to where I'd left out food and they did not look like the usual bird foot prints. :eek: I don't have a bird table; maybe I should stick with hanging fat balls?

I think as long as you bring in any leftovers in the evening you should be fine. Rats are nocturnal.

NualaBuala

conradmum wrote: »

I think as long as you bring in any leftovers in the evening you should be fine. Rats are nocturnal.

Thank you - that's good to know. I had been sprinkling food any old place for them but I will find something to put it on so I can easily bring it inside. Will have to seal it, don't want to attract vermin inside the house either!

Counting_Pennies_2

Well the birds have now arrived, after two days of putting the food out they finally trust what has been put out.

The pop corn has gone down a treat, I couldn't tempt them with the sweetcorn. The fat coconut and bags of nuts seem to be attracting the lighter birds, while the bigger ones go for the easy to grab things.

Will try them on mince pies and pasta tomorrow.

Bitsy_Beans

Made my own fat balls yesterday with lard and bird seed Hung up my bird feeder too (which has been empty for far too long ) and they've finally discovered it this lunchtime. Managed to prise the ice out of the bird bath and several off them were having a lovely bath and drink today.
My mum spotted a bird that we don't usually see, she thought it was something called a fairfield or something but can't find any reference to it on the web.
Can anyone recommend a website for looking up birds?

cooking-mama

was it a fieldfare bitsy?-try the rspb site http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/f/fieldfare/index.aspx

Bitsy_Beans

cooking-mama wrote: »

was it a fieldfare bitsy?-try the rspb site http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/f/fieldfare/index.aspx

:rotfl: at my mum getting her names the wrong way round.

I think that was it - thank you for the link :T