Feeding the Birds

carpool72

www.wigglywigglers.co.uk do one (£22 though) and try looking on the rspb site as well - I saw somw in the catalogue of seeds & stuff they sent a while ago.

frosty

I always feel sorry for the birds in the winter,we make our own fat balls with dripping and wild bird food,we hang them every where in the garden but you have to make sure you leave some on the ground for blackbirds ect,and always make sure they have fresh water.

henhog

Just a reminder that in some places feeding ducks in ponds maybe more of a hinderance than a help - in St. Albans we are directly told not to feed the ducks as it attracts the Canada geese and they put other wildlife in danger, also, a friend of mine who is a park ranger said that feeding ducks really encourages rats, as they come for all the bits of bread and crumbs left over!

Curry_Queen

We had a thread about feeding birds and ducks some time ago, which can be found here, and includes more info about why you shouldn't feed bread

ben500

Every day is feed the birds day for me!

Curry_Queen

ben500 wrote:

Every day is feed the birds day for me!

And so it should be!

People often forget or don't think about it until it gets to winter time but birds are creatures of nature and will keep returning to a known regular food supply, often flying hundreds, even thousands of miles to do so. If there is no food there for them they often don't have the energy left to go seeking it out, so once you start feeding them it's important to do so every day.

ben500

Curry_Queen wrote:

And so it should be!

People often forget or don't think about it until it gets to winter time but birds are creatures of nature and will keep returning to a known regular food supply, often flying hundreds, even thousands of miles to do so. If there is no food there for them they often don't have the energy left to go seeking it out, so once you start feeding them it's important to do so every day.

Absolutely and also important to remember is that clutch sizes are mostly determined by the availability of food, a bird feeding at your table can increase its clutch size to suit the abundance of food but if you remove that food source it cannot feed its young when they arrive.

Queenie

Curry_Queen wrote:

...

People often forget or don't think about it until it gets to winter time .... so once you start feeding them it's important to do so every day.

Agreed - except in August when nature's harvest is abundant; it's the one month that feeding wild birds is *not* recommended.

Also, don't forget ... fresh water. Yes, in even winter.

Blackbirds and thrush (and robins ) adore sultana's; (ok, I'm a softie - I actually buy el cheapo sultanas to put out for a treat for the thrush/blackbirds/robins )

SnowyOwl_2

There was another previous thread about feeding the birds... see here:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=59846

I started that thread...I am SnowyOwl...and I had to ask what wild birds like to eat. Oh dear .

When I first started putting food out I was disappointed by the numbers of birds. Then about two weeks in word had spread and they were bringing all their relatives and all their friends, and a squirrel or two has been seen hanging about as well. Looks like I am providing a much loved service. I've also found a pet shop that does an ENORMOUS bag of mixed bird seed for less than a tenner. The birds love it and it doesn't cost too much at all. I chuck out cut up apple too - have a look in the reduced section of Tesco or Sainsbury or wherever late on a Monday and you'll get a bag of apples about to go wrinkly for very few pennies. I think I'll start the sultanas too, as I have a very cute little robin visitor and I'd like him to bring his brothers, uncles and sons for me to look at.

So far I haven't put out any water...we have a brook flowing past about 30 yards from the house, and a pond about 60 yards away, so lots of fresh water for them anyway.

RacyRed

Al_Mac wrote:

I had to bin the nut holder yesterday, the squirrels had destroyed it. Can you get squirrel proof ones

Oh yes, they are even rated!

Squirrel Defence Rating

Offers the very best protection against squirrels
Offers high defence
Offers reasonable defence
Not recommended near squirrels
Offers no defence against squirrels

Must admit I love stringing monkey nuts together to feed the squirrels while the birds get on with the feeders.

This site might help, I have used them and they are very reliable.
CJ Wildbird foods

The free handbook they offer is really useful if you want more info about how and when to feed birds.

Did I really just post this :eek: