Any keen bird feeders out there?

diluvsdiscounts

laurel7172 wrote: »

With regard to the food, I find some birds appreciate the range of seeds, while others simply dig their way through the lot, spilling it, in search of their favourites, usually the black sunflower seeds.

One way I've found to discourage this is to include a band of just sunflower seeds in the feeder, so the ones who like nothing else have easy access to them and they don't spill the rest of the seed digging them out.

I have started to do this, layer sunflower hearts, wild bird seed and suet pellets. It looks much nicer too but the suet pellets are by far the most popular.
We have sparrows, blue tits, great tits, coal tits, about 7-8 long tailed tits,wrens,gold finch, chaffinch, occasional bull finch, green finch, thrushes, blackbirds, magpies(who charge into the garden scaring away everything in sight and then stand looking proud as if to say HA! that got rid of them) I have seen two woodpeckers over the years and would love to make them regular visitors but haven't succeeded yet.
Tawny owls at night time heard but not seen. Daily fly by from the sparrowhawk and one morning when I was looking out at the garden all of a sudden everything flew up into the air and before I finished thinking "what would cause that to happen" in it came and snatched an innocent off the lawn. My love of birds of prey made me ignore the fact that something had just lost its life because its the cycle.
Yesterday sat in the garden I looked up at just the right time to see a buzzard soaring over and pretty low too. Couldn't decide if I would have enough time to run in for the binocs but decided to just enjoy its short visit.
I have got five bird boxes this year and not one inhabitant but they do come and feed here and as most have said they eat us out of house and home.
We got a house martin box this year and I sat and watched as they circled around and around our house, convinced they were about to move in at any point and then...... in they went to next doors eaves I was heartbroken but still enjoyed watching them in the evenings.
Which just leaves the motley crew, starlings. I love the way they pile in eat everything in sight climb over each other and just have a riot. Why is it when you put out a whole loaf do the all fight over the one crust.
So I await the arrival of Mr woodpecker and I am also envious of anyone who has a nuthatch visiting but I am extremely grateful that we have so many birds visiting,forgot to mention the wood pigeons and ringed necked doves and finally a cockateil that must have escaped from somewhere but up until now has survived to our knowledge for about two months. We only see that perched on the rooftops though we haven't managed to get that down to any of the feeders.

diluvsdiscounts

chickaroonee wrote: »

We saw some bats last night in the garden and heard so many owl calls. Heard loads at dusk and then loads again at first light. Any idea which owl it was likely to be? I've heard the classic "twitt" "twooo" ones before, which I think is a tawny owl, but these were much screechier. Any ideas?

Barn owls do the screeching.
If you go onto the RSPB website type in barn owl there is an audio bit were you can listen to the call of almost any bird. If it isn't a barn owl try typing in some others maybe long eared or little owl .
My money is on barn owl. We just had a weeks holiday in a cottage on a farm in Lincolnshire and there was a barn owl box at the back of the house. We heard it every single night but never quite managed to catch a glimpse.

diluvsdiscounts

Thank you OP for starting this thread there is no stopping me now you are on my favourite subject.
This year I have left all of the berries for the birds and boy have they enjoyed them. It was really interesting watching the parent blackbirds teaching the young how to forage the blackcurrants. I only learnt this year that once the blackbirds fledge the parents divide them and the mother looks after half and the father looks after the other half. So this year they have had blackcurrants,redcurrants, raspberries and now they are waiting for the blackberries. I noticed yesterday a male blackbird eating the berries of the mountain ash tree.
I'll be quiet now I could talk all day long about birds:D

Gers

I've been looking after the garden for holidaying friends - that means watering the front and back mostly - and topping up the feeders.

Interestingly the suet balls are the most popular, even a little robin can be seen trying like crazy to do the hover whilst pecking at the suet. Other stuff is not being eaten so much - nyger seeds, peanuts, mixed seeds etc.

My own experience from our holiday cottage (up north on west coast of Scotland) is that peanuts gets the most attention whilst suet balls/coconuts are mainly ignored.

Different tastes in different parts of the country?

Anyway, watching them at such close quarters is always a joy, whatever they are eating.

chickaroonee

diluvsdiscounts wrote: »

Barn owls do the screeching.
If you go onto the RSPB website type in barn owl there is an audio bit were you can listen to the call of almost any bird. If it isn't a barn owl try typing in some others maybe long eared or little owl .
My money is on barn owl. We just had a weeks holiday in a cottage on a farm in Lincolnshire and there was a barn owl box at the back of the house. We heard it every single night but never quite managed to catch a glimpse.

Thanks for all the posts it's great to hear from others!

I thought barn owls screeched so had a play online last night but I don't think it was that, it sounded more like a little owl. I didn't realise we had them nearby so was very excited! Didn't see it but heard it loads overnight. Heard the tawny owl last night and dh saw a wren for the first time in the garden yesterday.

Funny how different birds eat different things. I've put blackcurrants and apple on our feeder but the blackbird here doesn't eat them, he only eats grapes and sultanas. Nice to be so choosy!

The huge sunflower feeder we bought has been half emptied by the sparrows so think we need to buy more already. The big favourite here at the minute is (hm) pizza crusts.

I saw one nuthatch last winter queuing to get on the sunflower hearts feeder, very cute.

davenport151

I love to compare areas and different bird tastes. I intend to cater for more varieties this year.
I get the blue tits and occasional great tits on the peanut feeder and the sparrows like the seed mix. Both go for the fat balls.
I have a feeder on the front lawn and can watch them as I wash up.

I use my nearby farm shop/nursery for the seed which works out the cheapest.

Chris25

there are some different owl sounds on here http://www.barnowltrust.org.uk/infopage.html?Id=3 on the right hand side of page & i think youtube have some too.

Barn owls definitely screech - if they're very close, can sound very eerie.
We have a tree outside our bedroom window & every so often the tawnies use it for a reccie of the garden - one at one end of the garden & another at the other end, calling to one another. They seem to use it every night for a few weeks & then leave & don't come back for months.

chickaroonee

Chris25 wrote: »

there are some different owl sounds on here http://www.barnowltrust.org.uk/infopage.html?Id=3 on the right hand side of page & i think youtube have some too.

Barn owls definitely screech - if they're very close, can sound very eerie.
We have a tree outside our bedroom window & every so often the tawnies use it for a reccie of the garden - one at one end of the garden & another at the other end, calling to one another. They seem to use it every night for a few weeks & then leave & don't come back for months.

Thanks Chris, it was definitely a Little Owl after listening to those again. Heard it again last night when I was going to sleep. I heard it the other morning about 4am (at dawn) and it was so close, it must've been near our bedroom but I couldn't see it when I looked out the window. Wish I had! I had no idea Little Owls were nearby, although I did know they were in the wider area. We saw a tawny owl fly straight over our house a few weeks back, lovely.

Want to see/hear a barn owl now!!

Chris25

aah, how sweet.

I've never actually seen a tawny owl, only it's silhouette

Several years ago, I was out near Minsmere in Suffolk and a barn owl, picked out in the headlights, flew in front of (rather than across) our car, for what seemed miles along the road

chickaroonee

Wow, that must've been a beautiful sight. Unfortunately it was dusk and I was away from the window without my glasses on when the tawny owl went past, so I saw it in flight but not as clear as I'd have liked. Still lovely though, and was surprised to see it fly straight at and over the house.