Any keen bird feeders out there?

Gers

Lovely news TA.

I've seen a blackbird pair in front of the house amongst a thorny old bramble bush but not sure if they are nesting there. I'll have a proper look during the week as I don't want to scare them off if they are nesting.

Primrose

I posted this on another thread but will repeat on here in case anybody is looking to make a cheap bird feeder rather than pay a fortune for the wrought iron ones being sold in garden centre. We had an old three armed Hills Hoist type clothes dryer we have converted. We simply removed the broken plastic chord and cut down the three concertina arms back down to one third of their original length. This provides three prongs for hanging different bird feeder tubes and peanut cages from.

We bought a new ground spike from Amazon (£3.99) and hammered it into the lawn to ground level near some bushes so feeding birds have safe cover cover nearby if necessary. Any seeds which fall out of the feeder and drop on the lawn are hoovered up by ground feeding birds. If any germate, the mower simply chops them off so there is no mess to clear up. . To cut the lawn you just lift the pole out of its spike as you would if it was a clothes dryer. People often dump these old airers at council tips just because the plastic chord has broken so you could probably pick one up there for nothing. Our feeder is full of visiting birds - chaffinches, goldfinches, tits of various kinds, robins, starlings etc and makes the garden a hive of constant activity.

bargainhunterss

Finally got a bird on my feeding station. It was a collared dove, so not the blue tits/blackbirds I was hoping for, but still beautiful! Hopefully will get more now!

Fay

Can anyone help me identify a bird, but no picture I'm afraid. About the size of a blackbird, brown but with a more chestnut coloured head/neck, beak looks a bit longer than a blackbird and sharper. Similar colour to a female blackbird but definitely isn't, not a song thrush either. I'm stumped and I've tried searching too. It's been using the suet block feeder and loving it over the last few days. Any help much appreciated.

Primrose

Am wondwring if it might be a redpoll. They're not native here but mograte to the uk during winter. Youn could try looking on the RSPB website. They have bird identification details on there which might help you narrow down yiur options. Do come back and post if you come up with a solution.

ljonski

Juvenile blackbird?

Gers

Got a delivery of peanuts and new feeders today - filled up the feeders and hung them up. When I went back to the kitchen there was a flock of rooks / ravens / crows all over the garden - the feeder was defective and fell down. Peanuts everywhere except in the feeder. :eek:

Ah well, keeps them off the suet balls I suppose.

Think I have swallows in my back barn where they nested last year. Whenever I go in I hear fluttering and then see one or sometimes two birds heading for the door. I hope it is them as I left the door open specially for them. It would be thrilling if they came back.

Fay

I've looked them up, definitely not a redooll or juvenile blackbird. Definitely the size of a blackbird if not bigger. Possibly has a paler spot on its wing, but only one. I shall keep searching

diluvsdiscounts

Fay wrote: »

Can anyone help me identify a bird, but no picture I'm afraid. About the size of a blackbird, brown but with a more chestnut coloured head/neck, beak looks a bit longer than a blackbird and sharper. Similar colour to a female blackbird but definitely isn't, not a song thrush either. I'm stumped and I've tried searching too. It's been using the suet block feeder and loving it over the last few days. Any help much appreciated.

Sounds like a Fieldfare to me. It belongs to the thrush family so is a similar size as a blackbird.

Fay

It doesn't have the pale parts of a field fare. I will have to try and get a photo. Watch it be a blackbird lol