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Post by francegarden on Aug 27, 2010 12:20:15 GMT
Maybe with the bad weather you have been having - my daughter lives in Brighton and has been moaning about it - there are fewer insects, etc. We have been having a terrible drought, so I have no sympathy when she complains, although it is - at last - raining but we need much, much more.
I think my lot are just lazy - lots of young sparrows, great tits and even a family of black redstarts - and they are costing me a fortune because they refuse to eat French bird food, which, I have to say, is very inferior to what I get in England.
That means that I have to buy large quantities when I come over but I don't mind, because I have far more birds in my garden now than when I arrived last year.
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Post by Ladygardener on Aug 27, 2010 12:33:04 GMT
I just bought another feeder for the birds, this time it's a Niger feeder and niger seed. I've noticed there are a lot fewer birds around and I'm hoping they'll soon start to come back. I've currently got seeds, sunflower seeds, fat balls and peanuts. All in their own holders and mixed seeds on the bird table.
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Post by francegarden on Aug 27, 2010 12:47:05 GMT
The birds that really go for niger seeds are goldfinches, but I find that they disappear at this time of year, along with most of the others, and then come back at the end of September and into October.
The RSPB says this is because nearly all farmers do autumn sowing and so the birds don't have the chance to pick over fields that used to lie fallow all winter.
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Post by Ladygardener on Aug 27, 2010 14:06:05 GMT
It's good to know they're not just deserting me.  |
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Post by Missredhead on Aug 27, 2010 16:43:09 GMT
I have decided to move my bird feeder from the garden into the alleyway out the back cos I don't want to tempt the mice again...... the only things that have been eating the fat balls are the bruddy squirrels!!!  |
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Post by Louisa on Aug 27, 2010 16:54:15 GMT
Someone told me last year about sunflower hearts (i'd not heard of the hearts before!) These are the normal sunflower seed that's had the outer husk removed ..... i put these hearts into the numerous seed feeders i have here and .... voila !!! Greenfinches, Goldfinches, Chaffinches (on the feeders!) and Linnets all appeared. I was chuffed to bits i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd161/GWDAdmin1/Smilies/Default/cheesy.gif apparently most of the small birds prefer these to all other seeds ! The Chaffinches are supposed to be ground feeders but they mastered the art of the feeders !!!!! The Linnets i was told "don't come to gardens, let alone feeders" - but they do !!!! Try sunflower hearts in the feeders and see what happens - i buy from Wilkinsons. Also .... their square blocks of suet (can buy the little cage/baskets to put them in too!) are loved too - i had Blackcaps eating them all winter i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd161/GWDAdmin1/Smilies/Default/smiley.gif |
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Post by Missredhead on Aug 27, 2010 16:58:20 GMT
Lucky you louisa.........
I buy the sunflower hearts from Wilkos too.....but I have a problem with squirrels who eat anything I put out..I brought a couple of squirrel proof feeders but they only help the very small birds., for some reason they don't like the the fatball one so the balls tend to turn black and mouldy.
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Post by Louisa on Aug 27, 2010 17:29:21 GMT
Aha ! Same here re the fatballs ! That's why i swapped over to those square blocks of fat ... they're gobbled up  |
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Post by Missredhead on Aug 27, 2010 19:00:49 GMT
I had 2 of those but the squirrels ate them, the gaps are quite wide aren't they.
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Post by Louisa on Aug 28, 2010 6:33:16 GMT
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Post by francegarden on Aug 28, 2010 8:18:27 GMT
Fortunately, grey squirrels were not imported into France, so we only have the delightful reds, but they are very shy and very rarely come into the garden.
I can't put food out for ground feeders as there is another 'ground feeder' in the form a greedy miniature schnauzer, who eats it all if she gets the chance!!
Luckily, most birds are extremely adaptable and I have been surprised to see how many different species have taken to the hanging feeders, with hilarious results sometimes.
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Post by francegarden on Aug 28, 2010 8:24:23 GMT
The RSPB and CJ WildBird Foods sell a 'High Energy No Mess' birdfood which is very useful, especially in winter when birds need to feed very quickly to survive.
It is certainly much less messy but it does 'clog' up if you have a lot of rain, so don't fill the feeders right up in wet weather unless, like mine, they are emptied in a day!
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Post by carolann on Aug 28, 2010 12:19:44 GMT
I have to fill 2 feeders up every 3 days and 4 days for the 2 fat ball feeders, they are eating a lot just lately wonder if they know something we dont?  ?? The holly tree and the rowens are full of berries they may be saving them for later in the year. We have lots of tree rats but they dont come into the garden as the cats are always round and about and they dont bother the birds thank goodness. In the winter I make my own suet/dripping blocks for the birds and they go down a storm around my garden. |
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Post by Louisa on Aug 29, 2010 7:27:49 GMT
I agree Carolann, the birds here are eating a lot too .... and with the 'berry bounty' i wonder if we will have another cold winter, the farmers around here say that when there are more berries than usual its natures way of providing/helping wildlife through a cold winter i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd161/GWDAdmin1/Smilies/Default/sad.gif |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2010 18:07:14 GMT
I got some "left over" bird food from last winter and am planning on sowing in into my empty garden plots (now that the squirrels did away with the rest of the cukes). Will see how it turns out for the birdies in the winter and then till it under in the spring as antural fertilizer...or so one of my gardening books said...lol.
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Post by Jilly on Aug 29, 2010 21:10:13 GMT
The crowds were out in force today, I generally just get sparrows & starlings on my feeders, nothing exotic, perhaps the odd tit or robin in the winter, but this lot do make me laugh. The Starlings try to bully the sparrows off the feeders, but the sparrow flock is bigger so when one gets thrown off he comes back with his mates i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd161/GWDAdmin1/Smilies/Default/grin.gif   Jillyx |
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Post by snowowl on Aug 29, 2010 21:18:18 GMT
I very rarely see any sparrows in my garden Jilly.
I get lots of goldfinches perhaps thats because i spend a fortune on sunflower hearts.
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Post by Jilly on Aug 29, 2010 21:31:38 GMT
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Post by Louisa on Aug 30, 2010 6:59:50 GMT
Like Snowowl i rarely get sparrows here either ..... and like you i also spend a fortune on those sunflower hearts !
They make much less mess Jilly and .... you'll probably get goldfinches.
They shun the Niger seed for the sunflower hearts !!!
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Post by Ladygardener on Aug 30, 2010 7:02:16 GMT
I've had some sunflowers from those seeds too, a little added bonus.  I'm getting mostly pigeons at the moment.  |
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Post by Louisa on Aug 30, 2010 7:06:18 GMT
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Post by Chuckles on Nov 10, 2010 8:31:31 GMT
I've just been out to fill the bird feeders. I've only got two on the go but will put a couple of others out as the weather gets colder. Must get into the habit of cleaning them out again weekly, all this wet weather causes the debris left in the bottom to get damp and it goes mouldy  |
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Post by carolann on Nov 10, 2010 9:36:51 GMT
I'm having lots of magpies coming into the garden so I have moved the feeder to the middle of the lawn so OH can shoot the dam things (vermin they are) they peck the eyes out of the newborn lambs as do Crows and Rooks which we have a lot of as well. I also have a great spotted woodpecker which comes about 6 times a day he has mastered the fatball feeder now and leaves lots on the ground for the other birds, I get the black sunflower seeds and the birds love them but they are leaving the groat seeds which I scoop up and give to the chickens when I can as they love them. My water bowl on the feeder has got too brittle and wont stay in the holder so I have put some stone saucers around the garden with water in.
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Post by purplejulia on Nov 10, 2010 19:18:03 GMT
We get loads of magpies in our garden too but I haven't any livestock to worry about. My birdfeeders are also still full of groats so I assume garden birds don't like them. Why do the seed companies fill their garden bird mix with groats? I suppose it's because they are the cheapest seeds.  |
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Post by Missredhead on Nov 10, 2010 19:19:05 GMT
I have had to clear mine off cos all the food went soggy with the rain the other day......
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Post by Ladygardener on Nov 10, 2010 20:13:09 GMT
I've noticed a few magpies coming into my garden lately too. They never used to and I wonder why they've started. Maybe it's the suet pellets I'm putting out which are attracting them. I'm getting the robin and the tits the starlings and the pigeons of course. Carolann I've heard that magpies pull the young chicks out of their nests but never heard about them poking eyes from little lambs. How horrible.  |
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Post by JennyWrenn on Nov 11, 2010 7:12:02 GMT
Magpies are really dreadful birds - I witnessed two take a young blackbird and then drop it - it died - I was horrified  But I have never seen them eat from my bird table or anywhere else - even pecking at the bushes so not sure what they do eat and why they are always in my garden  |
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Post by Ladygardener on Nov 11, 2010 7:49:57 GMT
The magpies that come into my garden are eating from the ground feeders. |
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Post by Jasmine on Nov 11, 2010 7:55:31 GMT
We had to get rid of our bird table in the summer as it had fallen to bits...must get another one as some birds don't like eating of the ground I don't think |
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Post by Ladygardener on Nov 11, 2010 8:27:27 GMT
The tits like to eat off the table or the feeders so will the robin but he also likes to bob about and will eat off the ground. The starlings will eat from anywhere but seem to preferr the table. There's a long tail tit family in the old disused building area over from us but they don't come and visit. Or if they do I don't see them.
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I'm getting mostly pigeons at the moment. 
