Hi
I bought that hide by mail order from the US (worked out to be about £40with the shipping costs and import duty - take advantage of the weak $!)
im generally quite new to woodland birds, but after a few months of basically trail, error and a bit of luck, patience laying down food over a period of weeks and spending so much money on mealworms, im finally getting the hang of it all, finding out what works for me. the trickiest thing is finding a location which has potential as a feeding station, has a generally north facing position and devoid of Dog walkers!
Ive found a lil patch in Epping Forest and after trying a few sats and sundays and at different times of day, i find that Dawn on a sat (if i get out of bed early enough) till about 12pm is the time ive had most activity.
i started off with the usual bird seed, but have found that if you use mealworms, you will have much more luck.
i try and find a setup on a downed tree, which enables me to shoot at a slightly higher or lower angle, and position my hide approx 2-3m from the spot im focusing on ensuring that i can get a small bird full frame from a 300mm lens. try and set up a feeding station where there is a bit of cover for the birds to fly from, as they mostly come down, pick their food and feel more comfortable eating up in the trees close by.
Ive found that Robins are always one the scene first followed by Great Tits. Ive seen other birds (treecreepers, woodpeckers, sparrowhawk from a distance and a fly past by an owl of somekind).
ive also had a bank vole take advantage of the free seed on offer.
what ive found not to do, is to put down a spread of food at any one time... the small birds are way too fast for me and the AF on my lens.
I check my new location this morning and all of the food from last weekend has gone. it will be the 1st time in a new spot, and hopefully ill get more than just Great Tits and Robins!
i will post them all up on the
Gallery here once i get a spare moment!
good luck!