How to...Feed Birds

[StuartDH]

As part of the new 'How to...' series that we're currently developing for the new resources section of the website, we're building a guide to feeding birds.

We'd like to hear all your suggestions, tips and tricks, so please feel free to post your ideas here and we'll add them to the completed guide.

To start you off, here's what we've got so far:


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Ever wondered why your neighbours always seem to get all the birds?

Location

Many birds are naturally shy and will be very selective about the places they choose to feed. Your feeding table should be clearly visible with several entrance and exit routes so that the birds can avoid trouble from any direction. If cats occasionally pass through your garden, keep the table away from any routes that they take and make sure that you don't position the table where predators can easily stalk out of sight.

You'll probably want to have the table in a lcoation where you can easily watch the birds, but also have a good viewpoint of any potential predators stalking the table. Birds are alos usually most attracted to

Water

A good source of clean water is just as important as food and it will often attract birds to your table simply at the sight of a glistening container of fresh water. Many birds prefer to drink and bathe in water that is close to the ground. However, if there are cats and other predators in the area then you should probably move the container at least one metre off the ground, or higher if there is a lot of surrounding vegetation, so that the birds have a better vantage point.

If you are using a metal container, pour in some sand before adding the water to provide a more stable footing for the birds. Similarly, the odd stone or branch placed inside the water will enable them to perch and drink without getting wet.

In addition to baths or containers of water, birds are often attracted to dripping water.

It may sound obvious, but never be tempted to add anti-freeze to the bird bath to stop it from freezing in winter as this will almost certainly be poisonous to them.

Variety

If you're looking to attract a variety of birds to your garden, then you will almost certainly have to provide a various types of food. Seeds, peanuts, fruits, bread and kitchen scraps. In addition to providing a range of food sizes, many birds also favour different types of feeders,

Hygiene

Feeders should be regularly cleaned to avoid the development of moulds and toxins that could ultimately harm the birds that visit your table.

Aflatoxins

Aflatoxins are colourless, odourles and tasteless toxins that develop as fungus on peanuts, especially in humid and temperate environments. The toxins can be especially harmful to birds, often with fatal consequence.

Keep it regular

Try to provide food throughout the year...

Seeds

With such a large variety of seeds to choose form, it can often be difficult to know what type of food you should provide for birds in your garden. Small black-oil sunflower seeds can often be a good starting point as they contain a high content-to-shell ratio and the shell is thin enough for birds to easily crack open.

Suet

Suet balls and cakes are usually very popular amongst the small to medium-sized birds such as Blue Tits and Starlings. They are relatively inexpensive, but don't be too surprised if they don't last very long. You should also avoid using them in hot weather as they may become rancid if they have not been suitably treated and processed during manufacture.

Peanuts

Peanuts are a definite favourite for many garden birds and a simple wire mesh feeder enables even the smallest birds to peck out small manageable pieces.

Kitchen Scraps
Habitat
If you can provide a suitable habitat for your birds the you'll find that your visitors stay for a lot longer than a few minutes at feeding time. Rowan trees...........provide a great source of berries for birds during autumn. Ferns and thistle provide great nesting materials. Conifers provide a good source of cover from the elements of weather and predators.

Warning

Don't feed chocolate? it contains theobromine, which is highly toxic to birds.

Where to buy

You can usually find bird feed in pet shops, superstores, garden centres and markets as well as a variety of online stores. Wherever you choose to buy you seeds, make sure that the products display the BSA standard as a sign that they are guaranteed to be of good quality and free of mould. You needn't spend a fortune on bird seed, but if you find some that is particularly cheap, you should maybe think twice about the quality of the product.

Bird feeders

As well as great quality food and fresh water, the type of bird feeder that you provide may also greatly influence the number of birds that visit your garden. Some of the anti-squirrel feeders can often be quite unattractive to birds and they will only spend the time chipping away at the almost totally unobtainable food if they don't have anywhere else to feed. As an alternative, you should made look at alternative ways of keeping squirrels from your feeders.



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Feel free to add comments, new sections, product reviews or any other relevant info.

Thanks

Stuart

[Jo-grez]

We don't really use any special other than slightly rotting fruit and it gets great results. The only thing we have to be careful of, is the size of the pieces that we put out. Big bits tend to attract big a greedy birds like Magpies and Gulls and they don't stay around for more than a few seconds.

Smaller pieces will usually give us lots of small birds feeding for hours.

[nightshade]

Obtain a post 2.4mtr. tall, 80mm dia (a pressure treated tree stake is good) make or buy 3-4 brackets, the hanging basket type is fine(i have nice curved wrought iron basket types)
screw on the brackets2-3,or 4 set post in ground hang feeders
A small clamp on bird table completes the perfect feeding station www.livingwithbirds.com 0800-072-0130 for the bird table (they even have 8x21 binos for£5.95) or try www.haiths.com

[henrya]

Jamie Wood's squirrel proof feeders are not ugly (in my view) and perfectly acceptable to the birds (see attached picture). The squirrels spend a bit of time nibbling at them, but they don't get many nuts, and the big advantage is that they can't destroy them, as they did with all the previous feeders I tried. I do hang them from the tree with chain, though! They are not cheap, but then the squirrels were demolishing the cheaper ones in a week or two!

henrya

[Tinkerbell]

I agree with Jo-grez about fruit. The birds love it and you can often persuade a local greengrocer to either give, or sell cheaply, the apples, pears etc. which are no longer viable for sale.