Patiently waiting

Blackbrook Eye · #1 (**permalink**) 22-10-2007, 05:35 PM

Looking through the various posts containing pictures of garden birds I am getting very envious, for the past few weeks the only small birds that I have seen visiting my bird table or feeders have been a couple of Dunnocks, could be a pair its hard to tell. The table is well stocked with a variety of food and the feeders are full of peanuts. The neighbors cats are kept at a reasonable distance by my dog Leck, and I am just waiting patiently for the other diners to arrive. The first picture is of one of my faithful Dunnocks, the second picture is probably part of the reason why other birds are keeping away.

Reptilian · #2 (**permalink**) 22-10-2007, 05:41 PM

Great pics.

The others will come eventually.

I noticed over the past few weeks there has been lots of magpies, much more than usual. They have been on my feeders most of the day but they don't seem to be putting off any of the other species.

jdurbo · #3 (**permalink**) 22-10-2007, 05:47 PM

Excellent phots Blackbrook eye

Not many birds in my garden lately, mr hawkeye scaring them away!

jen xxx

Chocobirder · #4 (**permalink**) 22-10-2007, 05:48 PM

Great pics ! Can't wait to see more when your guests arrive! My feeders are quiet too, or maybe they just come when I'm at work!

Ollie · #5 (**permalink**) 22-10-2007, 09:23 PM

Things are beginning to pick up at our feeders, with a good variety of birds feeding. As winter draws nearer and natural food becomes less plentifull I'm sure many more will start visiting the feeders
Roger

SweetRocket · #6 (**permalink**) 23-10-2007, 12:27 PM

How on earth did you manage to take such a good pic, the way they skip and jump around in my garden at such speed is quite a sight to see and very cute.

You might already do this but since buying sunflower heart seeds instead of the usual mix, I have had the most incredible success with new visitors, especially the finch's which used to be quite rare here. We also have lots of Magpies, Wood Pigeons and Collard Doves plus a very naughty Squirrel, but none of these deter any other small species that visit.

Blackbrook Eye · #7 (**permalink**) 23-10-2007, 02:19 PM

Someone else told me about sunflower hearts, I will get some as soon as I can and give them a try. The Dunnocks and the Magpie were here again today as usual, and I had a fleeting visit from a Robin but I was still setting up the camera and its not been back, I am still watching out for visitors but my neighbor is washing his car at the moment so I have come inside for a sit down, I've been on my feet since half past seven. Thanks for the info. I'll see what happens.

SweetRocket · #8 (**permalink**) 23-10-2007, 06:30 PM

Would love an update on how successful or not the sunflower hearts are for you.

honeybee · #9 (**permalink**) 23-10-2007, 06:32 PM

no birds can resist mealworms and suet pellets, especially now it's getting cold

magpies deter the other birds a bit as would sparrow hawk but the other birds should soon come

ChrisJB · #10 (**permalink**) 23-10-2007, 07:16 PM

My feeders are 'heaving' and have been since the beginning of September. I have had record numbers of Goldfinches too (up to 26 in one go). Natural food, like berries, in our locality seem quite poor this autumn, which could explain things.

Regards, Chris

Blackbrook Eye · #11 (**permalink**) 23-10-2007, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SweetRocket

Would love an update on how successful or not the sunflower hearts are for you.

I'll keep you informed regarding the sunflower hearts as soon as I see some results, our local pet shop closes Wednesdays so I will try on Thursday. So far as mealworms go, I was going to get some to start a breeding colony of my own but it will have to wait till I can get to a tackle shop as we do't have one locally. I was intending to get some dried ones from the pet shop but I went to Morrisons superstore and got some fresh salmon and Russian caviar instead, it was cheaper !!!

Blackbrook Eye · #12 (**permalink**) 23-10-2007, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChrisJB

My feeders are 'heaving' and have been since the beginning of September. I have had record numbers of Goldfinches too (up to 26 in one go). Natural food, like berries, in our locality seem quite poor this autumn, which could explain things.

Regards, Chris

There is an abundance of berries and fruit of all kinds around here this year, although the holly is getting a bit of a bashing ( lucky if there is any left for Christmas ) so that could be something to do with it. My immediate neighbors are not getting the birds at their feeders yet but most of them have cats so its not really so surprising

Blackbrook Eye · #13 (**permalink**) 23-10-2007, 09:41 PM

I trimmed the birdtable up a bit today and the Magpie smartened up his suit for the occasion as you can see. Even he only appeared once during the morning, as far as I can tell, its usually noticable by the devastation.

honeybee · #14 (**permalink**) 24-10-2007, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackbrook Eye

I'll keep you informed regarding the sunflower hearts as soon as I see some results, our local pet shop closes Wednesdays so I will try on Thursday. So far as mealworms go, I was going to get some to start a breeding colony of my own but it will have to wait till I can get to a tackle shop as we do't have one locally. I was intending to get some dried ones from the pet shop but I went to Morrisons superstore and got some fresh salmon and Russian caviar instead, it was cheaper !!!

wiggly wigglers are best for meal worms - tackle shop worms and maggots are not usually guaranteed disease free/ safe for birds. You would have to have the worms turning into flour beetles to get another generation wouldn't you? Dried are good, live are best for chicks (contain valuable moisture) and when it's really cold as they're full of protein.

Birdie · #15 (**permalink**) 24-10-2007, 12:21 PM

My bird feeders are rather quiet and have been for a few weeks now. I still have my regulars, robins, dunnocks and rather fat wood pigeons and they are usually around all day. I have noticed however, that I do have visits from blue, great, coal and long tailed tits and the odd occasionally greenfinch and chaffinch but these are only in the morning.
In the spring I brought some meal worms from the internet and started a meal worm farm. It has taken time, but I have now have loads of tiny meal worms.

I loved your picture of the Magpie, I don't have them in my garden - although I see them more the closer I get to the city centre.

honeybee · #16 (**permalink**) 24-10-2007, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Birdie

My bird feeders are rather quiet and have been for a few weeks now. I still have my regulars, robins, dunnocks and rather fat wood pigeons and they are usually around all day. I have noticed however, that I do have visits from blue, great, coal and long tailed tits and the odd occasionally greenfinch and chaffinch but these are only in the morning.
In the spring I brought some meal worms from the internet and started a meal worm farm. It has taken time, but I have now have loads of tiny meal worms.

I loved your picture of the Magpie, I don't have them in my garden - although I see them more the closer I get to the city centre.

Can we have your mealworm breeding advice please?

Blackbrook Eye · #17 (**permalink**) 24-10-2007, 05:30 PM

Hi Birdie, Welcome to WAB.
Along with Honeybee, I too would be grateful for any advise on breeding mealworms.

guineapig · #18 (**permalink**) 24-10-2007, 05:36 PM

The blue tits and great tits are beginning to return and I have had a robin for a long time now. The starlings have gone back onto the fat blocks and it is slowly getting busy again. I have problems with doves and pigeons and think it is the cheap bird food I am getting from our local pet shop. It has a lot of millet in it and no bird seems to like that. My most successful ground feeding bird is the Hedgehog!!

Blackbrook Eye · #19 (**permalink**) 24-10-2007, 06:25 PM

I wouldn't even mind the odd woodpidgeon, just for a bit of variety, the only ones of these I get are in the trees at the bottom of my garden, and thats 65 yards away. I took this picture yesterday for a bit of a change, using the Sigme 50-500mm at 500mm with the 1.4 converter and even then I have had to crop by about 50 percent.

wildone · #20 (**permalink**) 24-10-2007, 07:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackbrook Eye

I'll keep you informed regarding the sunflower hearts as soon as I see some results, our local pet shop closes Wednesdays so I will try on Thursday. So far as mealworms go, I was going to get some to start a breeding colony of my own but it will have to wait till I can get to a tackle shop as we do't have one locally. I was intending to get some dried ones from the pet shop but I went to Morrisons superstore and got some fresh salmon and Russian caviar instead, it was cheaper !!!

Pet shops are where to get live mealworms. Tackle shops sell gentals which are blow-fly maggots (larva). Mealworms are stricktly vegetarian and don't smell. It will take some time to start a breeding colony. The best thing is when any mealworm changes to a chrysalis put them into a container and wait for them to change into beetles. These are best put into another container with ordinary household flour where they will mate and start their egg laying. Patience is required as it takes several weeks for the eggs to hatch and the 'worms' be large enough to see.

wildone

PS Gentals are not good for birds. They will take them but too many are bad for them. Mealworms on the other hand are highly nutritious.

Birdie · #21 (**permalink**) 25-10-2007, 09:07 AM

I got my advice about worm breeding from the web - I cannot remember the site (it was a few months ago). But I just googled 'mealworm breeding' and plenty came up.

What I did was when my meal worms arrived, I put them in a plastic container(you can use a lid, I do for the beetles but not for worms - but make sure there is ample ventilation) with some natural bran - this is what they like to eat. You can use other forms, such as porridge with bran and weetabix or you can even buy their food from shops. Every day I cut some fresh vegetable or fruit - such as apple or potato as this gives them their moisture. You need to change this everyday to stop the bran from going mouldy (and do not use anything too moist). On warmer days, I would spray them with a little mist of water - it cools them down, but if you watch them it makes them very active.

Some advice I have read says that you can place them in a fridge as this makes them docile, but I keep mine in my garage - it is cool in there but it is not so cool that they sleep. They also like to hide, so cut the cardboard from a toilet roll in half and place in the container.

I was advised to clean the bran (or whatever you are using) every month to stop it from going mouldy.

The whole process takes several months. First your worms will turn into something that resembles an alien!, but after that they will turn into beetles. Then eventually they will start breeding and you will have their eggs. I cannot tell you what the eggs look like because I never saw one. I know that they are very small so you have to be careful when cleaning not to throw them away. The only way I got round this was to use several plastic containers. I placed the beetles in the clean bran and then left the old one for a while and eventually I found the tiniest worms. I have three containers on the go - so if anyone has an easier way please let me know!

This is my first attempt and the only cost is has cost me is the initial outlay for the worms and something for them to feed on. I buy plenty of fruit and veg for me, the kids and my other pets so they don't actually cost that much at all.

I am no expert, but I hope this has given you a few pointers.

honeybee · #22 (**permalink**) 25-10-2007, 12:25 PM

October at Wiggly Wigglers

Mealworm breeding kit

Blackbrook Eye · #23 (**permalink**) 25-10-2007, 05:33 PM

Well I've sure got the advice I asked for, thank you all very much, I've ordered some live mealworms off the internet so I will soon be putting the advice into practice with any degree of luck.