my food is going down so quickly!!

[suetblocks]

i would love this to be the case if it wasnt just pigeons eating it. is anyone else having the same problem. last year it was the starlings now the pigeons. i dont particuarly mind though really aslong as its being eaten by wildlife! martin

[Bucknallbear]

Originally Posted by suetblocks

i would love this to be the case if it wasnt just pigeons eating it. is anyone else having the same problem. last year it was the starlings now the pigeons. i dont particuarly mind though really aslong as its being eaten by wildlife! martin

All the birds are eating large amounts of mixed bird feed yesterday and today. Large numbers of great tits, blue tits and green finches. 8 Chaffinches picking up anything that drops. There was a single willow tit this morning and even the great spotted woodpecker is taking mixed seed. There were four collared doves on the feeders too so maybe they are stocking up - perhaps they know something that we don't!

[digitalcaptive]

during the summer I had trouble keeping our starlings in fat balls (at about 30 a week), I had to stop putting them out mainly due to the mess but once removed the birds just stopped comming even though I have about 5 other feeders hanging around the garden. It wasnt just the starlings that stopped goldfinch, green finch, blue and grey tits, sparrows the lot.
I have started to put one or two fat balls out again and although they themselves are not being eaten something, although I haved not spotted what it is yet, has started eating from the seed feeders. I only hope this is the first sign of the birds returning.

[rainmaker]

Had the same problem earlier in the year - a good compromise was to do away with a table (or the ground) and out up hanging feeders. The smaller birds make enough mess that drops on the floor to also feed the pigeons!

[suetblocks]

well i have 3 feders out. one sunflower hearts and one mixed seed and one big peanut feeder. they are both untouched whilst everything seems to be going of the ground with the pigeons and magpies. hopefully the news was not correct that 50% of blue tits have gone due to the wet summer and warmer winters. i really do not hope this is the case because theyre really beutiful birds to watch. hopefully the birds will come when the harsher wheather comes as its still reasonabely mild for winter down here! martin

[big bill]

During the summer I had the same problem keeping up with them but it seems to have slowed down a bit but still have them coming into the garden,I think though alot more people are starting to feed them because of the cold weather

[juliejam]

The long bird feeders can last about 5days before needing to be refilled..which i have three..the square fat cakes last a couple of days with the starling keeping that to themselves..but the bird tables im filling everyday with a measuring jug full of mixed seeds ..plus bread and pasta .Im getting a lot of starling, Blue Tits, Great Tits ,sparrows the black birds have returned the four doves and the robin and Two squirrels daily sometimes the green finches pop along and even one day last week a gold finch been awhile since they cam .....but yesterday i had eleven doves at one time ..im lucky enough to be getting my bird seeds etc pretty cheap..just as well really..

Julie

[tufftie]

There are two solutions to this; firstly you can by fat feeders with guards which stop big birds getting any. Secondly if you make your own fat mix you can make a fat feeder very easily. Get a very large drill bit ans drill several holes around a lower arm sized log. Attach this to some round pieces of wood (top and bottom) of the log, they need to be a fair bit wider than the log. Then run some widish gage chicken wire around the feeder fixing it to the outside of the round top and bottom. Attach an eye and chain to the top, you have to devise little catches for the top fixing s that you can get into the feeder, fill in the holes with fat and away you go. Sounds more complicated than it really is.

[Bad bird watcher]

I did consider getting rid of my bird table to deter the pigeons but didn't want to let the starlings down. In the end I pigeon proofed my bird table by screwing bits of wood across each side (it already has a roof) the gaps are too small for the pigeons but big enough for the starlings. I simply unscrew a piece to lean the table. The pigeons still come and pick the food the starlings throw around so they're all happy! I also have some hanging feeders for the smaller birds so it works quite well.

I love it in the morning when swarms of starlings arrive just before I go to work, rapidly followed by the pigeons of course, and the garden is a sea of activity until the table is cleared and then they're gone leaving the coast clear for the smaller birds

[ron1863]

We have pigeons in our garden all day long and even when there is no food they sit in the tree opposite waiting to pounce. They are so greedy they squeeze into a small feeding table with a roof on it, even the crows and magpies are doing it.