nearly that time of year....

[seamusagleann]

.....again,blue tits are investigating nesting boxes,and it will soon be time to put up the feeders at the loch. last year i bought about half a dozen ,but they seem not to last that long. is it possible to make some ,has anyone got a plan or diagram that i could follow....money for materials no object ,i work for the forestry commission

[Elizabeth B]

Originally Posted by seamusagleann

.....again,blue tits are investigating nesting boxes,and it will soon be time to put up the feeders at the loch. last year i bought about half a dozen ,but they seem not to last that long. is it possible to make some ,has anyone got a plan or diagram that i could follow....money for materials no object ,i work for the forestry commission

The makers of Droll Yankee feeders claim to give a life time guarantee, and they are available from all the usual UK bird stuff suppliers - buying these might save you the trouble of making them!

Droll Yankees The Worlds Best Bird Feeders

[astraman]

weve had a bluetit round our box so maybe it will be used this year

[seamusagleann]

checked them out ,seems like just what i'm looking for.might try to mix and match,peanut and sunflower feeders ,that should attract more species.hope you get some bluetits this year,astraman,they're great entertainment. thanks guys!!

[rainmaker]

Funniest thing in my garden is both the blue & great tits starting to get VERY terratorial

I live on an old council estate, and about 30-40 houses all back on to each other - hence with all the back gardens makes quite a large green area. Well, it would if any of the neighbours cared Only 3 gardens that I can tell actually put any food out, with mine usually been the best stocked (this all stems from being a keen gardener, it seems one follows the other, to an extent). This then seems to make my little area the most closely fought over - good nesting cover, and plentiful food (although getting caterpillars in for hatchlings seems the trickiest thing - trying to encourage butterflys with my choice of planting, so may get some success this year).

Can't wait for spring proper, and the return of the blackbird going tweet