Big Garden Bird Watch

[jamie_from-kent]

At the moment I have 4 feeders, 2 have fat balls in them and the other 2 mixed seed. I hardly ever have greenfinches or goldfinches in my garden so if I wanted them should I buy a new feeder and put some nyjer seed in it?

[Elizabeth B]

When i first put a niger feeder out, it attracted two goldfinches within a couple of days but when I later offered sunflower hearts, they moved on to these and the niger is more or less ignored now. Mixed seed is ignored too - I've given up putting it into a hanging feeder, though it goes from the bird table. The main food taken is now sunflower hearts and black sunflower seed - even the peanut feeder is not used all that much, so I often bring in the feeder if the peanuts have been there for a while, then chop them in a food processor and use them as part of the mixture in suet blocks.

[jamie_from-kent]

Ok cheers, I will buy some sunflower hearts but I always think how will they notice them because I spend a lot of time looking at the birds in my garden and have not even seen a goldfinch! For all I know the nearest goldfinch is 2 miles away, but ill put them out and they might flyover and smell them ?

[jamie_from-kent]

Everyone else getting ready for the big garden bird watch??

[Bad bird watcher]

I will be doing it with my two sons. It's going to be difficult to fit in around their football but we'll probably do it Saturday afternoon

[Naz]

Counted for an hour on Sunday afternoon, the most disappointing results to date.

Yet today, there's hundreds of the little beggars.

Do they know that we count them, and hide deliberately?

[hedgehog whisperer]

I am very pleased, better results from last year. I have been working all year trying out different foods and feeding stations.

This year I am working on the homes for wild birds to encourage some to build nests or even homes in the garden.

[jamie_from-kent]

116,000 people have submitted their results online sofar.

[wellies101]

anyone get anything unusual/exciting? I had a female blackcap, but the rest we fairly "standard" garden visitors for this time of year.

[Naz]

Had a Greater Spotted Woodpecker, and a Nuthatch last time ... and while they have been around very recently, I think they went away for a dirty weekend somewhere together.

Just had the usual, but nonetheless interesting, everyday birds this time.