Food on the bird table.

[bedver]

I would like to know if it is ok to put various different foods together on my bird table to attract the different birds. Eg. Sunflower seeds, niger seeds, dried mealworms, peanuts etc.. I have a mesh (holes 50mm x 50mm) surrounding the bird table, so to attract only birds of a certain size like robins, tits, finches -not pigeons, magpies etc... Will the robins go onto the bird table which is approximately 1.5 metres off the ground ? At the moment I only have sunflower seeds and peanuts on the table, which are attracting the tits. I have not seen any robins up there (no dried mealworms to attract them perhaps ?)
Thanks, Dave.

[GME]

Definitely! You can mix the food up as you see fit. I regularly pile up a right old variety. Mealworms will be good for your Robins, but be warned others may still get to them first! The more variations of foods and heights for tables/ feeders etc the more variations you'll see in the birds that visit your garden


Edit: Oh, and the Robins will come onto your table at that height (1.5m). Well, they go on any of mine and I have a few at different heights. They don't seem bothered by the height, more by what the food is!

[Kayleigh]

H Dave and welcome,
You can put all those things on the bird table, but don't put out hole peanuts.
Have you got a peanut feeder they can go in.

Don't put large lumps of food either as the parents may take the wrong food back to the nest.

[djackso]

Re. the robins, the height shouldn't be a problem.

My robins are reluctant to pass through mesh though.

[bedver]

Hi GME,
Thanks for the advice. I would like to attract as many different types of bird as possible, so I will put dried mealworms to attract the robins. My only concern was that because robins are ground feeders, they would be reluctant to go up onto the table, and (stupid question) how would they know the mealworms were up there on the table ?
Dave.

[bedver]

Hi Kayleigh.
Thanks. I am putting crushed peanuts on the table. I also put out some grated cheese which appears not to have been eaten although I'm not sure ! I have two hanging feeders, one with whole peanuts (squirrel proof) the other with sunflower seeds. I also have a hanging coconut with a fat mix in it which I bought from the local garden centre.
Dave.

[brianwaugh]

quote...
and (stupid question) how would they know the mealworms were up there on the table ?

Yep stupid question....:-) they will find them

There is a dispute of advice whether to feed birds during the summer months or not. RSPB do suggest that feeding be suspended after the breeding season until the harsh weather comes along again. Many others suggest all year round feeding ( which I adhere to ) I feel its a little cruel to get my local birds to expect food at the tables and to suddenly remove it from them. I just make sure that food is small incase its taken back to the chicks and that theres NO BREAD put out while chicks are in the nest as it can swell up in their throats.
My robins have no fear of going thro mesh to get at foods and its the best way to feed mealworms, otherwise the lager louts, the Starlings just wolf them down and leave nothing. Beware tho regular feeding of birds is expensive , good seeds are not cheap these days.

[bedver]

Hi djackso,
Thanks. I will keep an eye out to see if the mesh deters the robins. I have a squirrel proof baffle under the table to deter our furry blighters. It seems to work well - as I noticed this afternoon !
Dave.

[bedver]

Hi brianwaugh,
Yes, I thought I was a rather dumb question -however I had to ask it !!
I have only recently put up the table (about a week so far), and it is attracting the tits mainly.
Dave.

[brianwaugh]

No probs in asking questions sorry if I sounded a bit harsh.. not meant.
The main thing with feeding your birds is to do it often, make sure there's always something their for them..even if its a few halved apples ( sultana's for blackbirds they love em )
Niger seed in a proper feeder is the only thing that attracts goldfinches to my garden. And use husk free sunflower hearts as its less mess scattered about.
I choose a seed mix which is Wheat free as all my birds are not keen on it and throw it away where it sprouts all over the garden.

[bedver]

Hi brianwaugh,
Thanks for the advice. I do try and buy good quality birdfood. I haven't tried the sliced apples and sultanas -will do that later. Will the blackbirds get through the mesh? I am reluctant to remove it as it will certainly attract wood pigeons and magpies (which I don't want visiting the table).
Dave.

[brianwaugh]

depends on size of your mesh ! you should really have a table meshed off to allow only small birds thro and if possible a near ground open table for the blackbirds / starlings doves and pigeons, trouble with this is that you may have problems with squirrels. I don't get them in my area so have an open table topped up during the day, I try not to leave much food on this table overnight to keep down mice rats etc. Although I have had a Hedgehog curled up fast asleep on it one morning.

[dragonfly]

ITS a good idea to put some food away from the bird tabel as well as some birds are more reluctant to feed in a crowd if want a type of bird say a say blue tit hangers are better finches need hangers with smaller holes to feed from
but remember never put hole peanuts or bread as both do more harm than good

[GME]

Originally Posted by bedver

Hi brianwaugh,
Yes, I thought I was a rather dumb question -however I had to ask it !!
I have only recently put up the table (about a week so far), and it is attracting the tits mainly.
Dave.

Hi Dave,
Sorry - forgot to say welcome to the site before! No question is dumb if you don't know the answer. Feel free to ask away, everyone on here is friendly and more than willing to help if they can

Some good advice on the feeding, and as has been said, it can get expensive. I'm sure if you get as much joy from seeing birds in your garden as it sounds like and as much as everyone posting here, you won't mind paying it. I would also recommend raisins or sultanas but I would just scatter a few on the ground, lawn or get a really low table to chuck them on as the blackbirds, etc will prefer to feed that way.

I have 2 feeders for mixed seed that the sparrows love, 2 for sunflower hearts that everything loves (Greenfinch, tits, goldfinch, etc), one for niger seed (goldfinch), one for a sunflower heart and niger mix that I throw together that allsorts seem to like, 2 for peanuts, 2 for fat balls and 2 for suet blocks. I also have 3 tables and a couple of feeding stations with water and mini tables so you might think I get a bit obsessed! Lol. But the birds seem to swarm around them and I really enjoy watching them so I don't care What I'm getting at is that in my experience the more variety, the more birds. Different methods/ foods attract different species, so have a think what you want to attract and put that style out. I have got best results for Robins with mealworms and table mix put out on any of the tables. I also use a live-food feeder for live mealworms that they love but don't always have the time to get to the shop to stock up so make do with the dried. Let us know how you get on

Gareth

[Rob_D]

Originally Posted by brianwaugh

quote...
My robins have no fear of going thro mesh to get at foods and its the best way to feed mealworms, otherwise the lager louts, the Starlings just wolf them down and leave nothing. Beware tho regular feeding of birds is expensive , good seeds are not cheap these days.

What is the right size mesh is right for robins, but keeps starlings out?

[witham]

Starlings can get through quite small mesh as I found out when I put a cage to deter the larger birds on the floor for the ground feeders and have occasionally had to rescue a Starling that has managed to squeeze into it but not been able to get out after filling itself up, the squares are about 1 1/4 inches, a Starling may be a bigger as in longer bird but perhaps not much fatter if at all in some cases. We have a couple of feeding stations with seed trays which the Robins like to eat off, I mix wild bird seed with Blackbird and Robin food and they seem to like it, I also put some of the dried mealworms which arn't very appetising for them in the water tray to soften them up and the Robins will fish them out