No birds at our table.

[cutiecat]

The children and I are very keen to see some birds and got a bird table in a sale. We have positioned it in a quite bit of the garden near a tree but not near bushes where they might get ambushed. It is easy to see from our conservatory where my son has set up a chair and his binoculars (he is only 4). We have put out seeds and worms but have not seen any on the table yet. We only put it up on Sunday, should we move it or wait.

Thanks

[Stewy]

I'm not an expert but I would give it a bit of time, might also be worth putting up a hanging feeder with sunflower hearts in to hang from your tree, that should attract the little fellas!!

[SheffieldLass]

I think patience is needed (not easy for a 4 year old though!) When I first started to feed the birds it took a good month before they found it and decided it was safe. And my neighbour had had a hanging feeder up for months without a taker .... hers still gets very few visitors, which is mainly to do with location (it is too out in the open), whilst I get very large flocks of finches. It sounds as if your location is fine though, close to a tree, as it gives them a perching place and vantage point and some cover whilst they check for predators. If you've got people feeding them in nearby gardens then they may discover yours sooner and not be quite so wary. But don't be too worried if there is still little activity 2 weeks down the line. You may have to take your son to feed the ducks in the meantime to keep up his interest!

Once they have found it, you can then watch their behaviour, see what seems to spook them, and then see whether minor alterations in location suit them better.

Melanie

[diggleken]

Agree with Melanie - my two and a bit year old grandson has started to watch the bird table with his bins too - problem is, he likes to use them the wrong way round, looking through the objective lens, he calls it the big end . . . . .
Have I been doing something wrong all these years?
Something I dont know?
Cheers
Ken

[squishy]

just give it some time

if you move it, it may well just put them off again

[cutiecat]

Thanks everyone. We will keep waiting.

Ken - My two year old does the same thing looking in the wrong end. Don't mind as long as they are interested looking at birds instead of cbeebies.

[diggleken]

Absolutely, the younger the better too!
Welcome to WAB , by the way!
Cheers
Ken

[tawny girl]

each time i put something new in my garden it takes a while for the birds to try it out ,try something a bit more tasty like grated cheese or raisins,good luck

[Steve_In_Cheshire]

We had a similar problem when we first bought ours, personally i think the birds are a bit wary of something new, they will know your bird table is there along with the food but they have to know its safe before they venture onto it so they will probably watch it for a few days.

What helped with our bird table is we put a hanging feeder on the side of the table with some sunflower hearts in it and its been finches galore ever since, i also put some sunflower hearts on the bird table now as well with the bird seed which is already there.

If you can fit a hanging seed feeder onto the side of your table i would deffo recommend it, they are cheap enough to buy as you can get a nice plastic one for a small amount of money.

[jaykay]

I'm gradually introducing new things into the garden for the birds and have also just put a wooden bird table in, the blackbirds have just started entering it and it's went in on Saturday, so fingers crossed for yours