Help needed to attract birds to garden feeding station

[dc2009]

Hi everyone!

Here's my set up: bird table at far end of garden on fence with table seed, dried worms, scraps and fat cake on which attracts wood pigeons, magpies, starlings (though they seem to have stopped coming now, hopefully they'llbe back soon?! - don't know whether to buy peanut cake to attract them again or if it's cos there's enough food now...) and a big black coloured bird (unsure if it is a crow or?)...

About 10 days ago put up a new feeding station up garden about two 6 ft long fence panels away from the house, on it there is a sunflower hearts feeder, peanut feeder, fat ball, fat cake, tray with sunflower seed and dried worms, and water tray. So far have had nothing come to it. Have seen small blue tits and one or two other smaller birds in trees in neighbouring roads recently so know there are some of them around... Don't know if it's because of where ive put it... but by table the bigger birds would probably try using it and scare them i thought... and here i can see if they use it from house. The gardens new so not well established as yet though honeysuckle, clematis, pyracantha are growing slowly but surely now...

Any suggestions as don't want food to go off and just keen to attract some smaller species?
Thanks :-)

[Jenny W]

It will take the birds time to find the feeding station and get used to using, it but they should come. The more variety of food types you offer the wider the variety of species you will attract.

[bobbarber]

Hello dc2009, at this time of the year most of the birds will have dispersed to other areas to set up breeding territories. The variety of food you put out seems o.k. but personally I wouldn`t fix the table to the fence as it leaves it open to attacks from cats, if you could fix it to a stout post more in the open would be better so that the birds have a good view all round. If you plant more berrying shrubs and let some flowers set seed this will encourage birds in the Winter. As your garden is new it will take a little time to become established but that`s half the fun The birds are in your area, as you say, and will come all you need is patience...Bob

[Geoff F]

Some of the so called 'feeding stations' sold in garden centres are far to complicated and unnatural looking so it will take time for the 'newness to wear off'. It needs to take on a natural smell and appearance before birds will feel happy to use it, especially now when there is so much natural food about.

Location is important, as the previous answers suggested. For example, in my mother's garden, she had a simple hanging peanut feeder cage which was hanging from a well used basic flat topped bird table but it was never used. It was 3 ft off the ground, so I repositioned it closer to the house and on the edge of a 'whirlygig' clothes drier but now 5ft off the ground. Now the rooks have learnt to open the lid and take 2 or 3 fat balls a day.

But remember that some types of the more complicated feeders only attract certain types of birds. Simplicity is the keyword for maximum attractiveness to a wide range of birds. Some of the tits and other 'crafty' birds will manage to learn how to feed from tubes that have to be pecked in the correct place, etc. But others, like blackbirds etc, just can't be bothered when there are so many lovely earthworms and other grubs lying on the ground.

Time of the day also makes a difference. In my garden, a wide variety of birds use the simple bird table all day but the peanut and fat ball cages are mostly used only in the early morning.

So check the position of your feeders from a bird's point of view, but you may have to wait until food gets scarcer before they appear in any numbers.

[dc2009]

Hi everyone, thanks for your replies!

I don't think the station is too ott, it's fairly plain, it's the 9.99 one from Wilko's - Kingfisher brand - just a pole with 3 hooks for feeders, a shallow water bath and feeding tray on it. It's also fairly decent distance off the floor so don't think it's that... As for the bird table i chose one to attach to the fence as the gardens small so it's the best place, not many if any cats round here and birds seem happy to use it at mo.

I think maybe as people have said many birds have gone off for natural food now so I may persist but reduce my feeders until the birds notice it as i don't want everything to go damp and mouldy and keep need replacing. Maybe if i persist with just the seed, peanuts and water for now and take the fat balls/cake and seed tray off until later in the yr when hopefully the birds will have discovered it. How long do you think i should leave the station in situe before trying moving it if i have no luck?

Thanks :-)

[nightshade]

The main points have been gone over but the birds do need to get to cover very quickly sometimes, as the beautiful Sparrow Hawk numbers increase, are there tall dense shrubs or trees close to hand ? (within a metre or so)
My feeders hang from a tree branch and the birds are gone in a twinkling, my next door neighbour has an ornamental "Silver Pear" tree in his garden and it is always stuffed with birds and if I had room it would be my tree of choice especially in a small garden

[Ian somerset]

I have the exact same feeder and it took several weeks for the birds to get used to it. Chaffinches, sparrows all started to love it. Now more food about generally only the fatballs seem to be going a storm. Have to renew every two days at present. Nearby cover is certainly important as they often sit in my boundary tree line (approx 10 ft away) and dart back and forth. My neighbour has similar set up close to wall and they don't seem to like it (cat attack etc)

[shirl]

I agree with everything that's been said so far, I did a project on bird predation using different coloured pastry balls which I put out on the bird table - it was weeks before the first pastry ball was taken (apart from the mice taking them!). Once the birds got used to something different, the pastry balls disappeared virtually staright away. Patience and especially a good site where there will be lots of cover for the birds is essential.

Shirl

[nightshade]

Originally Posted by Ian somerset

I have the exact same feeder and it took several weeks for the birds to get used to it. Chaffinches, sparrows all started to love it. Now more food about generally only the fatballs seem to be going a storm. Have to renew every two days at present. Nearby cover is certainly important as they often sit in my boundary tree line (approx 10 ft away) and dart back and forth. My neighbour has similar set up close to wall and they don't seem to like it (cat attack etc)

I had a poor response to an "umberella" feeder station I had made (3" wooden stake with four elegant hanging basket brackets) the birds would use it but were very brief in their visits until I moved it to within one metre of the tree they are in now. They then began a very relaxed love affair with the feeding station, to the degree that they had favourite feeding ports

[dc2009]

Three weeks since setting up the station and still nothing has used it. Have taken down the fat balls and cake and put it on the table as was concerned it was becoming damp. Have left the water dish, sunflower hearts and peanuts on it. Am uncertain whether to move it down by the table where the other birds feed though am concerned no little ones will come there due to all the large ones (magpies, woodpigeons, jack daw, starlings, black birds). Ideally i'd like to attract smaller species to the station (e.g. blue tits, robins etc hopefully).

Do you think I should resite it or hold out for a while longer? I have planted some climbing plants nearby to the station, however they are still rather small at present, possibly when these become more established they will help to attract birds to the station and provide them with cover/insects/fruit/nesting materials etc?