Bird feeding

IanP · #1 (**permalink**) 01-09-2009, 07:42 AM

Hi, I've grown a few sunflowers this year (from seed bought for the feeders), to some extent out of curiosity, but also to provide a source of interest and food for the birds this autumn/winter. Has anybody any experience/advice on the best way of handling this source, eg leave the dead heads on the stalk, etc? All suggestions welcome (I'm assuming they'll all be sensible on this forum!).

SandyBeds · #2 (**permalink**) 01-09-2009, 11:18 AM

The little experience I have leads me to think that it might be best to manually deal with the seeds yourself if you have any squirrels in your area. Squirrels seem to be experts at removing the WHOLE head and stashing it away where the birds can't get it, or eating each head in one go.

Nightranger · #3 (**permalink**) 01-09-2009, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IanP

Hi, I've grown a few sunflowers this year (from seed bought for the feeders), to some extent out of curiosity, but also to provide a source of interest and food for the birds this autumn/winter. Has anybody any experience/advice on the best way of handling this source, eg leave the dead heads on the stalk, etc? All suggestions welcome (I'm assuming they'll all be sensible on this forum!).

Hi Ian and welcome to the forums.

I have tried a number of methods but leaving dead heads on the stalk was (sadly) the least successful. As SandyBeds says, it can be useful to separate the seeds manually to keep over longer periods but you can also remove the dead heads and secure them around a feeding station for the more agile birds, a bit like you would for a fat ball. Having said this, my experience was confined to a relatively small garden (ironically, Potton Beds) so it may be worth experimenting, as I never had problems with squirrels.