Here are the results of todays trial :-
9 different general wild bird mixes in individual dishes on the ground. 100g of each mix per dish.
Dish 1 - 85g left - 15g eaten. Wild bird seed from a local pet shop.
Dish 2 - 71g left - 29g eaten. Wild bird seed from a local fruit & veg shop.
Dish 3 - 100g left - none eaten. "Mayfield" wild bird seed from an Edinburgh pet shop.
Dish 4 - 20g left - 80g eaten. Countryside Feathered Friends Wild Bird Special.
Dish 5 - 50g left - 50g eaten. Dawn Chorus Wild Bird Original.
Dish 6 - 55g left - 45g eaten. National Trust All Seasons General Mix.
Dish 7 - 85g left - 15g eaten. Haith's/ Bill Oddie's Really Wild Bird Food.
Dish 8 - 100g left - none eaten. Haith's/ Bill Oddie's Autumn Winter Mix.
Dish 9 - NONE left - 100g eaten. Haith's/ Bill Oddie's 3 in 1 Wild Bird Food.
Other food available :-
Dish 10 - Haith's/ Bill Oddie's Mealworm Munch.
180g in dish - 132g left - 48g eaten.
Dish 11 - Canary Seed from an Edinburgh pet shop.
108g in dish - 102g left - 6g eaten.
Dish 12 - Finch Mix from an Edinburgh pet shop.
160g in dish - 128g left - 32g eaten.
Sultanas and chopped dried apricot, soaked in water & local honey.
Dried mealworms.
Birdseed Pudding (soaked bread,seed,fruit,honey and fat pressed into a dish and left to set).
Millet sprays - 2 hung in a fence and 5 securely tied to a stick which was then stuck into the ground (like an artificial millet plant
).
Mixed seed on the ground (large and small seeds).
Hanging Feeders :-
Peanuts.
Sunflower Hearts.
Nyjer & Canary seed in a nyjer feeder.
General mix.
Finch mix (in a dish in a hanging birdhouse feeder).
And here is a list of what the birds ate :-
Blackbird (male) - Dishes 1,2,pecked at 3,6,7,ate a lot from 9,10,Birdseed Pudding,Dried Mealworms,Fruit,generally pecked around on the ground and ate Finch mix scattered on my pallet ground table.
Blackbird (female) - Dishes 5,pecked at 8,ate a lot from 9,10,12,Birdseed Pudding, fruit, pecked around on the ground and ate Finch mix scattered on the pallet.
Song Thrush - Mostly ate Birdseed Pudding, ate from dish 10 and on the ground.
Starling - Dishes 1,2,4,5,pecked at 8,9,10,12,seed on ground,birdseed pudding,fruit and peanuts (from hanging peanut feeder).
Jackdaw - Ate a lot from dish 9, 10,seed on ground and fruit.
Rook - Ate fruit and seed on the ground.
Wood Pigeon - Ate from dish 9 and seed on the ground.
Robin - Dishes 10 and 12, seed on the ground,fruit,dried mealworms, AND Sunflower Hearts from a hanging feeder.
Dunnock - Ate from dish 12, seed on the ground, finch mix scattered on pallet.
House Sparrow - Ate seed on the ground , finch mix on the pallet and peanuts from the hanging peanut feeder.
Chaffinch - Seed on the ground, Seed spilled from dish 4, pecked at dish 3, Birdseed Pudding, mealworm munch and finch mix on the pallet.
Blue Tit - Sunflower Hearts, Peanuts and Finch Mix all from hanging feeders.
Coal Tit - Sunflower Hearts and Finch Mix from hanging feeders.
Watching the birds today was interesting as their behaviour was different. Some birds wouldn't go near the dishes , when they had eaten from them before. Maybe it was because of the number of dishes on the ground , there aren't normally 12.
Usually , the birds feed in my garden in early morning, early afternoon and just before dark. Today they were coming to feed constantly throughout the day.
The Robin surprised me by eating from the hanging feeder. He was enjoying the sunflower hearts. (I normally put some on the ground but hadn't today).
Some of the birds looked surprised and took a visible step back from the dried mealworms. It's the first time I've put them out.
Although I haven't seen any birds eating the millet sprays I've put out , I don't think it will be long before they realise it is food, (the 5 in a bunch tied to a stick in the ground should attract something).
Anyway , that's this weekends food trial over. I'll have to think of something else for next week as it's very interesting to do these trials
.
) - Blue Tits, House Sparrows , Starlings and a Jackdaw.
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