Food for small nesting birds. Inexpensive options.

[ricwine]

My garden has two squirrel proof bird feeders , a bird table and 2 fat ball feeders. The feeders have Niger seeds and peanuts, also Sunflower seeds in the husk and husked. Mixed grain seed and raisens and sultanas.

I also put out bread daily. This is all eaten by Wrens and Tits all the way upto Woodpeckers and members of the crow family. This is rearing season and my seeds feeders are going virtually unused. Why is this. I dont want to fork out for live meal worms. So can anybody recommend is a alternative that especially tits and finches will go for.

Help appreciated as i want to keep my birds happy all year round.

richard

[feathered-friend]

They seem to be going for the suet blocks at the moment, however we have a pair of greater spotted woodpeckers that demolish them in 2 days so home made fat blocks are cheaper but put them out of the sun!

Also I buy big bags of madeleine cakes fairly cheap and crumble them for the blue and great tits, I think they have been appreciated as a supplement (though not ideal) while the grubs have been scarce!

[ricwine]

Originally Posted by feathered-friend

They seem to be going for the suet blocks at the moment, however we have a pair of greater spotted woodpeckers that demolish them in 2 days so home made fat blocks are cheaper but put them out of the sun!

Also I buy big bags of madeleine cakes fairly cheap and crumble them for the blue and great tits, I think they have been appreciated as a supplement (though not ideal) while the grubs have been scarce!

I can do that and I have the same fantastic woodpecker visitors. Its a good idea and the cake will get a try out. Thanks....

[astarsdad]

Hi,

I keep all my old oil used for frying and roasting. I dice up old bread and fry it. Using old potatoes I fry them and chop them up, at the moment I have some old porridge oats that I fry with the bread. I mix them all together and put a full soup bowl out a day in the morning. The mix has usually disappeared by 2 pm. I use an old ceramic soup bowl as it is easier to clean every day. Starlings, sparrows, robins, tits, blackbirds, wood pigeons find it very attactive.

Terry

[SheffieldLass]

Originally Posted by ricwine

... This is rearing season and my seeds feeders are going virtually unused. Why is this. ....

richard

It may well be that the birds are finding enough natural food at the moment, in particular insects, so don't need to supplement with the seed. I wouldn't worry. I'd be more worried if I saw the tits flying off with mouthfuls of seed to feed their young (at least whilst they are still in the nest). Once fledged they seem to be ok with seeds in their diet, though.

[ricwine]

Originally Posted by astarsdad

Hi,

Starlings, sparrows, robins, tits, blackbirds, wood pigeons find it very attactive.

Terry

The similiar system that I use is that I fill cocunut shells with a similar recipe. The MAJOR problem is squirrels. Who always get them in the end. They will jump or dive and crash. And have outwitted all sorts of squirrel proof systems. This includes an old biscuit tin that i converted into a squirrel proof' feeder. A small hole was drilled with just enough room for tits to get in. One day i watched a medium sized squirrel squeeze in and eat virtually the entire contents. I could have crept up and made it a squirrel tin. But i just shooed it off.
One question though, do the birds go off the fat in the summer ?.

Thanks Rich

[ricwine]

[quote=SheffieldLass;627925]It may well be that the birds are finding enough natural food at the moment, in particular insects, so don't need to supplement with the seed.

Thats what I thought. But maybe naively i had the desire to make my feeders a ;babycare' flythru !. I find a mix of scattering the food under bushes and on the lawn. With the bird table and feeders hung from trees. Will attract different birds who like to feed in different ways. Unfortunately this also attracts those GREEDY squirrels.

Thanks Richard