Bird feeder success (I think)

PeteD · #1 (**permalink**) 30-04-2011, 04:21 PM

At Christmas someone bought my Dad a couple of bird feeders so I went out and bought him a stand for them. However I think I put it too close to the building and all that was visiting was a few Starlings that were feasting on fat balls. Peanuts, sunflower hearts and mixed seed all were ignored.

Last Tuesday I moved the stand another 10 feet away and put up 2 fat ball feeders, 1 sunflower hearts and 1 peanut feeder (I added a nyger seed feeder yesterday). Since then the feeders have been visited by Starlings, Sparrows,Blue tits, Robin, Chaffinches and about 20 minutes ago a Greenfinch. (Camera not at the ready)

Also seen nearby have been Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Mistle thrush, Blackbird, Jackdaw, Great tit and Green Woodpecker.

Pete

lilyrose · #2 (**permalink**) 30-04-2011, 04:33 PM

What a good present. I get a lot of pleasure from watching the birds feed and I am sure your Dad will too. In winter I put sunflower seeds in a feeder on the hanging basket brackets on the house and the Goldfinches and Tits use it so I get a really good close-up from the window.

PeteD · #3 (**permalink**) 30-04-2011, 04:46 PM

It seems that just the fat balls and sunflower hearts are getting most of the attention. Nothing on the nyger seeds yet, and only the occasional peck at the peanuts. Even the local squirrel went for the sunflower hearts.

Pete

PeteD · #4 (**permalink**) 08-05-2011, 12:24 PM

A small update on Dad's feeders. A Goldfinch was seen on the nyger seed feeder this morning and the sunflower hearts are disappearing at quite a rate. Peanuts still more or less ingnored.

While I'm on the subject can anyone recommend a book on bird feeding for Dad?

Pete

Elizabeth B · #5 (**permalink**) 08-05-2011, 01:40 PM

The RSPB New Bird Feeder's Handbook gets a couple of excellent reviews on Amazon:

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds New Bird Feeder's Handbook RSPB: Amazon.co.uk: Robert Burton: Books

It's a Dorling Kindersley book - and their books are very good, though I don't know this particular one.

Oops! I've just had another look and it seems to be out of print, so only available used,

PeteD · #6 (**permalink**) 31-12-2011, 08:03 PM

I've been back with my parents over the holidays and it would seem that the feeders are still a success. Anything up to 15+ goldfinches scrapping and fighting over the sunflower hearts and nyger seed, Starlings going potty over fat balls, with sparrows and the occasional greenfinch popping in between times.

Pete

Tringa · #7 (**permalink**) 31-12-2011, 08:55 PM

Good to hear the feeders are doing well.

The starlings don't bother the feeders in our garden. This may be due to the fat cakes which they really like and, due to squirrels, the feeders are in cages. I think starlings could get through the gaps but it would be a bit of a squeeze.

Interesting that the goldfinches are eating the nyger seed. All the guides say goldfinches like nyger seed.

We have a nyger seed feeder within about 40cm of the feeders with sunflower hearts and a number of times a day (don't know how many but I've seen them up to 6 times) we get a flock (anywhere from 2 to about 20) goldfinches and none of them ever touch the nyger seed. Every now and then I have to empty and clean out the nyger seed.

Hope you have the camera ready some time and post a few photos here.

Dave

PeteD · #8 (**permalink**) 01-01-2012, 08:43 AM

The starlings here are similar to yours, they stick to the fatballs and coconut halves. Peanuts are rarely touched except by the occasional sparrow. Members of the tit family are around but rarely appear on the feeders for some unknown reason. I find the Goldfinches highly amusing when they arrive in such numbers as to cause a queue for the feeder ports.

As for pictures I'm one of those folks who doesn't use a digital camera, instead I use one of my collection of Olympus Om series film cameras.

Pete

ChristineB · #9 (**permalink**) 01-01-2012, 10:32 AM

I started putting myger seed out in the summer and after a month or so the goldfinch arrived and fed on them for two or three months and then disappeared for the autumn. Just in the last couple of weeks a couple have arrived back but seem to be only interested in the sunflower hearts now.

The niger seeds have not gone to waste though - I have about ten lesser redpoll who are always hanging round and go mad on the nyger seed. They've been coming for about a month now. I'd never seen them before so it will be interesting to see how long they stay,