Bird feeder activity at this time of year

[Deb London]

I thought that the activity at my garden bird feeders might lessen at this time of year. If anything, over the last few weeks, activity has been increasing and I am topping up every week or more. On more than one occasion I have seen seed mix and sunflower hearts being fed to fledglings by their parents (Robins, Coal Tits and Blue Tits and possibly House Sparrows). Great Tit families are visiting the sunflower hearts.

I wonder if this is due to a shortage of garden invertebrates in my area. I was a little concerned about seeds being fed to young, but I have been on the RSPB website and what I'm doing doesn't go against their advice.

If food shortages occur when birds have young in the nest they may be tempted by easy food put on birdtables to make up the shortfall in natural food, initially to feed themselves, but if the situation gets bad enough, they will also take the food to the nest.

From The RSPB: Advice: When to feed wild birds

So I am hopeful I'm doing the right thing (although never truly comfortable with the need to artificially feed any wild animal).

Has anyone else noticed more of a demand at the feeders/tables lately? Or maybe it's quieter at the moment, possibly due to plenty of natural food being available in your area? I'd be interested to hear about other WABBERs' experiences.

[PeteD]

My parents tell me that sunflower hearts and fatballs are being taken as if they're going out of fashion but peanuts and niger seed are not. This is the first year of having the feeders do we don't know if this is unusual or not.

Pete

[earthdragon64]

I'd say that I'm in an area with quite a lot of natural food, I'm on the west edge of the village and there is fairly extensive mixed woodland starting less than 1km away, and unimproved grassland and farmland just over 1km away.

I find in my garden that there is a bit of a lull in spring, which is when I think the birds are sitting on eggs, then feeding nestlings. For example, during most of the year I get 20+ Chaffinches in my garden every day, but then I have a few weeks with only 4 to 6. After that I'll see a couple of fledglings being fed and the numbers will gradually increase over another couple of weeks. This is true of other species I get in my garden as well, although the high and low numbers may be at slightly different times, with some species, such as Coal Tits, being absent for much of the spring/summer. There can then be a bit of a quiet spell whilst adult birds moult.

After the lull now, more birds are starting to appear back in the garden. I was woken up this morning at about 5.45am by what sounded like a gang of Starlings, there were actually only 3, a parent feeding 2 fledglings. I went out to sort out my moth trap, as I didn't want the moths to be part of the Starlings breakfast, whilst I was out, more Starlings arrived until there were over 30, a mix of adults and fledglings

Back inside with a cup of coffee, I was watching the Starlings, I find them absolutely fascinating. Some fledglings were just following the parent birds demanding food, others were feeding themselves on seed that had dropped, and some were feeding themselves on natural stuff in the garden. I've got quite an untidy garden with sprawling shrubs in raised beds made from broken paving stones, which give lots of nooks and crannies for birds to feed in. The lawn was cut the other day and is great for birds worming, there were also some recently fledged Blackbirds worming as well.

There's a footpath outside my garden and an area of grass and trees between us and the next street, the council keep the grass quite short and quite a few of the 30+ Starlings have moved onto that area now, but they'll be back and forward.

I don't think that it's a particularly bad thing that birds bring fledglings to feed at feeding stations, it's almost as though the parents birds are showing the fledglings where they can find food. They don't always spend a long time before moving on, maybe to other gardens with bird food, or to more natural food sources.

Regards, Audrey.

[Gill Catton]

See I know the advice by cleverer people than me say its fine. But to me, robins and tits especially should be eating insects at this time of year and adults should be showing the chicks the skills they need to find such things for themselves and surely this is best done now while there's a glut and its not too tricky to find them - making the young proficient by winter when such skills may save their life (assuming they don't end up lucky enough to be in a garden with feeders).

I worry that adult birds just do whats easier and take their chicks to the fast food joint. I know that again the advice is that with nestlings that the adults eat the bird seed from feeders while finding invertebrates for their young but I'm not convinced that the adults won't do whatever is easiest even if it may be to the nutritional detriment of their offspring (just as so many humans do!)

Its why this time of year I don't feed anything other than the odd bit of suitable left overs. I also see feeders as an excellent way for diseases to spread presumably especially when its warm and microbes and fungi are not killed or slowed down by cold weather.

Even if there was a lack of invertebrates to my mind, so be it that's nature. Animals will live or starve to the capacity of an area just as it should be.

Controversial opinions I know!

[Pipa]

one trick you can do which is what i do with my feeding station.. i feed the birds various kinds of food from various feeders, however i also sprinkle food around the gravel and under shrubs (my area is patio and gravel where the feeding station is) by placing mealworms and such in the gravel it encourages the babys to forage and dig around under the gravel and not just take food directly out of a food tray

i wouldnt be worried about birds not bothering to teach their young and just take the easy option, nature is not as lazy as us humans they do bring their young to the feeding stations but they will also take them away and teach them to find natural food too

[Gill Catton]

Originally Posted by Pipa

one trick you can do which is what i do with my feeding station.. i feed the birds various kinds of food from various feeders, however i also sprinkle food around the gravel and under shrubs (my area is patio and gravel where the feeding station is) by placing mealworms and such in the gravel it encourages the babys to forage and dig around under the gravel and not just take food directly out of a food tray

i wouldnt be worried about birds not bothering to teach their young and just take the easy option, nature is not as lazy as us humans they do bring their young to the feeding stations but they will also take them away and teach them to find natural food too

I'm not convinced, A chick who spends all day every day looking for insects will be better at it come winter than those that only spent part of their time looking.

[Pipa]

Originally Posted by Gill Catton

I'm not convinced, A chick who spends all day every day looking for insects will be better at it come winter than those that only spent part of their time looking.

i guess your point is why wildlife experts encourage you not to stop feeding your birds in the winter once you have started feeding them earlier in the year, if you feeding them from stations then you should keep doing so throughout the winter, they do say the birds get used to that food source being there and if you suddenly take it away it make the birds life a bit more difficult

but then you have other options instead by planting your garden with shrubs/bushes/plants that encourage insects/caterpillars/berries and such and then your garden will be a natural food source for the chicks to go out and catch their food instead of feeding them from feeding stations

[moog]

Our feeders are definitely busier at the moment, have been for about 3/4 weeks now. To begin with, we mainly just had a lot of sparrows and blackbirds, the odd robin and dunnock, but in the past week and a half, lots of birds we haven't seen in months and months have returned.

Nuthatch started showing up again very regularly a month ago, and in the past week greenfinches, goldfinches, greater spotted woodpecker, and loads of coal tits, great tits and blue tits. Also had starlings and a jay (never had them before). Collared dove has also returned, so the garden has suddenly become very busy and I'm refilling the seed feeders daily. Peanuts and niger seed take them longer to get through, but as PeteD noted, fatballs are going like they're going out of fashion. Woodpecker and goldfinches have started to bring chicks in the past couple of days too.

[artdemole]

Activity has slowed down on the feeding.Parent birds have been coming.They need the regular food supply for themselves.Some young have been shown th ropes but then off to the natural pickings.Squirrel and 2 young have been around.But as for water tray and the bird bath then that is in very regular use.This sheltered housing bungalow is open plan.Out the back only a few feet is a field with plenty of activity on the trees and hedges.The birds Do know where to come.So provided for.They must need It.Fields are not what they used to be with all that goes on them these days....aDm...

[Deb London]

Interesting observations and views.

I do sometimes think about the artificial situation that I am creating. I am pursuing more natural ways to feed birds. I'm growing some seed plants for the autumn and trying to select garden plants that attract invertebrates for the birds to feed on. I do scatter seed in different places instead of on the birds table sometimes. Not sure if it'll make a difference.

I don't want to stop feeding them as I have just started getting House Sparrows and I think they need all the help they can get.