Help With Feeding Station

[Chris_h]

I have set up a feeding station on a local Farm in Norfolk and I am hoping to photograph various birds at the site.

I set up the feeding station just over two weeks ago, using peanuts, black sunflower seeds, a fat cake and a few days ago I added nyger seeds in a nyger feeder and a few meal worms to the feeding station.

The problem I am having is that while I have plenty of Blue tits and great tits visiting I have seen nothing else, I am not sure if I am being a bit impaintent but I am also not sure if I chose the best place to site the feeding station. I have placed the feeding station in an area near to a large pond, it gets plenty of light and its quite open but at the same time is only about ten meters from quite a few small tress and hedges. There are plenty of other areas I could place the feeding station including areas on other parts of the farm such as near a small woods or near some hedge rows.

Do birds mind the area being quite open and how long will it generally take for other birds to start finding the food.

Hopefully someone can help me.

Chris

[Gill Catton]

hmmm these things are so varyable sometimes birds find feeders in minutes - sometimes it can take weeks for not apparent reason at all....... It sounds like you're doing all the right things, a variety of feeders and food types will eventually attact a range of birds. Of course you could take the opportunity to get a really unusual shot of a blue or a great tit, good behavioural shots rather than the usualy standard portrait shots?

[eeyore]

although for some species 10m from cover might be a bit far - perhaps you could split the feeding station and locate some feeders closer to cover to see if this has any benefit.

do you have any particular target species in mind ?

[Chris_h]

I do not really have any target species in mind I would really like to target a range of birds such as Goldfinches, Greenfinches, nuthatch, chaffinch, Robin, Great Spotted Woodpecker etc.

[smartie]

Originally Posted by eeyore

although for some species 10m from cover might be a bit far - perhaps you could split the feeding station and locate some feeders closer to cover to see if this has any benefit.

I'd agree with this. My experience is that a lot of the birds like to pop out of cover and dash back in again after feeding. The feeders I have hung on the edge of a large hedge get most traffic.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Chris_h

I do not really have any target species in mind I would really like to target a range of birds such as Goldfinches, Greenfinches, nuthatch, chaffinch, Robin, Great Spotted Woodpecker etc.

for nuthatch and gsw you want to put up a log with peanuts or peanut paste (not peanut butter which can contain harmfull additives), and/or fat cake worked into the bark or jammed into small holes drilled in the log - either dig the log into the ground or hang it vertically so it looks natural in the photos

beyond that it sounds as though you are doing everything right except perhaps the feeders being a bit far from cover.

from a photography point of view you could also errect some natural looking perches, logs branches etc etc , and also think about keeping background clean , you dont want to get a fantastic shot of a nuthatch with an out of focus feeder beyond it - ideally you want a monocoloured background such as hedge or hillside sufficiently far beyond the feeders/perches that an apperture of f5.6 or f8 will throw it out of focus - if this isnt possible you could look at hanging up some cam net to simulate it.

have fun , and i look forward to seeing your shots

[nightshade]

I have found that more than a metre from cover
makes birds edgy in my own garden.This was established
by the the simple "selfish method" I put the feeders where I
(selfishly) wanted them and moved them a few feet at a time
until the birds started using them regularly where they felt safe

[Chris_h]

Thank you all for your help, I could move the feeders a bit closer to some trees. I could also move my hide between a few of the tress and have the birds fly over the hide to the feeders but I am not sure if the hide being so close tress is going to bother them as I am not able keep the hide up permantley.

[eeyore]

Originally Posted by Chris_h

Thank you all for your help, I could move the feeders a bit closer to some trees. I could also move my hide between a few of the tress and have the birds fly over the hide to the feeders but I am not sure if the hide being so close tress is going to bother them as I am not able keep the hide up permantley.

its a shame the hide cant stay up because changes will definitely deter some of the shyer species - particularly with this in mind i wouldnt put the hide on a major flightline in both from a disturnbance point of view and because you ideally want to be able to see the birds flying in rather than having them come from behind you.

another key point regarding hide positioning (assuming you have a choice) is lighting - you dont want the sun shining straight into your lens ideally (although contre jour shots can look good you dont want it on every shot and anyway it will play havoc with your metering ) so positioning will depend partly on when you are planning on being in the hide.

i highly reccomend chris gomersals book , photographing wild birds , for more info and advice - he used to be the staff photographer at the rspb so knows a lot of stuff , full details are in our review section. http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/re...uct/411/cat/68

[Barbara]

Hi Chris
I have found that my garden visitors love to sit in the bushes near to the feeders, where they feel safe, they will take food from the feeders and take it to the bushes to eat. Sometimes they will eat near the feeders but I have found they usually only do this if they have cover under which to eat. I moved an archway and a climbing rose which I used to hang some feeders from and this also had a branch underneath where they could perch and eat in comfort, once I took this away they always flew of with their food. I now have a large dead conifer branch which I have laid lengthways between two trees and they will happily perch under this and eat their food. I don't think that moving your hide about will bother them at all. Last year I moved all my feeders from one side of the garden to the other and within the space of ten minutes they were happily feeding at the new feeding station. A hide is a fabulous idea and I am sure you will spend many a happy moment in it. Look forward to seeing your images.
Barbara