sunflower hearts and birdfeeders

[Haagston]

Hello,
Just a quick question and slight plea for help.
I've always put out sunflower hearts as many forums and the RSPB rave about them, however they are never touched in my garden and I end up throwing away black mouldy hearts. This may have something to do with the abundance of cats that roam around the area, however the story is not the same for the mixed seed and suet and fat blocks, they disappear very quickly!

So I was wondering if anyone could offer a suggestion as to why the birds in the area, mainly a selection of tits and the occasional starling, don't like sunflower hearts?

Also the are a few collared doves and pigeons in the area which seem to have the monopoly on bird tables and feeders, is there anything these pests won't eat so maybe I'll be able to encourage some more interesting birds to the garden?

David

[Shrike]

are your sunflower hearts in a finch feeder the ones with the multiple perches?

[~T~]

Tits and starlings will eat them but prefer fatballs and other scraps. But once the finches and house sparrows find the hearts they become a magnet. If you have no finches or house sparrows around though I could see why hearts wouldn't be eaten.

[Jim Ford]

Use whole sunflower seeds.

The seed coat is there for a reason - to protect the kernel against deterioration from mould and the oils going rancid.

Jim

[Haagston]

Hi
Thanks for the replies!

It is in a feeder with 2 perches, I have put them in feeders with 4 perches before and same result, I leave them whole and pour them in as they come out of the packet, it could be that there aren't any finches or house sparrows about and the tits prefer the mix, suet and fat feeds, I think I may have to try something else, I've tried relocating them to quieter parts of the garden where there is more growth, not tried hanging them in a tree yet perhaps thats an idea, although there are a few rogue squirrels that venture in every now and then......

Any other ideas for food I could try instead of the sunflower hearts??

Thanks for your ideas!

[roseway]

As Jim said, black sunflower seeds. Tits and finches like them, and they don't squash down into a soggy mess when it rains.

[Meta menardi]

Why do white sunflower seeds get ignored, while black ones are scoffed very quickly?

[Jim Ford]

Originally Posted by Meta menardi

Why do white sunflower seeds get ignored, while black ones are scoffed very quickly?

I don't know - I only use the black ones.

We get sunflowers popping up all over the place in early summer, because the tits and nuthatches cache them in odd places!

Jim

[Cotham Marble]

Originally Posted by Haagston

Also the are a few collared doves and pigeons in the area which seem to have the monopoly on bird tables and feeders, is there anything these pests won't eat so maybe I'll be able to encourage some more interesting birds to the garden?

The pigeons/doves probably act to indicate to other birds that food is present so they may not be acting as a detterent to other birds - however keeping u with their consumption rate is a problem. You refrr to emptying seed from 'packets' - you can vastly reduce your outlay on bird feed by buyin in bulk, there are a number of online suppliers but Vinehouse Farm is worth a look at. Even with reduced cost keeping up with pigeon consumption can be a practical problem - if you have a roofed bird table you can reduce the size of access by fixing lengths of garden cane across the openings so only the smaller bird species can get access. For ground feeders, spreading the feed in hedge bottoms and under dense shrubs gives the smaller species a slight edge.

CM

[Jim Ford]

With us, the doves and pigeons only get what the tits etc. drop to the ground.

Jim