"Eat at Joe's" !

[Tony O-P.]

Not being very experienced at this 'feeding the birds' malarky....(using the information from this site and Tony Soper's book) I've made up the 'fat balls' bought seed feeder (singular) and peanut feeders (two) and hung them from the apple trees in our small garden.

Sat there in the conserve and watched the occasional starling spearing the fat ball and a blue tit attacking the peanuts, but it wasn't untill I moved the feeding 'units' futher away from the conservatory and passed a string over a high branch and pulled a feeder into a very much higher position to indicate that there is free nosh that the birds are starting to appear. My next task is to find out how to feel meal worms to the birds.

This may seem a mundane thread to 'you'se out there' who have been doing this kind of thing for years, but for a late starter it's all very gratifying. If you promise not to tell anyone, it's very theraputic when suffering from severe clinical depression as well! Cheers and thanks, Tony

[glsammy]

Not at all mundane, to me it's all still very much a learning game. I'm still not happy with my feeder positions and I've also recently made some changes which seem to be working better.

I'm with you on the satisfaction it brings, I always get a kick first thing in the morning when I look out at the the birds feeding. Not that I get that many I should hasten to add!
The few I get are always welcome and there's often a surprising first visitor to look forward to seeing. Recently we've been getting a single male chaffinch in our garden, you wouldn't believe the amount of excitement this most mundane of birds brings to us every time we see it!

[Tony O-P.]

I think I might have seen a Dunnock........Why don't they have bar codes on their plumage to tell us what they are! Cheers, Tony.

[Geoff F]

Feeders do need to be somewhere that birds feel happy and safe. After a while you may be able to move them closer to the house, as long as they are sufficiently off the ground and away from cover where cats can lurk in hiding. My cat has a habit of hiding in tuffs of ornamental grass.

I find that 'my' birds don't bother much with fat balls during the summer but soon start pecking at them once the weather gets colder. The peanut feeder is in constant use throughout the year, particularly with younger birds.

I draw the line at buying worms on cost grounds, but have plenty of shrubs with berries.

ps. Is Tony Soper still around? I used to see him regularly here, S. Devon, but haven't seen or heard anything about him for several years.

[Wild-Woman]

Originally Posted by Tony O-P.

I think I might have seen a Dunnock........Why don't they have bar codes on their plumage to tell us what they are! Cheers, Tony.

Lol....yeah that'd be a good idea on certain waders and gulls too.

I think it's great that you are feeding your birds and raising your spirits too.Well done mate!

[Hedge Witch]

Sounds great Tony. If you are able to take some shots of the birds, it'll help with your bar code problems.

I think mealworms are fed in a dish - I seem to remember seeing a dish being sold for this purpose in a catalogue

[Wild-Woman]

Originally Posted by Hedge Witch

I think meal worms are fed in a dish - I seem to remember seeing a dish being sold for this purpose in a catalogue

Yes a dish is used but the only thing is that mealworms are just so expensive.

[pressld2]

If they had bar codes we could have scanners built into our cameras that would write the species name straight into the Exif data!

We have fat balls, peanuts and, as of this year, nijer seed but haven't fed meal worms yet. Numpty questions: do you buy them live? And, if so, how long before they turn into whatever insect they are presumably the larvae of?

Dave P.

[monkey]

Im lucky and get a lot of beautiful birds in the garden due to the close proximity of a large wood but my main problem is trying to stop the squirrels destroying the feast before the birds get a look inI know it is discussed often on WAB but I do love to see the birds fling in and spend ages rushing out or banging on the window etc etc trying to stop the squirrels costing me a fortune

Hope you get lots of birds Tony

Linda

[Blackbrook Eye]

Originally Posted by pressld2

We have fat balls, peanuts and, as of this year, nijer seed but haven't fed meal worms yet. Numpty questions: do you buy them live? And, if so, how long before they turn into whatever insect they are presumably the larvae of?

Dave P.

I have been breeding my own mealworms for about eighteen months and once you have bought your initial stock, you only need a dozen or so to start a collony, the cost amounts to a kilo bag of porridge oats once a year and a few slices of apple, potato or something along those lines to provide them with moisture for drinking, you can then leave them in a jar or some other container to get on with it, no need for a lid on the container, they don't go anywhere. They will eventually turn into Darklin beetles via pupation and the whole process begins again.
As mealworms they will keep for several months in a cool atmosphere and can be kept almost indefinately in a refridgerator.
Hope this is of use.

Keith