As several of us have mentioned our House Sparrows are particularly difficult to please and will shun a feeder for no apparent reason. I originally bought the cheapest plastic feeders and because I was getting a lot of sparrows I merrily went off and bought some smarter and more hard wearing seed feeders to accommodate them.
Well they were not accommodated because they would not use them. Where they had been feeding for long periods of time and lining up along the fence to have ago: I was getting one or two at a time and they barely stayed for a few seconds.
Well after reading in my new book (I won't bore you further, I have mentioned it in two other posts) It said that sparrows liked to feed together and very close to shelter. So off I went and bought two of the favoured plastic four port seed feeders and placed them in the back of my Diabolo shrub near the conifer. INSTANT success!!!
They came in large numbers, stayed all afternoon and chatted to the starlings and had a drink too. Will it last I wonder. Here are a few pics. The drawback being you cannot see them on the feeders!
I've learned that I still have a lot to learn...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bramble67/
I've never had any sparrows, and in fact I don't think I've ever seen one round here at all, but I do have some conifers, so maybe if I put up feeders they might be attracted.
What do they like to eat best?
BB
Mine prefer bog standard mixed seed. They will occasionally take some peanuts but do not touch the sunflower hearts or fat/suet products
Hope you get some
Sarah
Hi Bramble,
Lovely pics of your Sparrows.Mine like to eat Robin mix,fat balls,peanuts and sunflower hearts.
Littleowl
Just goes to show how their tastes differ. The ones my mum gets in Devon tend only to take peanuts from the hanging feeder
Hi Sarah
Great news about your group of Sparrows. You have suited their needs and they love what you have done to keep them happy.
Love your pictures including the bungee jumping bird to LOL!
Yes, the Sparrows we have in our bush stick by their bush too - it is a safe haven for them.
I place food with a window feeder, and the Sparrows are a little shy of that (though they did use the window feeder in my last house). I also place seed 'openly scattered' on top of the dividing wall, and they go for the food with gusto. They are confident with open feeding (no feeders) within a lot of foilage nearly 3 feet not far from their favourite bush, and they like that a lot.
I put out a mixture of foodstuffs, and it is well received. I have seen Sparrows feed form my ground feeders to but they are more reluctant to do that. Sparrows will feed from fat ball feeders if they feel inclined that they, and they will do that too.
Maybe it is their name sake and they have a real fear of Sparrowhawks
Love to see more pictures Sarah {big smile}
Regards
Kathy and Dave
Hi Badgerbread,
Sparrows are notoriously difficult little blighters. They love conifer bushes, and any feeders need to be as close as possible, preferably touching the bushes so they can hop on and off without flying. Mine eat ordinary seed and sunflower hearts mixed with peanut granules, plus they love berry suet pellets and mealworms. I find mine prefer either a flat feeder mounted on a fence, or seed scattered on the ground. They also use a hanging feeder that has a flat tray at the bottom, but I rarely see them perch on feeder perches, although they are quite able to do this.
Good luck with attracting them. They are worth the effort.
Cheers, Linda.
See my photos on Flickr