Hi and welcome W_Hurst
There is some advice about feeding birds on the site here
Thanks for those links
Like the OP, I too am trying to increase the number of birds in the garden. Having seen blue tits, blackbirds and a greenfinch in and around my garden earlier in the year, I decided recently to set up a hanging feeding station; it seems to have brought in mainly starlings and wood pigeons and the birds that I had originally wanted to encourage have all but disappeared. There are plenty of sparrows - I think that they nest in the large hedge - though they seem put off feeding by the starlings.
I have put out peanuts, fat balls and two mixed seed hangers, plus fruit and other bits on the lawn/patio and table, as well as water.
I live in the suburbs, overlooking fields; there are plenty of magpies around, mainly in the far neighbour's fir tree.
Is it just a matter of time?
~ deliver me in a black-winged bird ~
Hello PandaMark,
I am by no means an expert, but I recently came across other posters, who were asking the same. The answer there was almost always, that this has indeed to do with the time of the year. The birds can find lots of insects and seed everythere, so they don't need to rely on their human friends and don't frequent feeding-stations as much as in winter.
I hope this helps a bit and makes your mind a bit easier.
From my own experience I can tell, that here at my place the birds tend to leave our feeding-station alone around the ends of march, so we usually stop feeding at that time, and resume feeding again at the beginnings of november, depending on the weather. But I also have to say that we live in a rural area, where all the neighbours have gardens, and I live just 50 metres away from the village-boundaries, so there is usually enough food around for the birds. In other towns or villages the needs of the birds might be different.
I'll be interested to read what others might say.
Until then: Kind regards,
Bente
Hi W_Hurst - I picked up a great tip for this time if year. Feed Sultanas, this is excellent food type right now. I go through a bag every 2/3 days at the mo. They're cheap enough to buy at your local Aldi or similar.
Hope this helps!
Andrew