My Peanut Feeder is left now untouched by birds

Hi there

Love to hear peoples views about this subject

Regards

Kathy and Dave

Hi Blackbird,

The tits used to love the peanuts, but I had to give up on it myself because I got fed up with fighting the squirrels off the feeder!

Hi Mozziecat

Thank you for your post.

Good point with the feeders - it seems to be different area to area

It looks although your birds have taken to your peanut feeder like no-ones business.  They have adapted to it.  At my old address the Peanuts where consumed at a faster rate.  We also had a great Spotted Woodpecker that ate them too.

I wonder if I should get a smaller peanut feeder so the Peanuts do not mouldy so readily.  This is to see what bird like nuts to begin with.

I think the new place must be the answer for peanut lovers - I pray hope such a lot.

Regards

Kathy and Dave

Hi Blackbird,

                   I have to say the opposite about my peanut feeder! The sparrows now rule it. And wherever I move it, they find it within 5 minutes! I wish I had great spotted woodpecker! I don't even get blue tits now.

                   Coal :-)

Over that week or two, I have noticed the peanut feeders emptying much faster than they had been - and it isn't squirrels, as so many of those have been shot they have become a rarety in the area. I refilled two nut feeders on Tuesday - both are almost empty today. Tits - great, blue and coal especially - and nuthatches seem mostly responsible, but sparrows and finches, and a couple of woodpeckers have also been spotted enjoying them.

Perhaps the colder nights have something to do with it?

I too have noticed on my feeders that the peanuts are not being eaten, and I was puzzled until I read this thread and realised that it appears to be widespread (I'm on the Isle of Sheppey)

However one train of thought may be that if you are all offering a variety of food, the birds may be taking advantage of the easier and quicker food to take i.e, fat balls/seed, I have found that throughout the Winter and spring the peanuts were by and large ignored, whereas the seed and fat balls disappeared in a very short time.

I decided to carry out a small experiment - letting the fat balls and seeds run out and just leaving the nuts, the results were that most of the species went elswhere, whilst the starlings and Doves had a go at the nuts.

So it may be possible that the birds are merely spoilt for choice and are choosing the "soft" option.

I might also add that variety of species has been extremely low over the last few years.

I have noticed that once any young around the gardens or fields have fledged the parents and young tend to vanish for several weeks and the nuts get left apart from a visit from Starlings etc which will tuck into them.I think the birds find more protein in the insects thta they feed on and use the nuts as a bit of a suppliment at times

Now that we are getting on in the year the birds{Blue Tits,Great Tits,Sparrows} have this last week been coming back to the nut feeders etc.I got fed up as well with having to keep changing them and even found that as soon as I put out a nice fresh lot the weather would change and we would get rain to soak them all again.

I think that now the weather is changing again to the colder weather and the insects have either died of naturally or been eaten by the birds,they start coming back into the gardens and usually stay around right through to the summer months when they once again vanish to moult and feed up with natural food,so the cycle goes on.Mine very rarely take whole nuts but just peck tiny bits out of each nut

I would just persivere and see how it goes,or else move the nuts to a different location in the garden and see what happens....