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Food Variety

Russell M
03/07/2017 23:33
Good afternoon, Since we moved into our place late last year, I've been trying to get as much wildlife in as possible. I've installed a reasonable-size wildlife pond in the corner, and put up a couple of seed feeders and a peanut holder. I used to feed mealworm to a blackbird until the local sparrowhawk put an end to the fun, and two fat pigeons ate most of my grass seed. Is there anything else I should be providing variety? I don't know if fat balls are used outside of winter. I get a lot of sparrows and robins at the seed feeder, but the finches and tits never come out of the one tree in the garden. I've no idea what eats the peanuts, as it's hidden away in a jasmine arch. Sorry about the presentation of this post; the forum is removing all of my formatting.
  • 0 03/07/2017 23:50

    Hello Russell, I feed all year round by givping seed, nuts, Niger seed, sunflower hearts and fat balls/cakes/logs. I am up in Caithness at the very top of Scotland and get a good variety of visitors. You probably get some the same and different ones visiting. Something to try if you want to and many on here do. Is make home made pastry. Quick and easy and cheap to make. Mix half fat to flour  (shop own brand) and add to it anything that you fancy, suet, grated cheese, dried fruits, seed, chopped nuts and add a splash of water just to form a ball. Keep in the fridge for a few hours, the more you make the more you have and you can shape and fill any kind of feeder or pull of pieces and squeeze around branches or twigs. The birds love it, but be aware you will need to keep making it! Some cook pasta and add cheap cat or dog, for corvids. for Good luck.

    edit. Just re read this and have corrected my awful spelling and grammar!

    Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

  • 0 04/08/2017 08:17

    People forget to give water on hot days and a big flat tray in a safe place near hedge cover or on a flat shed roof is perfect for drinking water and bathing.  I can have a dozen starlings mixed with sparrows fighting to get in for baths and they drink all day long when it's hot.  They like to sunbathe in dust and bark chippings too with their beaks open panting when it's hot

  • 0 04/08/2017 08:31

    I feed 2 featherless young jackdaws on seed sandwiches cut into one inch squares. Butter seeded bread with crunchy peanut butter, layered with robin mix, sunflower seeds, suet bits, peanut chips, corn and mealworms.  Dip the squares in water with bird vitamins and throw to their beaks to catch or onto a safe wall or shed roof, they will come every hour when cold or every 2-3 hours when hot.  One tame bird has been coming every day for a year

  • 0 08/08/2017 22:15 in reply to Goldie

    Well I picked up some massive containers of fat balls for next to nothing in B&M; nothing much touched them for a week, and now it empties in a couple of days from sparrows alone.

    There's never less than 4 or 5 running around underneath it looking for the cast-offs!