Hi Folks
As Im still buzzing at the Local Waxwings i was trying to think of a way of possibly attracting them to the garden if they were flying past. We have no plants with any berries on other than Honeysuckle so I though maybe I could put slices of apple on cut branches of a peach tree we have in the back garden. I then remembered I had a couple of spare feed hangers (not sure of their proper name) but they have four hooks on each one. I then sliced some cheapy apples into halves and stuck them on the hooks and then hung them in the tree. Has anyone else tried this method of putting apples out and was it successful in any way, and I don't mean just waxwings?
The tree is about 18 foot at its highest and these are at about 8 foot high.
Shane
Regards Shane
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Hi Shane,
You little star!
I have two of those things in my shed - they came with my feeding station and are meant for netted fat balls. (which is why they are in my shed). I will now hang them up with apples on - thank you Shane.
Cheers, Linda.
See my photos on Flickr
I have tried this, but my visiting birds weren't keen and the apples went mouldy.
I'm not sure why the birds didn't like them, as others have suggested that wild birds like apple.
Best wishes Chris
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What a great idea, Shane, I'd never even thought of it! Me and my dudd imagination - I just cut them in half and chuck them on the ground!!
Well Sparrow and Anna it appears Chris had the idea first and it didnt work, I'm still going to give it a try and see what is attracted or not, I'm hoping waxwings have good eyes ;o) I will keep all informed either way good luck to you both if you give it a go too.
My neighbour has hammered nails along our fence boundary and pressed half an apple onto each protruding nail. At one count there were over a dozen blackbirds either eating them or waiting their turn in my trees. It also brought in a Mistle Thrush - no doubt wondering what the attraction was!
CJ
Thinking of it an apple isn't ripe till it falls off the tree, so they expect them to be on the floor.
The mind boggles trying to apply same logic to fat balls tho.... ;)
It's both what you do and the way that you do it!
You cannot fly like an eagle with the wings of a wren. William Henry Hudson (1841 - 1922)
Cool idea and birds like blue tits and blackcaps seems to like those things, however, they won't be able to eat much with those small beaks so may turn mouldy! I think the real apple lovers are blackbirds and thrushes, and they only feed on the ground.... so not sure.
'Dip a dee dah, dip a dee ay, we're not seeing any birds to-day...'
The mouldier the better for the birds - or so I have been told by several on the forum!
My starlings ate the last remaining cooking apples on my neighbour's tree. There again, starlings eat anything.