I have been an avid bird watcher for many years. I have a large garden and recently my husband made me a new bird table which is situated at the top of my garden so I can watch the birds come to feed. About a month ago 2 long tailed tits visited the table. I always thought long tails came in flocks so I was very surprised when this pair came time & time again so to encourage them to stay I bought a variety of foodstuff to keep them here. To my amazement they were more interested in the mashed potato I put out daily for the blackbirds!! My long tails are now here all the time feasting on fresh mashed potato. I have also had the pleasure of a pair of bullfinches this year happily bathing in my waterfall. I am truly a well satisfied couch potato now. I have now bought a remote sensor garden cam/video and hope to port the pictures for you to see.
Kathy
for that you will get a grotty photo of my garden, thro' window, today. No you won't, don't know how to do it!! Must do better, that's what they told me at school 60 years ago.
Lot to learn
gaynorsl said: ........................... Must do better, that's what they told me at school 60 years ago.
........................... Must do better, that's what they told me at school 60 years ago.
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These 2 are always at my suet block. In the summer I had a whole family of them, the babies must go off by the winter.
I have been looking for a way to attract LTTs, we had a family visit us a couple of years back but they haven't returned, I'll have to try the mash & bread options, does anyone have any other sure fire 'menus' ;-)
I've got a caged feeder which holds live mealworms, sunflower hearts and the LTTs favourite - Fairy Cakes (Tesco Value) - 60p for 12!! There's a suet cake holder and suet pellet feeder outside of the cage but honestly, the LTTs don't seem to be interested in anything else but the fairy cakes. I get them in the garden every day apart from the breeding months when they're occasional visitors.
Baby Blue and Great Tits also sit munching the cake and although it probably isn't the most nutritious food in the world, I feel it gets them by the initial period that they're independent from mum and dad.
Blimey reading these old posts brings back memories!!!
As for the LTT's. still think they prefer the fat balls or even sunflower hearts in this garden. Mustn't forget the pastry.
Mash potato warning: Potatoes do absorb a lot of salt - in fact if extra salt accidentally falls into food the sure trick to eliminate it is to add a potato. I will try the potato trick too but I think I will boil a couple of potatoes separately for them.
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"Any glimpse into the life of an animal quickens our own and makes it so much the larger and better in every way." John Muir
Unknown said: I have been looking for a way to attract LTTs, we had a family visit us a couple of years back but they haven't returned, I'll have to try the mash & bread options, does anyone have any other sure fire 'menus' ;-)
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Regards, Hazel
Tried and tested and works a treat! Btw Hazel, last time I added a couple of eggs in the mix - then I hung out one feeder with the egg pastry and one without it. Guess which one went first ... WWII!!!
Instead of flour, I've tried using the 'dust' from a sack of mealworm suet pellets. I get through a sack every 6 weeks or so, which gives quite a lot of bits to use up. Seems to work!