Where to put a birdfeeder ...

[Farmer_Gyles]

On cub camp earlier this year, my son made a bird feeder - it's small mesh - similar ones in garden center labelled as bird peanut feeders to attract blue tit, great tit (and couple of other tits) and a woodpecker (black and white one)

question is, where should i put it .....
i could hang it from an apple tree or a pear tree
or i could tie it to a fencepost ... but which one?

is it a good thing having tits and woodpeckers feeding from a bird feeder around my veggie patch?
will they eat the peanuts instead of bugs that attack veggies?
or will they go for my fruit as well?
or will the birdfeeder attract other birds i don't want?
or should i put the bird feeder away from the veggies?

i just don't know if the birdfeeder and the tits is a good thing or a bad thing!
anyone got any clues??

[sewer rat]

Birdfeeders will attract all sorts of birds initiallt but they won't all hang around. Generally, birds should be considered a positive thing - I don't have enough of what are collectively known as garden birds - sparrows, robins blackbirds etc - all I ssem to have are crows, rooks and pigeons the occassional cormorant, grey partridges and oystercatchers and a resident family of pied wagtails.
If you can hang the feeder from one of your fruit trees that would be ideal.
The birds may have a nibble at your fruit, but they would do that anyway.
If you fed peanuts in it then you are less likely to get ground feeders that would definitely appear if you put wild bird seed type mix in it.

[shirlthegirl43]

The only bit of advice I would give is hang it where the poop won't matter!

[nick the grief]

Mine are hanging from the Silver Birch at the bottom of hte garden as they get more use there than at the bird table I have near the top nd - so thats going to move as well.

The poop isn't a problem - it's the escaped seeds that sprout everywher that are the pain especially when your 19YO daughter asks what the nice pointy leafed plant are and whe you say hemp they smile & start sniggering then you have to convince them it's not "that sort" of Hemp

[Alison]

I spent ages wondering where to put ours so that they weren't too close to the house as I didn't want our presence to put the birds off, away from things I was growing that the birds would also want and also out of reach of the cats as that would be some kind of entrappment which didn't seem right. Ended up putting them on one of those crook pole things which is in the middle of one of the flower borders. Don't know if it's ideal but it seems to work for us and the birds eat what we put out so can't be too bad.

[Digger-07]

I don't think it matters but stick to peanuts if you don't want seeds germiniating under it. We have a lush bed of niger plants (whatever they are) under a feeder the greenfinch use.

[Alice]

If you want to see the birds Farmet Gyles, put the feeder where you can see it from the comfort of your armchair. I have mine about 3 yards from the house. It is also in close proximity to some shrubs, they seem to like not being completely out in the open but able to jump in and out from the shelter of the shrubs. And do put some water near by - they like to have a drink and a bath while they're having a feed. I have a great variety of birds usind the feeder - blue tits, great tits, coal tits, long tailed tits, green finches, siskins, hedge sparrows, robins and one year we had woodpeckers for a few days. I hope you get the birds you want. Here's a pic of some long tailed tits on the feeder.

[Headfry]

I have 'sparrows ville' in the clematis that grows on the corner of our house! Its a lovely colony of sparrows. My fat ball feeder hangs in the clematis, about a foot from from my lounge window!!! its a very busy feeder and they certainly are not shy. Just fab watching their antics.
I would say the same as others, watch for cats, Fallen seed GROWS!!!, be consistent with feeding, please don't forget water, also keep feeders clean.
Keep a brid book to hand and list what and when you see different birds! amazing difference in winter visitors and summer ones.
ENJOY

[Headfry]

Ooooooooh Alice, Long tailed tits! one of my very very favorite birds! One mucky winters day I went down to check feeders and found that there was a flock (10ish) of these enchanting ittle birds down there. They were flying all around me - so close (inches) If I didn't know better I would say they were playing games with me, one of those life is wonderful moments! surreal, truly truly surreal!

[Farmer_Gyles]

cheers all - will have a word with my boy and find somewhere good to put the feeder up

and i remembered last night that he made a bat box on cub camp a couple of years ago - bats eat mice don't they? if so, could be useful to put it up near my veggies - only drawback i can see is once occupied (and i'm reassured it WILL be occupied!) it's illegal to move it - fingers crossed the trees don't fall down!

[Headfry]

Bats eat insects as far as I know.....bats wonderful, I would love bat boxes
way t' go

[Birdie Wife]

From a bird's point of view, the best place to put a feeder is somewhere they can retreat quickly to the shelter of a tree, but can see all around on the ground to make sure no cats hidden waiting to ambush. So in the branches of a tree, about head height, is ideal. Lots more advice here.

[Farmer_Gyles]

thanks birdie wife - that's exactly what we did!
it's hanging from the pear tree - about 100ft from the house - visible from my sons bedroom but he'll need some binoculars to see the birds properly - he's keen about the seed feeder and i'm keen to show him that things he didn't waste his time or effort making things at cubs!
he'll probably enjoy the RSPB site and finding out about birds etc - i never thought of looking there!

his bat box was fairly simple to make - similar to this:
http://www.fow.org.uk/batboxfow.htm
just got to find somewhere suitable to put it ...

[Flummery]

Bats eat insects (and meal worms given half a chance) but they'd be hard pressed to get a mouse down. Now chickens ...
My bird feeders are in or near shrubs and they like to perch there to suss out the lie of the land first. They are also visible from the windows - great fun.

[Rowan]

Put the feeder indoors, then you'll never have to restock it! Mine have leaked seed, which then merrily sprouts - and the pigeons eat the sprouts, which may - just possibly - keep them off everything else.
If your lad's still interested in birds in six months' time (they grow out of interests so quickly), look up the Big Garden Birdwatch on the RSPB site. I've been doing it for a few years now. It's amazing what you see, even in a little suburban garden like mine.