Getting birds in the garden

[burhinus]

There are seed mixes and there are seed mixes. Alot of rubbish is available. I have seen mixes with rabbit and guinea pig food in or mixes with oats and barley.

A good mix has none of these and a maximum of 40% wheat. The rest made up with smaller seeds like Black Sunflower, Millet a bit if Linseed, Sunflower Hearts, Safflower etc.

It is a game of patience but birds like security so you do need to plant some shrubs or hedging in your new garden. A desert of patio, fencing and decking will not do it.

[RaptorUK]

Raptor - you get my vote, keep up the good work and don't forget the Big Garden Birdwatch at the end of the month.

Thankyou

(I'll post some pictures later)

this is "Bob" in Jan 2013, he figured he could stand on the branch I inserted to help the birds get used to the cage and get at the "Chunky Dumplings" suet balls.

[noviceveggrower]

Hi there.
Have a house with a long narrow garden with a new housing estate at the bottom. We have one of those tall bird feeders with several arms on it to hang stuff on it. At the moment we have seed, peanuts, suet blocks, half a coconut with suet in and black sunflower seeds.
We have a lot of crows about but have found putting monkey nuts in a different part of the garden means they leave the little birds alone. Putting them in an easy place for them to get to helps.
But have also found having fresh water even in winter helps. Was once told it doesn't matter how much seed and bits you have for them they wont visit as much if there is no water for them.

[burhinus]

Re Getting Birds in Garden

Spot on water is a must for drinking and if possible for bathing. Moving water is brilliant, drips misters etc. This is very big in America but not so in the UK.

Hi there.
Have a house with a long narrow garden with a new housing estate at the bottom. We have one of those tall bird feeders with several arms on it to hang stuff on it. At the moment we have seed, peanuts, suet blocks, half a coconut with suet in and black sunflower seeds.
We have a lot of crows about but have found putting monkey nuts in a different part of the garden means they leave the little birds alone. Putting them in an easy place for them to get to helps.
But have also found having fresh water even in winter helps. Was once told it doesn't matter how much seed and bits you have for them they wont visit as much if there is no water for them.

[alldigging]

It is a game of patience but birds like security so you do need to plant some shrubs or hedging in your new garden. A desert of patio, fencing and decking will not do it.

A bird feeder in the middle of your garden is a sparrow hawk feeding centre. Put it near the hedges so there are quick escape routes and less change of flybys.

[noviceveggrower]

A bird feeder in the middle of your garden is a sparrow hawk feeding centre. Put it near the hedges so there are quick escape routes and less change of flybys.

Good point that. We have ours by a tree and the birds will sit in it and wait for me to top everything up for them. Only need to move a few paces away and they will start feeding. Have the usual visitors but last year we had a Wren. Also have a buzzard we think only know when its about because the crows and magpies start chasing it away so not had a good look at it.

[dogsbody]

Normally within 3m of cover is recommended (by me at least!) and the more feeders you have the easier it is for the birds to feed and alkso watch each other's backs. I have 3 cats and the birds are used to them so casualties are few and far between. The local sparrowhawk visits occasionally but usually only the pigeons are the ones that suffer.

The type of feed is often determined by the birds visiting - my peanut feeder usually has to be replaced as it has gawn orf whilst the sunflower hearts are difficult to keep up with. Horses for courses really.

Water is essential, cover is essential and the enjoyment just flows on from there.

[shellyanne1987]

What do people think about bill odie wild bird seed mix??

[Jeanied]

I found the seed mixes need to go on a flat surface - not in the hanging feeders. I chuck handfuls onto the shed roof.

The most popular feeds in my garden are the pink berry suet strands and sunflower hearts.

[RaptorUK]

What do people think about bill odie wild bird seed mix??

I don't feed mixed seed anymore, the mixes I have used in the past have always been "cherry picked" by the birds, consequently a lot was discarded and ended up caught on my tray and was often wasted.

So now I get mixed suet pellets and mix in 1/5th sunflower hearts and a few dried mealworms. There is very little waste and mess. The Tits love the sunflower hearts and the Sparrows gannet down the suet pellets.

While writing this "Bob" is having a long bath . . . yes, even though it's about 5C

[Mumbles]

We had a seed mix in a feeder and thought the birds were eating it all- until I looked closely at the grass around it and noticed they must be throwing out the seeds they don't like! Have just been and got some fat balls so will be hanging them up later


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[Bren In Pots]

We've recently swapped from Robin mix to suet pellets and theres much less waste so it looks like I won't be picking seedling up from the gravel under the table.

[BigV]

Start off with sunflower hearts.Nearly all the small birds like them.Then try fat balls and meal worms for the Robin.
Just make sure the neighborhood cats are not around and be patient. The birds will come especially if you grow some berry plants such as Pyrocanther and cotoneaster


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[snuffer]

We put out (both at home and on the lotties), an energy no mess blend of seed. This is a mix of seeds that have been de-hulled so that the birds are less likely to discard what they don't fancy. We also put out sun flower seed, niger seed, peanuts, home made fat balls and fat cakes.

Home made fat balls and cakes are so much better than the commercially available ones. The birds really enjoy them. A shop bought cake will last for days. Home made needs to be put out fresh every day.

Cats can be a problem but if you can attract a good number of birds into your garden at least one will see the cat and give the alarm call. We have four cats and our neighbours have cats but it is very rare that any of them will catch a bird. It is very sad when this does happen but if we didn't feed the birds through the winter a lot more of them would die.

As others have said, once you start feeding it is important to continue especially in the winter months. Birds come to rely on it in the colder months.

Remember big garden bird watch this weekend.

[Expert Gardner]

Yeah this is good information i like this actually i was in searching for this information and thinking to make a thread for this but i have no need to make any thread after read out this information anyways thanks for this and have a nice day