Author Topic: Bird food  (Read 5527 times)

clifftaylor

  • Max - "make mine a Beophar Hairball Paste please"
Bird food
« on: 20 December, 2009, 10:43:13 am »
Morning everyone.
Please remember to put out food and water for the birdies when it's cold, as the small ones will really be struggling at the moment.  :)


Re: Bird food
« Reply #1 on: 20 December, 2009, 10:45:39 am »
It'll help to keep them fat for Friday.  ;)

border-rider

Re: Bird food
« Reply #2 on: 20 December, 2009, 10:47:16 am »
Good call.

I've been out and topped up the feeders this morning, and put warm water in their bird bath.  There are loads of small birds feeding today.

The water's important when everything's frozen - a blackbird didn't even wait for me to back away before he was in there for a drink.

Re: Bird food
« Reply #3 on: 20 December, 2009, 11:16:50 am »
Feeders are full.  Water is about to be defrosted now  :thumbsup:

Re: Bird food
« Reply #4 on: 20 December, 2009, 12:18:18 pm »
I put bread down most days for them. (The proper seeded stuff)
They'll be alright around here because most of the gardens seem to have birdtables or feeders.
Quote from: Marbeaux
Have given this a great deal of thought and decided not to contribute to any further Threads for the time being.
POTD. (decade) :thumbsup:

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Bird food
« Reply #5 on: 21 December, 2009, 09:47:17 am »
Butterfly righted our birdtable & restocked it on friday.  Pigeons especially grateful :-\
Getting there...

Snakehips

  • Twixt London and leafy Surrey
Re: Bird food
« Reply #6 on: 21 December, 2009, 11:47:18 am »
Pigeons especially grateful

Three fat Woodpigeons sat and watched me put out seed , bread and water earlier and have not bothered to avail themselves ... yet.

I feel I should be out turning over the icy soil to help the insect eaters but I can't quite bring myself to do it.

Snake


My Library
An nescis, mi fili, quantilla prudentia mundus regatur?

clifftaylor

  • Max - "make mine a Beophar Hairball Paste please"
Re: Bird food
« Reply #7 on: 02 January, 2010, 11:36:43 am »
Bump  :thumbsup:

border-rider

Re: Bird food
« Reply #8 on: 02 January, 2010, 11:38:51 am »
Thanks - that reminded me to go and thaw out their drinking water :)

Pingu

  • Put away those fiery biscuits!
  • Mrs Pingu's domestique
    • the Igloo
Re: Bird food
« Reply #9 on: 02 January, 2010, 11:43:33 am »
Bump  :thumbsup:

OK, OK, I've done it  ::-)

Mrs Blackbird was waiting for me. I sat about a metre away from the bird seed while she fed. Why can't she do that when I have the camera?  :facepalm:

clifftaylor

  • Max - "make mine a Beophar Hairball Paste please"
Re: Bird food
« Reply #10 on: 02 January, 2010, 11:54:41 am »
I tried hanging fat balls out, but nobody was interested - but crumble them on to the ground, and they're well popular!
Two wagtails have just arrived, plus a dunnock.

border-rider

Re: Bird food
« Reply #11 on: 02 January, 2010, 11:55:21 am »
Bump  :thumbsup:

OK, OK, I've done it  ::-)

Mrs Blackbird was waiting for me. I sat about a metre away from the bird seed while she fed. Why can't she do that when I have the camera?  :facepalm:


Ours barely back off at all now - they're very desperate.  The biggest problem is that one of the male blackbirds tries to see off all comers at the ground food feeder

border-rider

Re: Bird food
« Reply #12 on: 02 January, 2010, 11:56:06 am »
I tried hanging fat balls out, but nobody was interested - but crumble them on to the ground, and they're well popular!
Two wagtails have just arrived, plus a dunnock.

Ours rip through the fat balls.  I must try putting them on the ground as well though - that's a good plan :)

Re: Bird food
« Reply #13 on: 02 January, 2010, 11:56:45 am »
Put broken up seeded crusts out for them earlier this morning.
Thank fuck they've now hoovered it all up and moved on.
No more "chattering" from the kitteh. Peace and quiet at last.
Quote from: Marbeaux
Have given this a great deal of thought and decided not to contribute to any further Threads for the time being.
POTD. (decade) :thumbsup:

clifftaylor

  • Max - "make mine a Beophar Hairball Paste please"
Re: Bird food
« Reply #14 on: 02 January, 2010, 12:07:24 pm »
We're having the greedy blackbird problem as well - if he carries on eating like this, he won't be able to take off when the cat appears.....

jogler

  • mojo operandi
Re: Bird food
« Reply #15 on: 02 January, 2010, 12:08:14 pm »
The birds in our garden are better fed than some children & elderly folk my work brings me into contact with:certainly more regularly fed.

Pingu

  • Put away those fiery biscuits!
  • Mrs Pingu's domestique
    • the Igloo
Re: Bird food
« Reply #16 on: 04 January, 2010, 05:16:48 pm »
Bump  :thumbsup:

I sat about a metre away from the bird seed while she fed. Why can't she do that when I have the camera?  :facepalm:

She has obliged (50mm lens, no cropping):




Snakehips

  • Twixt London and leafy Surrey
Re: Bird food
« Reply #17 on: 08 January, 2010, 05:51:45 pm »
I heard a report today that Tesco have sold more birdfood this year than ever before.

Snake

My Library
An nescis, mi fili, quantilla prudentia mundus regatur?

border-rider

Re: Bird food
« Reply #18 on: 08 January, 2010, 06:54:30 pm »
We're certainly tearing through it; we buy in bulk from the RSPB these days, but with no couriers daring to do their jobs the stock of some components is getting a bit low....

We have enough feeder seed and ground food, but the peanuts are diminishing, the fat balls are being replenished form the village shop and the niger seed is dwindling..

nicknack

  • Hornblower
Re: Bird food
« Reply #19 on: 08 January, 2010, 06:58:08 pm »
Wilkinsons are doing a tub of 50 fat balls for £6.99. All the usual other stuff as well dirt cheap.
There's no vibrations, but wait.

Re: Bird food
« Reply #20 on: 08 January, 2010, 07:00:41 pm »
they quite like leftover christmas pudding too.  Mr Blackbird has been quite protective of it, chasing everyone else away until Mr Magpie appeared. They took a bit longer to get stuck into the stale lemon steamed pudding but the bluetits have finished most of it today.

it's been great watching it out of the office window.

border-rider

Re: Bird food
« Reply #21 on: 08 January, 2010, 07:01:36 pm »
The blackbirds have stopped squabbling and are allowing each other and the other birds to eat

Times must be harsh.

nicknack

  • Hornblower
Re: Bird food
« Reply #22 on: 08 January, 2010, 07:03:01 pm »
What is this 'leftover Christmas pudding'?
There's no vibrations, but wait.

jogler

  • mojo operandi
Re: Bird food
« Reply #23 on: 08 January, 2010, 07:24:24 pm »
What is this 'leftover Christmas pudding'?

My thought exactly

Fi

Re: Bird food
« Reply #24 on: 10 January, 2010, 01:12:08 pm »
One blackbird has taken ownership of the cotoneaster, if he catches anyone else on it, he gets very cross, but not as aggressive as he gets when he's got babies.

I had nine fat pigeons feeding from time to time this week. The seldom seen woodpecker has been in at least twice a day; there were three green parakeets, but now only two.  Strange absence of tits, lots before Christmas, but since then, I've hardly seen any. Lots of chaffinches tho' and a few reed buntings, but fewer than last year.

I suspect other people are now putting out proper food. I've seen a flock of around 60 starlings in the fields at the bottom of the garden, but am getting only a dozen or so on the feeders nowadays.  We used to get the whole lot of 'em in.  It was chaos at times.

Magpies have occasionally in the past ventured into the garden, grabbed some fat cake and flown off again.  This year, I've had four or five in at a time.

A neighbour watches the field for bird life and reports to the British Orthinology wotsit society and  sends round reports of what to look out for.    Apparently there is a kingfisher about and snipe coming closer to the houses., plus the usual complement of bad weather seagulls - hope they don't find the feeders.

There was a wren in the garage this morning, left some cheese and I hope it's flown. It left me a present on a bike.

I buy seed in 10Kg sacks and stocked up before Christmas.  I will need some more ground feeder food in a couple fo weeks, but which time I hope the snow will be gone.