Feeding the birds in my garden (1 Viewer)

[Gina M]

I have spoken on here before about my love for feeding the birds in my garden. I set up a bird feeding station amongst my high bushes as I thought it was a safe haven for them to feed and drink water. Well, it attracted squirrels and rats as well and my dogs used to go wild at night trying to catch them, so I moved everything to an open space in the field. Result, bird feeders still full after 4 weeks. Birds not feeding from them at all. I went out to my car the other day and I found a wild dove on the drive with its back ripped open, sure sign of a Sparrow Hawk, that's how they kill. It broke my heart. So, I have decided to move everything back to the usual place and put up with the rats etc. so long as they don't come into my house. Result, all the birds have come back the feeders are empty, and my garden is full again of birdsong. Might need to put in earplugs again come the spring as they all arrive at about 4 in the morning, but it is lovely to see the birds back in my garden and I am back to ringing a bell before I let my dogs out so the large birds Pheasant etc. have time to get out of the way before the dogs get out!!

Gina.

 

[pampam]

I feel your pain ginam,a buzzard chased a pigeon through our side garage door and out through the front where it went behind a large pot meanwhile hitting hubby on shoulder(he squeeled like a girl) it had to be seen to be believed pigeon stayed there an hour and then took off buzzard has since been back and claimed a couple of others i think blackbirds their cries crucified me, anyhow bird feeding has stopped for the moment(sadly)as house is for sale and garden is tidy no clutter at moment
but ill be back on it,ive sent all seed and paraphanelia to son who lives in the middle of a wood i did tell him to keep seed in a bin in a barn ………did he listen no lol
hence theres a moose loose aboot his hoose

 

[CWH]

The feeding station here is about 10 metres from the house and maybe 15 from a shrubby patch that the birds use for cover. There's an incompetent sparrowhawk passes through regularly - it must have another, easier target because it rarely gets anything here. We don't have squirrels and the rats are more interested in the horse food next door, but we have lots of voles, shrews, weasels (or stoats, I can't remember which), chaffinches and rock doves to clear up the fallen seed.

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[Gina M]

I feel your pain ginam,a buzzard chased a pigeon through our side garage door and out through the front where it went behind a large pot meanwhile hitting hubby on shoulder(he squeeled like a girl) it had to be seen to be believed pigeon stayed there an hour and then took off buzzard has since been back and claimed a couple of others i think blackbirds their cries crucified me, anyhow bird feeding has stopped for the moment(sadly)as house is for sale and garden is tidy no clutter at moment
but ill be back on it,ive sent all seed and paraphanelia to son who lives in the middle of a wood i did tell him to keep seed in a bin in a barn ………did he listen no lol
hence theres a moose loose aboot his hoose

so funny about the mice, they do love the birdseed, they have chewed into my birdseed bin outside and it is really a tough plastic bin, going back to an old-fashioned tin dustbin I think to store birdseed

Gina.

 

[U.Toadifact]

I am always a tad puzzled when folk who feed the birds then get so upset when a bird of prey also gets a meal. That is the natural feeding chain and raptors will soon spot a regular gathering around feed stations.

Please don't take this as a personal affront, I am genuinely puzzled.

 

[Gina M]

The feeding station here is about 10 metres from the house and maybe 15 from a shrubby patch that the birds use for cover. There's an incompetent sparrowhawk passes through regularly - it must have another, easier target because it rarely gets anything here. We don't have squirrels and the rats are more interested in the horse food next door, but we have lots of voles, shrews, weasels (or stoats, I can't remember which), chaffinches and rock doves to clear up the fallen seed.

I used to have a dovecote I bought 6 doves to go in it as I love them. They used to fly around my head when I walked to my car in the morning and when I came home from work at night. They bred like mad which I wasn't prepared for but anyways the local Sparrow Hawk killed them all

Gina.

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[pampam]

U toadifact if only the buzzard would eat the seed…. Lol
i chucked him some raw sausage but i dont think he was impressed

 

[Gina M]

I am always a tad puzzled when folk who feed the birds then get so upset when a bird of prey also gets a meal. That is the natural feeding chain and raptors will soon spot a regular gathering around feed stations.

Please don't take this as a personal affront, I am genuinely puzzled.

Yep, I get it Sparrow Hawks not allowed in Sainsburys to get their food I just don't like them killing my birds go to the other thousand acres around me to get your food you cheeky bastwards

Gina

 

[CWH]

I used to have a dovecote I bought 6 doves to go in it as I love them. They used to fly around my head when I walked to my car in the morning and when I came home from work at night. They bred like mad which I wasn't prepared for but anyways the local Sparrow Hawk killed them all

Gina.

Don't forget that dovecotes were originally for breeding birds for the table ... just as warrens were for breeding rabbits for (human) food

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[U.Toadifact]

Funny you should mention that. Asdas in Grimsby have had a sparrowhawk flying around in the store for a few days. No-one seems to know how to get it out.

 

[pampam]

One of my lads had a go at this today

 

[U.Toadifact]

Duplicate post

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[Gina M]

Funny you should mention that. Asdas in Grimsby have had a sparrowhawk flying around in the store for a few days. No-one seems to know how to get it out.

Open all of the windows and doors, put up with being cold for a while to make sure it gets out

Gina.

 

[Badknee]

going back to an old-fashioned tin dustbin I think to store birdseed

#MeToo

 

[Gina M]

View attachment 679193One of my lads had a go at this today

OMG it is beautiful

Gina.

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[U.Toadifact]

Open all of the windows and doors, put up with being cold for a while to make sure it gets out

Gina.

One issue with that. The Asda store has no windows. It is a barn of a building with only one front entrance other than fire doors.

 

[Gina M]

One issue with that. The Asda store has no windows. It is a barn of a building with only one front entrance other than fire doors.

Big problem, very stressful for the bird. I don't like the way they kill but I would never be cruel to them or wish any harm. I once came across an injured Sparrow Hawk on a country lane. It could not fly and was trying to escape me and my dog but couldn't get very far. I just held my dog away and whispered to it, I am me and you are you. I wish you no harm as I can get my food from the supermarket, and you cannot. Please stay safe for as long as you can.

Gina.

 

[pampam]

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[pampam]

Sorry ive duplicated

 

[Gina M]

Don't forget that dovecotes were originally for breeding birds for the table ... just as warrens were for breeding rabbits for (human) food

My darling boy Stanley the Labradoodle used to chase and kill rabbits. I loved him like no other person I will ever love in my life even though he was a violent killer

Gina.

 

[LaurenceT]

Perching birds will always prefer to feed as close to cover as possible. In our garden we have two feeding poles next to a large bush about 3 metres apart each having two feeders hanging from them.
I've noticed consistently that the feeders closer to the cover afforded by the bush are always the ones that get emptier first.

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[jockaneezer]

weasels (or stoats, I can't remember which),

The easiest way of differentiating the two members of the mustelid family are, a weasel is weasley recognised, but a stoat is stoatally different !

 

[Gina M]

Perching birds will always prefer to feed as close to cover as possible. In our garden we have two feeding poles next to a large bush about 3 metres apart each having two feeders hanging from them.
I've noticed consistently that the feeders closer to the cover afforded by the bush are always the ones that get emptier first.

Same here. The birds like to feed then hide in the bushes if they feel threatened. They eat more and they tend to build nests nearby too. I sometimes have to fill up the feeders twice a day now. I don't mind if the squirrels steal from time to time. This earth and food are not just for humans. I also leave water and food for Hedgehogs.

Gina.

 

[ManTheVan]

I wonder if your buzzard was a goshawk? We had a gos here in the summer, preying on our hens. It got quite bold, lying in wait in the undergrowth then jumping out for the kill. It was a very messy business. Buzzards are very reluctant hunters. Their talons are very weak and they prefer feeding on slugs, weak small birds and carrion. Sparrow hawks are also very small. Doubtful that they would manage a pigeon. May well have been a gos. They’re magnificent raptors, but not when they’re taking my hens.

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[ManTheVan]

I’m actually more concerned that putting out feeders, as we normally do at this time of year onwards, might provide a vector for Avian Flu to spread. As hard as it might be, I think we might not feed the birds from feeders this winter.

 

[CWH]

Sparrow hawks are also very small. Doubtful that they would manage a pigeon.

I've seen sparrowhawks take pigeons from the garden in Cornwall and here in N-W Scotland - though they prefer to go for (unsurprisingly) sparrows.

 

[CWH]

I’m actually more concerned that putting out feeders, as we normally do at this time of year onwards, might provide a vector for Avian Flu to spread. As hard as it might be, I think we might not feed the birds from feeders this winter.

... as they did for the virus that decimated greenfinches a few years back.

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[Greasy Chap Butty]

I have spoken on here before about my love for feeding the birds in my garden. I set up a bird feeding station amongst my high bushes as I thought it was a safe haven for them to feed and drink water. Well, it attracted squirrels and rats as well and my dogs used to go wild at night trying to catch them, so I moved everything to an open space in the field. Result, bird feeders still full after 4 weeks. Birds not feeding from them at all. I went out to my car the other day and I found a wild dove on the drive with its back ripped open, sure sign of a Sparrow Hawk, that's how they kill. It broke my heart. So, I have decided to move everything back to the usual place and put up with the rats etc. so long as they don't come into my house. Result, all the birds have come back the feeders are empty, and my garden is full again of birdsong. Might need to put in earplugs again come the spring as they all arrive at about 4 in the morning, but it is lovely to see the birds back in my garden and I am back to ringing a bell before I let my dogs out so the large birds Pheasant etc. have time to get out of the way before the dogs get out!!

Gina.

I'm all in favour of what you are doing, for your own happiness and the well being of the birds.
Just be careful if you have neighbours, if it's attracting rats. I think you can set it up so it's good for the birds, but don't get loads spilt on the floor to bring the rats in.

 

[Gina M]

I’m actually more concerned that putting out feeders, as we normally do at this time of year onwards, might provide a vector for Avian Flu to spread. As hard as it might be, I think we might not feed the birds from feeders this winter.

You have given me something to think about there. Do we let them starve or die of Avian flu?

Gina.

 

[ManTheVan]

I think that they could be fed from different areas of the ground or the tops of walls, fences, and so on, which might prevent the virus being concentrated around the same one or two feeders all winter long. Kind of social distancing for birds, as it were.

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