Feeding Birds
I’m beginning to think that wild bird food is one of the best value entertainment purchases around. In our old house, we had a bird feeder, but got a pitiful number and variety of birds visiting it, for reasons that still aren’t particularly clear. In our new house, the situation is completely different, and we find it hard to keep up with the ravenous demands of the avian residents of our garden. Yesterday I was just gazing out of the window (something I’ve had the luxury of doing while on sick leave), delighting in the acrobatic show that the blue tits, great tits, coal tits, long tailed tits, house sparrows, blackbirds, robins and dunnocks were putting on. All of the trees and shrubs around our garden were alive with birds, and occasionally a blue tit would fly up to the guttering just above the window I was looking out of, flip upside down in midair, and cling on with its feet while pecking at insects, giving me a sidelong glance at the same time.
It’s fantastic entertainment, and about a million times better than daytime TV.
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I hope you're doing better.
You made me stop and think about my grandparents. They always had a bird feeder out their breakfast nook window. It always made for a great breakfast time.
Man I miss those days.
by Alex Hutton @ 01/11/2006 7:12 pm • Permalink •
2
Surely you jest!
What could be more life-affirming than knowning that, all around this wonderful country of ours, people of all ages, races, creeds and social classes are watching "Murder, She Wrote" and giggling at all the same unintentionally funny bits as you?
by Michael Houghton @ 01/11/2006 7:12 pm • Permalink •
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Argh. 'knowning'. Maybe it's the daytime TV.
by Michael Houghton @ 01/11/2006 7:12 pm • Permalink •
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Living in a terraced house in North london, you might think wildlife for us is a rarity: but we keep our garden relatively unkempt; with plenty of flowering shrubs like Buddleia to attract the butterflies, leave the grass relatively long, and let old rainwater lie - all of this encourages bugs, which in turn attracts the birds etc.
We have a visiting fox, a couple of frogs, and many birds. The Jays have regular punch-ups with the magpies, we have a real "Bulmers" woodpecker come and batter the apple tree occasionally. A Fieldfare stayed for a few days, but deperted when the Kestrel arrived; he was probably attracted by the big eared mouse that wanders about on the, what is grandly named as, the patio.
Put our prize siting of the year was in mid to late September, a real rarity, a Hummingbird Hawk Moth. On average there are only 40 to 50 sightings a year in the UK, and most of those in the South to South-West. Bloody difficult to photograph in the twilight, but I had a go. and if the "Imageshack" gizmo works, these are they:
by Jonathan Briggs @ 01/11/2006 10:11 pm • Permalink •
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Oops! Where did they go? Try again......
1st try
1st try
by Jonathan Briggs @ 01/11/2006 10:11 pm • Permalink •
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I enjoy watching garden birds too, but sadly our cats take a more "professional" interest. I found one of their dissection specimens by the back door this afternoon. :(
by Thoughtbadger @ 01/11/2006 10:12 pm • Permalink •
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I am in the process of remodeling a feeding table (thatch, bamboo etc. supposedly makiing it look "asian") for instalation in a garden i designed and am nearly finished building. Instalation of a feeding table was an express requirement of one of the tenants (the kitschy style is my fault). Myself I would have never have thought of it as I am relatively uninterested in birds, except for magpies, vultures and such mostly. I was impressed by the tenants burning care for birds until I discovered that her living room window, which will be directly overlooking the feeding table, is usually occupied by a very large cat, making what I am installing , in principle, a cat T.V..
by john(jc.) @ 02/11/2006 5:12 am • Permalink •
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We've just started putting food out for the birds, we've not had many visitors so far, maybe due to the unusually warm weather lately, even the goldfinches that visit next door seem to have wandered off for now.
by Snowbabies @ 02/11/2006 8:11 am • Permalink •
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Take a look at Wiggly Wigglers - they do a lot of stuff for bird-food, including the hanging fat-balls with seeds in and so on, which birds love at this time of year.
by Lyle @ 02/11/2006 10:12 am • Permalink •
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Michael Houghton: :-D
Alex Hutton: Yes, much better, thanks - getting there, anyway
Thoughtbadger: That's the worst thing about cats. I vividly remember finding a blue tit's head that our last cat had kindly left on the living room floor, and spending hours looking around for the rest of the body.
Jonathan Briggs: Lovely picture! You were pretty lucky to see a hummingbird hawk moth. We have foxes too, and a lovely, tiny goldcrest that bobbles about in the pine tree.
john(j.c.): Hehe
. I'm sure the cat's owners will like it too.
Snowbabies: Sometimes it takes a while for them to visit regularly.
Lyle: Great link! We'll have to order some mealworms for the winter.
by bsag @ 03/11/2006 7:12 pm • Permalink •
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There are 2 pictures there, they're just both labelled 1st try!
by Jonathan Briggs @ 04/11/2006 6:11 pm • Permalink •
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Thanks to Lyle for mentioning our website. In my experience the key thing with attracting a good variety of birds is feeding a complete mixture of seeds and feeds. When you look at a mix avoid those that are predominantly wheat as most birds (except pigeons) will eat the other seeds first and leave the wheat. By the way look for really clean seed other wise you are paying for dust. I now think about the seed miles too, peanuts generally come from the Gambia and I think about what alternatives there are and whether we can source them commericially in the UK. The farm's first crop of millet and sunflowers have been grown down the road and harvested this week at 20% moisture. Its now in the grain store drying prior to its visit to the cleaning plant.
by Heather Gorringe @ 10/11/2006 10:13 pm • Permalink •
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I am sending this email with no intent other than to inform
I just spent the scariest week of my life with breathing shortness ( I could barely walk to the next room without running out of breath)
Turns out I had a severe and COMMON allergic reaction to my sons mealworm farm. We have kept mealworms for about a month to not only feed my sons lizards, but to compliment the sunflower seeds, thistle, suet and other seeds we feed wild birds in our yard.
After 3 hospital visits,
I was properly diagnosed and treated with steroids, I am still a bit short of breath but improving.
I should note, I do not have asthma, and have never smoked.
Tonight I am doing research on this and find it very common
I also found your website stating mealworms are a good food item for birds.
I am not sure I am ready to set out on a campaign to educate the world.
But, I felt when I saw you website I owed it to people to at least share this info. with someone.
You may want to read http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=13994811 or search Google for mealworm allergy or mealworm asthma
Its up to you if you pass this info. along to anyone. I feel better knowing I have shared it.
No need to reply back
Sincerely, Jon
Jon Van Buren 651-638-2222 Fax 651-638-2221 www.ImprintItems.com
by imprintEd @ 10/12/2006 5:32 am • Permalink •
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