I stepped outside into the cool breeze, looked up at the bright blue sky and started putting bird food out.
The crows, rooks and blackbirds perched in the bare trees were like little sillhouettes against the sky. They were watching my every move.
I scattered some bird food under bush A and a little more bird food under bush B. this one way blackbirds can get some of the bird food as the ground feeder mesh is too small for them to get through. I get a few blackbirds and some thrushes. they ‘run’ round the bushes and ‘run / hop’ across the garden very quickly.
It was fascinating to watch the rooks, crows and blackbirds circle in the the blue sky. the blackbirds aren’t really frightened of me and came to the bird food. I realised that standing there I was keeping the Rooks and Crows away. How long should I stand there.
I could see them perched high on branches, peering down at me from the roof top, flying over my head, perched on a chimney top in the garden next door, and some were actually trying to flutter down and pinch the blackbirds food – but they daren’t. They were all watching to see if I would go away and were preparing to feast on the seed.
I enjoyed the garden for a while and the blackbirds enjoyed getting their breakfast in peace. the problem is I don’t have time to stand guard every morning.
But it is a little spooky to think of all these rooks and crows looking down on me from their ancient perches, waiting for me to open my front door.
I will see what tomorrow brings
I have been told about a shop that sells quality bird food. I haven’t been there yet, but am going to try some to give to my garden birds. Below is a photo of one of the bags full of bird food.
The Shop is called http://petshoptoyou.co.uk
It is in Market Weighton. Has anyone bought wild bird food from them?
I will keep you posted or you could take a look at their webpage details
Lucy says –
The guys at Vine House Farm also offer large bags of seed, nuch of which is grown on their own farm in Lincolnshire at very competative prices
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This is in reply to a question asking for advice on the best places to shop on line for bird food
http://birdtablenews.com/2010/12/best-place-on-line-to-shop-for-bird-food/
Here is a link to Vine House Farms so that you can take a look http://www.vinehousefarm.co.uk/
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Thank you Lucy!
HI, Love the site. Can you tell me the best place on line to order up bulk supplies of quality wild bird seed, peanuts and Niger seed. I buy 20 kg bags and pay £13 to £18 a bag.
The gold finch only ever appear when I fill the Niger seed feeder! Thanks
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Hi, thanks for getting in touch.
Here are two companies that supply bird food.
Take a look and see what you think.
You must be busy feeding birds. So the goldfinches are surviving the winter with a little help from you.
Hope that information helps.
Does anyone else know of good on-line suppliers of bird food?
I’m so pleased the snow has gone and i can see green grass and brown soil from my window instead of snow. The birds are less frantic now and I am not getting as many rabbits in the garden looking for the food I give the birds.
Happy New Year everyone!
I’ve been asked if birds like fruit – especially apples. Here is my reply.
Indeed birds do like fruit – and berries.
Birds will eat apples and other fruit.
You should cut them up into small pieces.
Give the birds a chance to find the apple – they may be unsure at first.
You could put the apple next to the bird food. slice it small.
Do not feed fruit pips or apple seeds
Blackbirds will eat worms, spiders, fruit and seeds – so you see many birds have a varied diet.
Bruised apples, pears and other fruit are very popular with all thrushes, tits and starlings. Cut them up and leave them on the bird table or on the ground.
Another way to feed birds is to plant a fruit bush or a hedge such as a hawthorn hedge that has berries. It is long term, but the fruit / berries come every year and feed many birds every year
Birds also eat many kitchen scraps
WHAT BIRDS LIKE TO EAT- HOME COOKING
Blackbirds and other birds also like cheese -
Hi Trisha,
a new member here. Can I put Trex into my bird cake as
I’ m a non meat eater and don’t usually have lard, although I will make an exception for the birds
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Hi,
It’s great that you are feeding birds and care enough to ask this question. It must be difficult for you to think about using lard.
Birds do need fat. They do not need vegetable oil.
Lard or dripping is good.
Amazing Fact -
A BLUE TIT SPENDS 85% OF ITS DAY LOOKING FOR FOOD
So if we put bird food out (with lard if possible) we can help birds and help them save their energy and use it to see them through the freezing winter nights
Lard is good for birds in winter. I often melt some lard. When it is melted I pour it over bird food and mix it together. This does not make a fatball – it just gives birds fat coated bird food.
My daughter is vegetarian and I understand the reasons for being vegetarian.
I am a meat eater and think that as long as an animal is looked after properly then it is OK to eat meat and use lard or dripping. There are so many hilly / upland parts of Britain that cannot grow any crops, so grazing animals is a good way to feed the Nation.
Vegetable oil is not any good
Let me know how you get on.
Trisha
I put bird food out daily. I like this bird food as it is eaten by so many birds.
Click the link below to find out more about it.
NATURE’S FEAST HIGH ENERGY SUPREME BIRD FOOD
I do put out other bird food and kitchen scraps, but when I use this I know it’s attracting all the birds that come to my garden and it makes bird feeding a bit easier.
I’ve been soaking some bird feed in lard this morning and threw out some stale cake.
It was about this time of year I used to stop feeding birds for a while. This was on the advice of the RSPB. Then they changed their minds and said we should put bird food out every day – which is what I do.
I don’t get any rare birds here just the normal British garden birds (plus rooks, crows, pigeons, squirrel, pheasant, moorhen!), but they do liven up the garden!
Guest Post – which is in reply to a comment made on BBC Breakfast site that fat should not be fed to birds.
I would like to make a clarification in the hope that we do not confuse and therefore stop people feeding birds.
Solid lard wether bought or produced from cooking such as beef, lamb etc should be fine just remember not to leave them for days if the birds don’t consume them.
Not everyone is lucky enough to have lots of birds visiting their garden butby putting out a little fresh food each day you will see more and more birds visiting your garden/patio.
If you don’t have any bought bird food please do put out what lefovers but make sure
- they are not left for long,
- put them on a tray so it can be cleaning off regularly
- and replace with fresh food stuff
If you do this you should find you are rewarded with the sight of birds feeding regularly.
Also please don’t forget those of you who own cats please put a bell on their collar.
Cheers L
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Thanks for that. It is really clear and useful advice. Cheers.
I made a note on Bird Table News of the last time I bought some bags of bird food. Here is the article -
THE DATE I LAST BOUGHT A 12.75 kg BAG OF BIRD FOOD
The date I last bought a 12.75kg GUARDMAN NO MESS SEED MIX – Price £15.49 was on 31st JANUARY 2010! It is now 21st February 2010.
It has only lasted 21 days! And I buy other bird food as well.
I thought it would have lasted longer than that.
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This Guardman No Mess Seed Mix can be fed on the ground, on birdtables and in bird feeders. It is a useful, good quality bird food. I suppose that is why I have used to much – I have been putting it in three places every day.
I suppose it works out at just under £1 per day.
But it still begs the question is it right that wild birds rely so much on my bird food. Also I won’t always be able to put bird food out as I do now.
Yet on the other hand – when I see small ‘flocks’ of a variety of birds doing aerobatics round the bird feeder and frantically pecking at this bird food on the bird table and in the feeders I know I must be doing a bit of good.
Seeing these birds so close together the different colours of these garden birds often amazes me. The blue tit, the chaffinch, the robin, the sparrows, blackbird, thrush. There is blue, white, orangy, black, brown, red, yellow (beaks) all flitting before my eyes. They do leave a trail of colour near the bird feeders
As I live in the countryside the fields and scrub areas nearby provide a habitat for many birds. And these birds just have to flit over the fence from the field to my garden.
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Another bag of bird food that I bought on 31st January was
12.75kg OF NATURE’S FEAST FEEDER SUPREME. Price £10.99
It is a seed mixture that includes sunflower, dari and millet. It is for seed feeders. This bird food attracts a lot of birds including Great Tits and Coal Tits, blackbirds, chaffinches, greenfinch, goldfinch, doves, starlings, tree sparrows and house sparrows
This bird food cannot be put in bird feeders, but I do put it on the bird table and ground feeder every day.
I also like this bird food as it is blended to feed a lot of birds
I still have a lot of this bird food left as I don’t put it in the bird feeders.
As I’m writing this there is a chaffinch on the bird table. It’s been there for a few minutes pecking away – now a female blackbird has taken over the bird table and a sparrow has now joined it and the chaffinch has flown away. I wish I had my camers as watching a sparrow and blackbird close together you get a good view of the exact difference in size. It’s a bit like Little and Large
Have a good day.