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WINTER FEEDING THE WILD LIFE IN YOUR GARDEN.


Pun
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I did mean to ask this first pre my last post ref prune/ect.

Feed the wild life in the garden, birds,

The birds will if fed give you hours of pleasure by just being there, they need your hepl with feeding due to less light hours in the winter day, and the bugs ect just are not there,

 

RICE, MASH-SPUDS, RAISINS SOAKED BREAD, CORN, AND SHOP BOUGHT BIRDFEED PEANUTS,

All of these and water will really help the bird life throught the winter, we do need birds in the garden, they help with the pest by eating them in the spring/summer, they provide the back drop in the spring /summer by the singing,

All we have to do is direct the waste we no longer need, to the bird table, this can be an old bin lid on four bricks to stop it falling over, the birds will soon know the food supply and wait for your visit daily, or spend a little time making your own feeder,

 

and what a fantastic present to both someone you do or dont like, a bird feeder or hanging wire peanut holder????

Hope you've got the message.

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If you forget the early morning supply, they might even remind you as ours do, by tapping on the window.A special delight for them seems to be Pasta. Any left over from Spaggi Bol etc and mixed with a little butter and it's like a bunfight on the birdtable. We used to hang the fat balls on wire coat hangers so that the sparrows didn't eat everything but they have now mastered the art of eating while hanging upside down like the blue/great tits. Make doing the washing up more interesting as they are by the kitchen window.

Regards.5 mins St.Malo

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Is there anything we think would be Ok but in fact we shouldn't give to them to eat? 

I have a vague recollection of being told about something that was not advisable, but maybe that was in the springtime when it would be bad for the babies??

Sorry, memory like a string vest......

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I'd like to ask also - I know when it's really cold and frozen outside, the birds need access to fresh water, but how do you stop it freezing within half an hour of putting out?  And is there a depth of water/type of container that is preferable?

Chrissie (81)

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Breads not really very good, maybe not directly harmful, but not really the nutrition that they need.

Seeds, nuts and fats are probably the most important food for the types of birds that you will have in your garden, but more important is to think about how you manage your land, however large, throughout the year. Try to at least minimise the use of chemicals, try to have a wild or rough area, birds such as wrens need to scurry around in the bottoms of hedges or log piles for insects and insect eggs. Very few birds use bird tables or feeders, the majority of birds need natural food sources that depend on a good habitat structure.

Water freezing is a problem, but if you can put out fresh water 2 or 3 times a day, that should suffice, depth doesn't matter that much as long as the birds can stand on the edge and reach it.

Personally I don't think that there is a great need to feed birds unless it's really cold, but I know that a lot of people enjoy it.

Chris

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I would really like to feed the birds, feel a song coming on, tupence a bag.  Sorry.

Problem is we have two cats and they catch birds as it is.  I don't want to make them even easier prey for my two mogs.  We have plenty of trees to hang stuff from, but the cats climb very well.

Any suggestions?

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Chris is undoubtedly right - but I can't resist drawing them close to the dining room window to watch while we breakfast in winter.

Bastet - I suspect you are thinking about whole peanuts and baby birds choking.  Crush them or put them in a proper wire feeder so they have to be pecked.

If you do have a bird table clean and disinfect it regularly to prevent infection.

I have never witnessed this myself, but I have read that birds can get their feet stuck in the netting that a lot of fat balls are wrapped in so this should be removed and the balls put in a proper feeder or on a table.  Not sure if this is just scaremongering or not.

Our main hanging table visitors are tits blue and great, house sparrows, chaffinches, greenfinches, siskins, dunnocks and robins. Blackbirds and thrushes go for the ground feeding stations.  The wrens ignore the feeders but fereret about in the undergrowth nearby.

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[quote user="Dotty Trois"]

We have plenty of trees to hang stuff from, but the cats climb very well.

[/quote]

I think that by and large the birds should spot a cat in the tree, Dotty.  I wouldn't worry too much on that count.  It's just if you put a hanging table in a spot where a cat can pounce unseen from above, or a ground station in a spot where the cat can approach under cover.

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I did laugh at your reply Cassis.  I'm sure the birds will here them coming, its just my cats will probably take root in the tree and sit and wait for the poor little birdies.

JSA, I like the idea of belled collars, but then the mice would be at an advantage, I definately want my kitties to catch mice.

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We use plastic drip trays from under plant pots to provide water for the birds in our garden. It is shallow enough for them to bathe in or drink from. In the winter it's usually part of my early morning routine to break out the ice and re-fill with fresh water. A cork floating on the surface sometimes helps to slow down the freezing process (but not always).

When providing water please always make sure there is a means of escaping from the water dish (such as a twig, stick, tile or stone) for the birds, animals, insects that will accidentally fall in the water.

Re: Fat balls in nets! - Yes it is true, birds get their feet caught in the netting. Please, please, please remove the plastic netting before putting fat balls out in the garden.

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[quote user="Dotty Trois"]

I would really like to feed the birds, feel a song coming on, tupence a bag.  Sorry.

Problem is we have two cats and they catch birds as it is.  I don't want to make them even easier prey for my two mogs.  We have plenty of trees to hang stuff from, but the cats climb very well.

Any suggestions?

[/quote]

2 solutions hinted at by other Dotty.

 

1.  a bird table with a single pole and a large overhanging table (not the Namby Pamby ones you get in the shops).  The cats will probably be able to climb the pole but will not easily cope with the overhang under the table.

2.  Hanging table.  basicly a table with a large hook on it which you hang from the tree with string.  As soon as anything weighty tries to drop down on it it will tip.

 

 

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a large tin (we used an old quality street tin) upside-down on the top of the pole under the flat table bit. Stops sqirrels and cats climbing up!

I've also taken the bottom out of one of those tins and nailed the rest to the shed to make a ring to keep the bamboo canes tidy.

Now what will we do with the tin after this xmas??? :)
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All useful tips.  A few weeks ago, when I hadn't started feeding the birds yet, there were several tits flitting about doing their little noises at me just where I used to hang the fat balls (!) out last season... amazing.  So I had to go out and buy them some.

Maybe the bird table is more for our pleasure than for the birds.  I got a nice namby pamby one at M. Bricolage on Saturday for € 19.20 with a little roof on it and all.  I hope we'll get a lot of pleasure out of it !

We also have plenty of "wild areas", full of rabbits too.  

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
I have been stocking up on the fat balls as they became available in the shops this Autumn. A few each week has not broken the bank. Last year I hung them from the trees on purchased feeders. These are terracotta things with a circular hollow all round to collect water and a hook underneath to hang the ball from in their nets. They were brilliant last year and gave us much pleasure. Now however, reading the above posts, it is better to remove the netting from each ball. Sounds sensible, but how exactly do/should I put the balls out for the birds? Advice please.
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I don't know.  The ones we use are like a tube with a lid and a wire cup in the bottom.  Unwrapped balls go in the top.  As the bottom ball is eaten the others drop down and are held in the wire cup.  I have never seen a bird dead in a fatball net - but I'd rather not risk it.  I can see how it could happen, especially as the ball gets towards its end.

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I've been making some bird feeders today - a combined fatball and peanut feeder design.  I'll post up the instructions if anyone's interested.  Made 10 in about 4 hours and it's very basic woodwork - nothing fancy.  They worked out at about 1 euro 80 cents apiece for materials.

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