Is your dog's unusual barking a secret code for something mysterious?

[Egluntyne]

Some advice **here** from the RSPB community.

[Lesley]

I've been feeding our garden birds - and trying to keep the dogs away from the 'free buffet' ...........then the starlings moved in .......I suppose they need feeding as well

[mostin]

I think my garden birds have been eating more of the layers pellets than my chooks have recently

[sari]

I think my garden birds have been eating more of the layers pellets than my chooks have recently

 

I was given my cheapo layers pellets with my girls...and I weaned them off them onto some nice organic blablah ones..so the birds have been having them today, as they've cleaned me out of sunflower hearts. I'va had a mixed flock of redwing/fieldfare/thrushes today, and my first reed bunting, usually its the New Year before they come. I leave all the manky windfalls in piles for the birds, and they are really enjoying them!

[beach chick]

oh I do get so frustrated with the starlings! yes, yes, I know they need to eat too , but they are just so roughty-toughty, no one smaller ever gets a look in when 20 of them descend on the bird feeder.

we have lots of windfalls up the path the starlings could have, and then the pretty birds could come to the bird feeder!!

[sari]

I know they are bullies, but starling numbers have dropped by around 70% in the last...30 years, I think it was. This is probs due to lack of natural feeding ground, ie lawns..people have gotten rid of lawns, which the cranefly lays its eggs in, they turn into leather jackets, which is the starlings favourite food......I think if/when they become rare we will appreciate their beauty more....their two-tone/tonic feathers, the spottines they get in winter, and their amazing mimicry....I also am amazed at thier ability to devour fatballs in mere minutes!! I have taken to buying the really cheap fatballs from my local town's poundshops, and they seem to go for those.....mean I know......

[Bramble]

I noticed a little robin almost trying to get into the run this morning to get at the food, so I put a little pile of mealworms where he will (hopefully) find them!

I really don't get many birds in my garden now, I guess it comes of living on a "new" housing estate, but I used to have HUNDREDS at my last house and made my own fatballs which seemed to go down a treat.

[sari]

I noticed a little robin almost trying to get into the run this morning to get at the food, so I put a little pile of mealworms where he will (hopefully) find them!

I really don't get many birds in my garden now, I guess it comes of living on a "new" housing estate, but I used to have HUNDREDS at my last house and made my own fatballs which seemed to go down a treat.

I'm sure they'll come though.....I used to live in inner city Leicester..albeit near the canal, and an old churchyard, and had a fair few birdies...it's like the film.. " If you feed them, they will come...!"

[C&T]

We don't get any except a Robin, and the occasional Blue Tit.

 

Lots of cats, and not enough open "safe" space I think is the reason. Tried all sorts in the past - but just end up throwing the food away...

 

Perhaps will have to try again though, as the weather has been so bad. Some pound shop goodies won't cost me much, and must be worth a try...

[Bramble]

I noticed a little robin almost trying to get into the run this morning to get at the food, so I put a little pile of mealworms where he will (hopefully) find them!

I really don't get many birds in my garden now, I guess it comes of living on a "new" housing estate, but I used to have HUNDREDS at my last house and made my own fatballs which seemed to go down a treat.

I'm sure they'll come though.....I used to live in inner city Leicester..albeit near the canal, and an old churchyard, and had a fair few birdies...it's like the film.. " If you feed them, they will come...!"

 

I do feed them, but find I often throw the food away. I have 100s of goldfinches who regularly clear me out of sunflower hearts, but not much else. Peanuts and seed mix just gets ingnored!!

[beach chick]

weird isnt it? I've given up on peanuts, none of ours seem to eat them. yet my mum, who lives less than a minutes walk away, always puts peanuts out and they get eaten!

I do mixed seed in a tubular feeder and open tray, those square fat things in a square holder, and fat balls - bit worried about the fat balls, I hang them in their netting off a special hook, but keep reading you should take them out of the netting in case birds get caught in them. I have to say I have never seen this happen... and I would have to find some other way of hanging them.

[mollyripkim]

I've always enjoyed feeding the birds and have all sorts of feeders and different foods out every day. I also have a small pond with a waterfall which really attracts the birds, last winter we had pied and yellow wagtails which have just returned. Also last year had a solitary blackcap (had never seen one before) and hubby made me a tray to put in the bushy border for dried fruit for him (had to make sure it was out of reach of the dogs as I think raisins are poisonous to them. I kept it up all summer for the blackbirds so hope he returns as well. It's just so nice to watch from the kitchen window, I am really lucky as my cat has never attempted to catch the birds, she is too lazy!

[Chucky Mama]

I'm having trouble stopping mine from freezing and then going mushy in the feeders..grrrr. The biggest drawback is I inevitably end up feeding a rat or 2 too.

[mollyripkim]

Regarding fat balls in nets, I buy big tubs of fat balls without nets from the local garden centre as I caught the dogs with empty nets before, dread to think what could have happened if they had swallowed them. The fat is softer and crumblier and the birds love them. I use special feeders to put them in with a cage around to stop the crows them but the starlings still manage.

[Lesley]

I know they are bullies, but starling numbers have dropped by around 70% in the last...30 years, I think it was.

 

They're all here - we have a vast flock of them....it's like a scene from The Birds! They've driven the wrens and robins away.

[Bramble]

I always take the nets off fat balls - saw a starling get caught in one by his tongue once - not sure how, but I freed him and he was fine, but lucky I was there.

I put out some mealworms for the little robin I saw yesterday, but they are still there this morning, oh well, the chucks will hoover those up when they get to FR.

I never bother with peanuts either, no one seems to eat them, I put out mainly sunflower hearts now as the goldfinches like those.

[beach chick]

I bought a new fat ball feeder this morning, it's rather good - like a tube with a flip up lid, and a little perching rack round the bottom. holds 3 fat balls perfectly, and it looks much nicer than the thing I had (which I used to like but decided looked tatty with the balls hung by their nets...). so no trapped feet or tongues, good solution!

meanwhile, 70% of starlings may have disappeared, but I think the remaining 30% are here!

[lillybettybabs]

I have scattered some fat balls around the trees and also i put a pile of pea nuts on the bird table.

 

I rescued and nursed a little Jenny Wren form our conservatory a few years ago. She recovered and

has stayed around the garden. She vists me every morning for some mealworms and has raised some cheeky youngster this year.

[Seagazer]

I've put a plastic lid to a box on the snow and laid seed out on it for the wild birds but the dog keeps eating it I wouldn't mind but she comes in coughing and choking after eating it so why do it? She's not starved.

 

I don't normally put anything out because of Dave (cat) but I could see some in my mountain ash trying to get the last of the berries. I've had a pigeon and a robin. We have blue tits that go next door so I'm hoping they'll discover it.

 

We used to have loads of starlings when we first moved here, they used to swarm down on the lawn. I haven't seen many for years now. I think it was the raven/crow things that have seen them off as I've seen them take the baby birds.

[chickencam]

I put some meal worms out for the very fluffed up robin that was sitting on my garage roof yesterday. I have hanging feeders too, but I do find that unless the weather is like this the birds tend to steer clear because of our moggies. Having said that the mogs have been staying indoors for most of the bad weather.

[lillybettybabs]

Auuww.. poor Mr Robin .