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Posted by TomBradbury (U3349234) on Saturday, 27th November 2010
Today I hung out a selection of various seeds and peanuts in three bird feeders across my garden for the first time in my garden and some fat balls. Somebody told me that they can take up to a month to find it - seems quite a long time. Does it take that amount of time? Perhaps I should put a dinner up "Birds! Eat Here!!".
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, in reply to message 1.
Posted by Rainjustlearning (U12861332) on Saturday, 27th November 2010
If you have snow like I do you will find that the birds will source your garden very soon, they normally find "food" in 2-3 days so just hold on they will turn up.
Rain
Link to this forum: Feeding the birds - how long until they realise dinner is served?
Just realised that the bird feeder that I filled with balls was empty today. Put in five balls about 3 days ago. Not sure if they have all been eaten or just fallen out of it as it was lying in a different part of the garden (It could have been my neighbours that tipped it over when they replaced my trellis that their tree broke.
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The most important thing to remember when feeding the birds, especialy in this very cold weather, don't stop once they have found it. Over a cold night a small bird like a blue tit can lose up to 2/3rds of its body weight just keeping warm. If it then gets to your feeder and there is nothing there, it will not have the energy to go further.
I am currently watching blue, great and coal tits on ours, with robin and blackbirds among the berries - next doors lovely tree of red berries, no idea what it is except gorgeous, is being gradually stripped by a pair - or more sometimes - of magpies. The squirrels are watching me watching them, they know there is new fat pudding in the feeder, and they want a go at it, while I want the birds to have it! Over the years it has been about 50 - 50 in the ongoing battle over who eats what! I have had to give up ground feeding except when really very hard because I cannot keep up with the squirrels - aren't they supposed to hibernate or something!!!??
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It will depend greatly on your location.
If you are in amongst other houses feeding birds you can find birds will move in very quickly, usually starting with the odd blue tit or similar.
I have hung nuts up and if there are birds around, have even seen the 1st ones in minutes.
Conversely if you are away from birds regular habitat, it may take some time, but once they discover a regular feeding site they will continue and the variety of birds will increase
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So really then, once one discovers, it'll be tweets all round. Looking forward to seeing them. 24 hours later, and still no obvious sign that they've noticed them yet, although I can see them hoping around the trees a little way away. Is there a bird song for 'grubs up' I can download?
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We never had a problem attracting the birds here,but strangely enough the Mum in Law can' t get the birds to visit at all and she's only a quarter of a mile away.
We have had Waxwings visiting this last week,last time was 2008 and before that 2004.
Once they have had the berries from the Rowan they are on their way to somewhere else.
I've read they only get seen every year on the east coast of England,Not as far inland as West Yorkshire.
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Just a quick little add on, please make sure the birds have fresh water, just as important. I have had to go out 3 times today because its keeps freezing. And everytime I have replenished it they have really drunk loads! Thank you
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I have been trying to feed the birds for many years, during which I have tried just about every brand and mix of food available, fat balls, suet pellets, coconuts, just about everything. Apart from a few pigeons taking the corn I have had little success although that doesn't stop me trying. A local ornithologist told me that if you are not on a regular feeding path it can take months to attract feeding birds into a garden even in bad weather and even then it might not happen. Good luck though, our birds need all the help they can get.
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The important thing, as somebody has already mentioned above, is once they've found your food source then you must continue to feed them on a regular basis. From what you've said It sounds like you're "off the beaten track" when it comes to birds feeding and so they will be using a fair bit of energy to get to your patch, which they will become reliant on. If you suddenly stop feeding them , in extreme weather conditions this could be a life and death situation, especially for smaller birds. It's certainly worth the effort on your part though, nothing better than seeing birds merrily feeding, and this time of year the colours seem to be even brighter and cheer up the day.
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, in reply to message 10.
Posted by Papa Nopsis (U14479902) on Monday, 29th November 2010
bookertoo's post is a pleasure to read.
I fed all of the birds last winter but this year's neglected bumper crop of bramleys
is now feeding about thirty birds including 8 black birds all sitting in the tree above it.
Cotoneaster berries are also coming in to early demand.
I have one pair of Robins which are probably a consequence of my generosity and thought with regard to the frozen ness of the food supply last year, putting out new ever day at least.
They are hatched double yoker birds, more obviously than I have ever seen, being inseparable,dashing to the window with great frequency!
A solitary nut hatch yesterday, although in a pair when last seen, in about February
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People next door loved to feed the birds but they moved away and the newcomers did not feed them nor put out water. I have fed birds for many years and have birdbaths and troughs of water for them. They have got to know me and come down as soon as I open the door.Now I am moving and the newcomers work long hours away from home and I am afraid they will not have time to feed and water the birds just at the time of year that they will depend on being fed. Hopefully they will find another garden to visit.
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, in reply to message 12.
Posted by TomBradbury (U3349234) on Saturday, 4th December 2010
Well, here we are just under a week since I put out food for the birds, and today I counted over 20 birds in my small garden made up of Great Tits, Blue Tits, Sparrows, a Thrush, two Blackbirds (male and female) and two Robins (all look the same but think it was two because one of them had a white fleck on their chest). Absolutely flabbergasted at how quickly they have found the food. I have now bought a proper food feeder stand, more nuts and seeds, and mealworm for the Robins. I spent a lot of my day sitting in the conservatory and observed that they seem to come around in drifts, at two/three hours apart so guess they are on a circuit of other food stations. Well chuffed.
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Most small birds only live for 8 months in these islands.
The winter tests them for breeding.
Link to this forum: Feeding the birds - how long until they realise dinner is served?
My feeders have been very busy for the last few days. I feed fresh food every day so there's always some not frozen and it keeps them going through the winter.
Come the spring, there's a decent population for breeding so my sparrow and tit colonies have gone from about 3 birds to 30 odd nests.
I feed them through spring and the egg sitting phase and then the feeding phase. Parents who have an easy food source are better at finding insects for their chicks and they keep the pests off my roses and veggies. Thanks to this, local sparrows and tots usually manae to raise 3 sets of young in one season.
We also have woodpeckers throughout the summer and chaffinches, robins, wrens, siskins and so on in winter. Greenfinches have disappeared for some reason.
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Is it true that woodpeckers will take young birds from nests?
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I wouldn't know. I only ever see them munching on fat balls or peanuts - two families with distinct tastes. Loads of fun when they both bring their fledglings the first few times as each is territorial about "their" feeder..
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Hi Laura,
I've never heard that about Woodpeckers. I have Robbins (not the same ones you have in England) that nest in my Blue Spruce and they are always having to chase the Magpies away.
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how long until they realise dinner is served?Â
Depends how good it is and how hungry they are!
Just like me!
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