On 11/01/2015 18:42, Ophelia wrote:


"Spider" wrote in message
...
On 11/01/2015 17:37, Ophelia wrote:


"Spider" wrote in message
...
On 11/01/2015 15:19, Ophelia wrote:
30/40 starlings flying around in the garden and on the trees and about
16 managed to get onto the sooper dooper fancy feeder (tm) and they
were
fighting each other for the fat balls!! Wow it was magical. I think
hubby is stuffed for his shed guttering for a while yet I tried to
get a pic at the window but they saw me and scarpered. Fingers crossed
they try again.

heh and all because you told us to remove the netting from the fat
balls)



Oh, that's lovely to hear, Ophelia! I can tell just how much you
enjoyed it:~)). Obviously, they're feeding themselves up so they're in
good breeding fettle, which may mean they nest in or near your
garden:~).

That would be so lovely if they did) Do you think they will come back
again before then though? Soon after they left, the high winds and
driving rain came back, so I expect that kept them away


Provided you leave food out, they will come back when they're hungry.
They
were keen enough to fight over it, so they're definitely interested! The
parents may even be glad to top up their diet with your suet balls for a
while, even while they're feeding their young with meaty, wriggly things.
It's hard work finding enough food for a nest full of screeching
beaks, so
a free snack of almost anything should be appreciated.

Righteo then the cafe shall remain for the moment Apart from a whole
chicken and Bonnie's dinner, what else would you put out?


It's worth trying any scraps you would normally put out for the birds,
avoiding anything salty. It may be worth trying raw mince meat if you
can get it cheap (cheep?) enough, but that's a guess.


Pity hubby has to wait for his guttering! Actually, I suspect it will
be free again fairly soon because Starlings (and especially their
young) prefer a carnivorous diet (caterpillars, worms, spiders(sob),
etc.), so as soon as their preferred diet is freely available, they
will probably change to that high protein meat diet.

Ah! So there is nothing more we can offer them now?


You could try offering the dried mealworms often on sale for wild birds.
If they don't want them, you'll soon find that robins and tits do!
They won't be wasted. I know! ... try offering them those suet blocks
with peanut and insect. It's a sort of middle step between what you're
offering them now and their preferred insect diet. They ought to love
that. I buy them fairly cheaply (£1 a block) in Poundstretchers, but
Wilkinsons and the like should have good prices, too.

They'll always appreciate fresh water for drinking and batheing, but
you've already said that there are local ponds they could use.


Apparently they will take dog food, but your dog may not appreciate that!
They're clearly happy with what you're offering them.
However, I found this website earlier, which you may find interesting:

http://www.starlingtalk.com/diet.htm

Plenty there to look at, thanks I am not sure I will be offering a whole
cooked chicken although I don't think Bonnie will mind too much if they
have
some of her dog food. She won't go hungry

If I offer dog/people food, will it be ok to offer it in the sdff?


Only if you keep it thoroughly clean, otherwise it will rapidly become
unhealthy. A shallow tray with some drainage holes (in case of rain)
would fit the bill (no pun intended), or even two, so you can wash one
while using one.



In the meantime, I don't suppose hubby will mind too much if he has an
excuse to stay in the warm;~). So long as he gets his gutttering up
in time to catch the April showers:~).

Awwww he was enjoying them as much as I was so he is content to wait


Yes, I can imagine you both glued to the window:~)

I wouldn't count on that particular cafe being up and running next
winter though)


Unless hubby pops out and buys some more guttering ... (scuttles back
under stone) :~))

lolol I wouldn't put it past him))) I just asked and he say he is
sure he will find something))


I bet he will! Once you start this bird feeding obsession, you'll both
be only too pleased to forfeit some artefact or project to keep the
birds happy. Sounds good to me:~).
btw I've never had all these starlings in the garden until the sdff))


The sdff(tm), if you don't mind!;~)).
It's amazing how many birds (and other critters) you can attract into
your garden once you start feeding them and giving thought to their
environment.

I was frozen when I finally dragged myself in from the garden this
afternoon and beginning to droop a bit, but your post really cheered me
up. Lovely to hear tales from your garden again, and learn that the
starlings were doing well:~). Thanks for that. Night, Sweetie.
--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay