"Bob Hobden" wrote in message
...

"Kate" wrote in message
...

I am not going to bother any more. I spend a lot of money on
proprietary foods and also make my own, but all we get in the
garden
are pigeons and starlings. snip
As I suggested before, I think there are too many people
feeding too few birds where we live now, but I can`t think of
anything
else we could do to entice them, so I`m admitting defeat.


But is your garden full of mature shrubs and trees for them to feel
safe when perched on?
We find that the feeder on the pole in the middle of the garden
(good view all round?) does better trade than the one on the bird
table next to the fence, it's also within easy hop of our Camellia
bushes (to 14ft tall) and we notice the birds tend to land on there
first and have a good look around before coming to the feeder.

snip
--
Regards
Bob
In Runnymede, 17 miles West of London


Yes, indeed, both evergreen and deciduous. Mature trees the other
side of the bottom fence, too - oak, birch, holly and pine. Our
feeders are suspended under a wooden arch, so are fairly open, but not
so much that the birds are in danger of being taken by a sparrowhawk.
The 3 bird tables are dotted about, and all within a few wing beats of
cover. I leave the seed heads on plants like the echinacea and we
have shrubs which have berries, although most of these are gone now.
We leave some fallen fruit on the ground and don`t clear up leaf
litter which will harbour insects. No cats, dogs, or children either.
Last Spring we had lots of birds, and I wonder if it was because a lot
of people stop putting food out when the weather gets milder, whereas
we continued to feed so there was much less competition..

It is interesting that you say that the feeder on a pole in the middle
of your garden is more popular; my mother-in-law has recently bought
a Gardman Feeding Station which we erected almost in the middle of her
small garden, with space all around. The very next day after it was
set up, birds started using it and have done so ever since. She even
had a green woodpecker on it the other day. I suppose I could give it
a try...

Kate