"Char Kenny" wrote in message
...

Hello fellow bird-lovers!

I have just moved from country Ireland to city England and am really
disappointed by the lack of birds in my new garden. I am thinking about
buying a bird house/feeder and some food. I visited the local garden
centre and was overwhelmed by the amount of brands available.

To me, it seems like a choice between buying Tesco cornflakes and
Kelloggs cornflakes but I'm a newbie to this. Can any of you share your
thoughts on which brand is best to get and which brand I should avoid.
Can the birds really tell a difference?

Thanks very much!




--
Char Kenny

I use C J Wildbird food and/or Haiths both of whom provide me with good
service. As to what to buy when we lived in the Thames Valley squirrels
were a nuisance. You can adopt three methods of dealing with them (1)
ignore and just accept they will steal food (2) use "squirrel proof" feeders
but nothing is squirrel proof (3) feed the squirrels. I found a mixture of
2/3 effective for peanuts and found that if I used unprotected tube seed
feeders the losses were minimal. It was almost as if the squirrels
appreciated the sport of defeating the squirrel proof peanut feeders along
with a free supply of peanuts and left the seed alone.

As to which feed to use I have found that the most expensive does seem to
actually be good value. When you feed the cheaper feeds you watch the
birds discarding some seed and eating the rest. What they discard then
tries to germinate and what doesn't germinate turns into a mess. Somehow,
the expensive feeds get all eaten and the little they miss doesn't
germinate.

Trays beneath your feeder are a 2 edged sword. They increase the range of
birds visiting but they can become messy very quickly.

Here in Somerset we use simple tube feeders with no squirrel protection.e.g.
http://www.haiths.com/product-Birdlo...FJACOSEEDPLAS/

I've had a bird house (for feeding) but I've never been happy with them and
they get messy. If you mean a nesting box I use Schwegler with some
success.