* JakeD wrote, On 11/10/2007 22:22:
On Thu, 11 Oct 2007 14:24:13 +0100, Char Kenny
wrote:


Can the birds really tell a difference?

I have now tried several kinds of bird-feed, including fat balls,
peanits and various seeds, all hung in net bags outside my bedroom
window, so I can see what's eating what.

The only birds that ever come for a snack are great tits! (Black head,
yellow breast.) They only eat the peanuts and some large seeds that
look something like pumpkin seeds.

I wish I knew what would appeal to some of the other birds in the
garden.

What other birds do you know are in the area and that you particularly
want to attract?

I find that by far the most popular food is sunflower seeds; when I've
fed seed mixes, of any kind, there's a huge amount of waste, as the
birds pick out the sunflower seeds and leave most of the rest! The
only exception to this is the mix I get for the ground feeders, which
is pretty much like muesli.

Nowadays I feed sunflower hearts, peanuts and ground feeders' muesli
throughout the year and add fat balls in the winter. That attracts a
pretty wide range of birds. As well as what to feed, it's well worth
considering where. The birds will feel a lot more confident if
there's cover close to hand, along with perches to use before and
after feeding.



--
Cheers, Serena
If you are going through hell, keep going. (Winston Churchill)