On 26/04/2012 10:31, Martin wrote:
On Thu, 26 Apr 2012 08:27:10 +0100,
wrote:

This year, for the first time, here anyway, the magpies have learnt to
feed from the hanging feeders. As a result the fat balls get gobbled up
in a couple of hours, the peanuts don't take much longer. It really is
getting to the stage that unless I am willing to support the magpie
populations, I may as well stop feeding the birds, and I thought the
squirrels were a nuisance!

Jackdaws are a far worse problem in our garden.

We have fat balls stacked in a cylindrical tube with one ball exposed
at a time through a wire mesh hemisphere. A parakeet has managed to
hang on upside down with one claw whilst trying to eat the fat ball,
but so far the feeder has defeated the jackdaws and the magpie.
Fat balls hung inside inverted small flower pots also seem to be large
bird proof.
There is another solution here.
http://www.haiths.com/Products/Caged...der-WBOF01007/
Thanks for the replies, especially Martin's. Looked at Haiths, fine
products, perhaps by next Winter I will have save enough to buy all the
relevant ones.

--
Residing on low ground in North Staffordshire