"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message
...
The message
from "Rupert" contains these words:


"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...

I load my birdtable with sultanas, porridge oats, canary mix, budgie
mix,
sunflower hearts and both black and striped sunflower seeds. It seems
very successful. The whole table is cleared every day. Full peanut
feeders last 3 or 4 days.

Tina

I love all that lot too. Do I really have to dress up as a Golden eagle
to
get a mouthful?

If you dress up as a golden eagle, you'll have to eat raw fluffy
bunnies. Think on.

Janet

If that's a euphemism for those areas of a woman that you have previously
told me I know nowlt about then I am going straight.

Rupert wrote:
"Richard Brooks" wrote in message
...

Rupert wrote:

[undergrowth snipped]

I love all that lot too. Do I really have to dress up as a Golden eagle
to get a mouthful?

Sorry, isn't that what your partner is meant to say just before Christmas
?

You dirty batard. Now I know for sure you twitchers are all filthy perverts.
Excellent work--keep *it* up :-P

Hey, I'm only a crazy retard with his finger on the 'record' button
waiting for the twitchers film 'Tawny Pippet' to show up on Channel 4 again.


Richard.

Wasn't it Richard Brooks who wrote:
tox wrote:

Blackbirds adore Sultanas...May I suggest you try Morrisons on Festival
Park, where they are very reasonably priced?

HTH
tox

Would soaking them first to get the water back in be a good idea ?

They're just as keen on them either way, but if you switch from soaked
to dry or from dry to soaked it takes then a while to become convinced
that the unfamiliar new version is safe to eat. So you might as well
keep things simple and use them dry.

The only downside to that is that if some sultanas get left out in the
rain and swell up, the blackbirds will treat them as unfamiliar, and
avoid them.

You get to see a couple of odd blackbird behaviours with dried fruit
when they are collecting food for their chicks:

1. They take an awful lot of time trying to get the absolute maximum
number of raisins in their beak on each trip. Rather than being happy
with five, they'll keep trying to pick up a sixth. They don't seem to be
smart enough to figure out that there are so many available that
there'll still be some around on for the next trip.

2. Some individual blackbirds don't seem to like clean dried fruit.
After spending ages collecting a maximum load, they don't return
directly to their nest, but go to a nearby flower border and carefully
wipe each one in the soil.

--
Mike Williams
Gentleman of Leisure

Mike Williams wrote:
Wasn't it Richard Brooks who wrote:

tox wrote:

Blackbirds adore Sultanas...May I suggest you try Morrisons on Festival
Park, where they are very reasonably priced?

HTH
tox

Would soaking them first to get the water back in be a good idea ?


They're just as keen on them either way, but if you switch from soaked
to dry or from dry to soaked it takes then a while to become convinced
that the unfamiliar new version is safe to eat. So you might as well
keep things simple and use them dry.

The only downside to that is that if some sultanas get left out in the
rain and swell up, the blackbirds will treat them as unfamiliar, and
avoid them.

You get to see a couple of odd blackbird behaviours with dried fruit
when they are collecting food for their chicks:

1. They take an awful lot of time trying to get the absolute maximum
number of raisins in their beak on each trip. Rather than being happy
with five, they'll keep trying to pick up a sixth. They don't seem to be
smart enough to figure out that there are so many available that
there'll still be some around on for the next trip.

2. Some individual blackbirds don't seem to like clean dried fruit.
After spending ages collecting a maximum load, they don't return
directly to their nest, but go to a nearby flower border and carefully
wipe each one in the soil.

I've found the same sort of situation with supermarket apples thrown out
for ground feeders, which never seem to rot. The birds steer clear of
them. I've not tried organic farmer's market apples to stock up the
'windfall' ones from my own trees which I leave so it would be good to
hear if anyone has had success with those.

Richard.

Mike Williams wrote:
After spending ages collecting a maximum load, they don't return
directly to their nest, but go to a nearby flower border and carefully
wipe each one in the soil.


Could that be because they are not distinguishing between the dried fruit
and slimey slugs which the picky chicks won't eat unless they are de-slimed
first?



Mike.
--
If reply address = connectfee, add an r because it is free not fee.

"tox" wrote in message
...

"PhEaSaNt PLuCKeR" wrote in message
...
Hi,

Very early this morning a robin appeared, followed by some sparrows, but
no sign of blackbird as yet!

Blackbirds adore Sultanas...May I suggest you try Morrisons on Festival
Park, where they are very reasonably priced?

HTH
tox


Nice One Tox Blackie is back with us :-)
Just one other species likes them as well and she goes by the name of
June!!!!
(she did save some though)

Thanks

--
Regards
James (ukjay)
http://www.ukjay.co.uk

Garden WebCam Guestbook/Message Portal
http://ukjay.kicks-ass.net/cgi-bin/guestbook.pl

"Richard Brooks" wrote in message
...
tox wrote:
"PhEaSaNt PLuCKeR" wrote in message
...

Hi,

Very early this morning a robin appeared, followed by some sparrows, but
no sign of blackbird as yet!


Blackbirds adore Sultanas...May I suggest you try Morrisons on Festival
Park, where they are very reasonably priced?

HTH
tox

Would soaking them first to get the water back in be a good idea ?
Yes, especially on very cold days where water freezes. This might be the
only source of water they get. Feeding dry stuff to them which them absorbs
moisture from their bodies and requires them to drink more, at a time where
there is little do drink, means they soon die of deyhydration.

"PammyT" wrote in message
...

"Richard Brooks" wrote in message
...
tox wrote:
"PhEaSaNt PLuCKeR" wrote in message
...

Hi,

Very early this morning a robin appeared, followed by some sparrows,
but
no sign of blackbird as yet!


Blackbirds adore Sultanas...May I suggest you try Morrisons on Festival
Park, where they are very reasonably priced?

HTH
tox

Would soaking them first to get the water back in be a good idea ?
Yes, especially on very cold days where water freezes. This might be the
only source of water they get. Feeding dry stuff to them which them
absorbs
moisture from their bodies and requires them to drink more, at a time
where
there is little do drink, means they soon die of deyhydration.



Yes I did notice Blackie drink from our water feature straight after
devouring the
fresh sultanas!

Merry Christmas


--
Regards
James (ukjay)
http://www.ukjay.co.uk

Garden WebCam Guestbook/Message Portal
http://ukjay.kicks-ass.net/cgi-bin/guestbook.pl

"PammyT" wrote in message
...



Would soaking them first to get the water back in be a good idea ?
Yes, especially on very cold days where water freezes. This might be the
only source of water they get. Feeding dry stuff to them which them
absorbs
moisture from their bodies and requires them to drink more, at a time
where
there is little do drink, means they soon die of deyhydration.

Utter nonsense!

On that basis, every bird that comes to my garden and gorges itself on
sunflower hearts, niger seed peanuts and any other seed you care to name,
should be lying in the garden, legs pointing to the sky. Or perhaps you're
suggesting we should soak all bird seed before putting it in the feeders?

Anyway, all the people I know who feed birds, also provide them with water.

tox

Spring Bored wrote:
"PammyT" wrote in message
...


Would soaking them first to get the water back in be a good idea ?

Yes, especially on very cold days where water freezes. This might be the
only source of water they get. Feeding dry stuff to them which them
absorbs
moisture from their bodies and requires them to drink more, at a time
where
there is little do drink, means they soon die of deyhydration.


Utter nonsense!

On that basis, every bird that comes to my garden and gorges itself on
sunflower hearts, niger seed peanuts and any other seed you care to name,
should be lying in the garden, legs pointing to the sky. Or perhaps you're
suggesting we should soak all bird seed before putting it in the feeders?

Anyway, all the people I know who feed birds, also provide them with water.


I'm planning on making a minature diving board next spring to go with
the bird pool!

Richard.

Anyway, all the people I know who feed birds, also provide them with
water.

We do. One in the bird bath at about 3 feet off the ground and one at ground
level for the ground feeders such as the Blackbird. All the Sparrows and
Starlings have bird baths in that one :-))



I'm planning on making a minature diving board next spring to go with
the bird pool!

Are you going to provide a clean towel each day as well? ;-)


Mike

Mike wrote:
Anyway, all the people I know who feed birds, also provide them with

water.

We do. One in the bird bath at about 3 feet off the ground and one at ground
level for the ground feeders such as the Blackbird. All the Sparrows and
Starlings have bird baths in that one :-))


I'm planning on making a minature diving board next spring to go with
the bird pool!


Are you going to provide a clean towel each day as well? ;-)



Hey, that's a good idea! Like a bird version of Potty Time I can add a
small round barbeque which, in the long run will give the old lady next
door severe worries. She has too much fun rattling the venetian blinds
until they fall off their mounts, as it is.

Any competitions for the best wild bird sanctuary going around ?


Richard.

"Richard Brooks" wrote in message
...
Spring Bored wrote:
"PammyT" wrote in message
...


snip
Anyway, all the people I know who feed birds, also provide them
with water.


I'm planning on making a minature diving board next spring to go
with the bird pool!

Richard.

We have one of those "water features" (don`t all groan at once!) where
water bubbles up through a hole in an upturned concrete bowl thingy
which stands in a larger bowl which is the reservoir. We have the
water reaching a height of about 4 inches and during the summer a
female blackbird took showers, rather than baths, by standing almost
on top of the water jet and ducking her head right into the water. She
would then turn around and wash the other end - bit like a bidet,
really!

Kate

She
would then turn around and wash the other end - bit like a bidet,
really!

Kate

DO YOU MIND? This is a Family Show.

Mike
blushing

On 17/12/05 15:51, in article
, "Richard Brooks"
wrote:

snip


I'm planning on making a minature diving board next spring to go with
the bird pool!

We've sort of got one and it's a source of enormous amusement to us and tea
room customers and of great use to the birds. It's a granite trough and Ray
has rigged it up with a pump and a very much smaller trough inside. The
large trough is filled with water and a few pebbles and the smaller is also
filled with water and has a couple of pebbles for the birds to stand on.
From the pebbles, they can 'dive' into the small trough. This they do,
splashing and frolicking and fluffing out feathers and sending great sprays
of water in all directions. Sometimes, they are literally queuing up for
their bathroom and small squabbles break out about whose turn it is next.
I'd love to think that humans get as much pleasure from their baths as our
birds do but I do draw the line at drinking the bathwater, as they do!

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)