In message , Martin
writes
On Mon, 11 Oct 2010 12:09:41 +0100, Gordon H
wrote:

In message , Martin
writes
On Sun, 10 Oct 2010 18:22:01 +0100, Jake wrote:

Incidentally I buy the "no waste" mixed feed (as well as others).
Costs a bit more but less waste chucked off the table onto the lawn by
the birds (who are pernikity eaters!)

Tits chuck food off the table that other birds eat.

Collared doves, chaffinches?

Ground feeders.

That's what I meant, they clean up...
--
Gordon H
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On Mon, 11 Oct 2010 18:36:01 +0100, Gordon H
wrote:

In message , Martin
writes
On Mon, 11 Oct 2010 12:09:41 +0100, Gordon H
wrote:

In message , Martin
writes
On Sun, 10 Oct 2010 18:22:01 +0100, Jake wrote:

Incidentally I buy the "no waste" mixed feed (as well as others).
Costs a bit more but less waste chucked off the table onto the lawn by
the birds (who are pernikity eaters!)

Tits chuck food off the table that other birds eat.

Collared doves, chaffinches?

Ground feeders.

That's what I meant, they clean up...

Since I started buying the "no mess" food a few years ago, I find that
very little gets chucked onto the ground (and I don't have unusual
things growing in my lawn). I now have to throw sunflower hearts onto
the ground for the ground feeders who seem to swoop down about 10
seconds after I start throwing and don't seem to mind my being there.
You could almost set your clock by the birds around here. Breakfast at
5 (6 in the winter), mid morning gorging at about 10-11 (and if I'm
late, there's a tapping on the kitchen window!), afternoon snack at
about 2-3 and then magpie attack at about 5.

In message , Jake
writes
On Mon, 11 Oct 2010 18:36:01 +0100, Gordon H
wrote:
Collared doves, chaffinches?

Ground feeders.

That's what I meant, they clean up...

Since I started buying the "no mess" food a few years ago, I find that
very little gets chucked onto the ground (and I don't have unusual
things growing in my lawn). I now have to throw sunflower hearts onto
the ground for the ground feeders who seem to swoop down about 10
seconds after I start throwing and don't seem to mind my being there.
You could almost set your clock by the birds around here. Breakfast at
5 (6 in the winter), mid morning gorging at about 10-11 (and if I'm
late, there's a tapping on the kitchen window!), afternoon snack at
about 2-3 and then magpie attack at about 5.

I find the same, - no sign of a bird, then suddenly the garden is full
of goldfinches and sparrows, punctuated by great tits snatching a seed
in between, sadly very few BTs this year.

I suppose it's safety in numbers, or simply following each other around,
morning sessions vary, but there's always a crowd at about 13:30.
I try to be eating lunch or doing something in the kitchen at that time.
--
Gordon H
Remove "invalid" to reply

"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...

"Shelagh" wrote in message
...
Hi, I have a birdtable that isn't attracting any birds

I have mixed seed in a small pot on the tabletop - would it be better to
sprinkle the seed directly on the table?

Thanks for any advice!



Yes, it probably would but if you have not fed them regularly up until now
it will take a while for them to notice it
Persevere and they will come.
Tina

A further tip would be to place the feeder somewhere not too far from a
suitable shrub/hedge. Birds frequently settle on a shrub sussing out the
environment before going to the food. Just a few feet would be far enough.

BTW if you're interested in photographing your visitors, watch them
carefully and you will soon see that one or two may have a preference for a
particular branch on which to perch before going tothe feeder. Focus on
this branch and wait for the bird toarrive then tak you picture.

Bill

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2010-10-08 22:23:34 +0100, Dave Hill
said:

On 8 Oct, 20:32, Jake wrote:
On Fri, 8 Oct 2010 18:05:51 +0000 (UTC), Shelagh
wrote:

Hi, I have a birdtable that isn't attracting any birds

I have mixed seed in a small pot on the tabletop - would it be better
to
sprinkle the seed directly on the table?

Thanks for any advice!

~ S ~

Birds are funny creatures. Almost all through the year I have loads of
different birds feeding in the garden from a variety of sources. I
have a variety of seeds on a table, plus peanuts (which a local
woodpecker seems particularly interested in), nyger seed, sunflower
hearts and fat balls in hanging feeders (please don't put peanuts in
the open on a bird table, always in a peanut feeder, and don't buy any
old "bird" peanuts from some corner shop - make sure they're bird-safe
from a reputable brand). So variety matters if you want to attract a
range of birds.
snip

I'd get a few of those fat balls you can get from a variety of places,
they stay fresh for some time and will give the birds time to find
them.

And it's worth scattering some seed on the ground. Some birds are ground
feeders and will only fly onto large surfaces with seed on them. In one of
our greenhouses we have a cardboard tray type box filled with seed and
crumbs and it attracts all sorts of birds, including blackbirds and
robins. We also have hanging balls of fat and seed and peanut feeders.
Right now, they're very well used. But it takes birds some days to
'trust' a new food source sometimes, as someone has already said. The
RSPB web site is very useful for info on how to attract and feed different
birds.

--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon



I dare say it won't be long before we have another "rats" thread :-(



Bill

Yes it would. Give it a try and see what happens and let us know.

I'd like to endorse the recommendation for CJ Birdfood. May not be the cheapest, but they sell in a variety of different sized packs, have a good range with a lot of info about each, and deliver very promptly, usually next day.

I usually reckon about 3 weeks for birds to get used to a new feed or a new feeder position.

We have cats in the garden, so we've mounted our "ground feeding" tray half way up a trellis, which has worked well. All our ground feeding birds - dunnocks, robins, blackbirds etc - are happy to use it. Interestingly, the robin has taken to also using one of the seed feeders, and one of the dunnocks perches on a branch of the rose bush to take seed from the nyger feeder (Thanks to Janet T - your nyjer feeder is very popular in our garden!)

Autumn is a low period for bird feeders -- there are a lot of berries around and still a lot of insects (I was clearing leaves from the lawn yesterday, and there were a lot of caterpillars in there).. As the weather gets colder, both fruit and seeds will decrease and more birds will come to feeders. They continue in spring and summer as they are raising young and then moulting (so appreciate an easy source of food so they can spend more time hiding).

It is also worth looking at what your neighbours are doing - if people around you are putting our seed and peanuts, then giving a different type of food - fat balls, suet pellets, wireworms (dried if you don't like wriggles), sultanas for fruit eaters - gives birds a good reason to come to our garden rather than your neighbours'.

On Mon, 15 Nov 2010 15:40:41 +0000, tabbycat
wrote:


kay;905249 Wrote:
Some slugs eat dead vegetation, some eat live plants, some even eat
other slugs. They are difficult to control; if you haven't noticed
damage to your plants, stop worrying. Trying to eliminate pests ""just
in case" may cause other problems.

Slugs do damage to plants, I use the slug bell,it's efficient and
attractive ( lots of different patterns and colours) it works for a long
time as it's completely waterproof too.

I tried that nemoslug thing and it worked very well.
--
http://www.bra-and-pants.com
http://www.holidayunder100.co.uk

mogga wrote:
Some slugs eat dead vegetation, some eat live plants, some even eat
other slugs. They are difficult to control; if you haven't noticed
damage to your plants, stop worrying. Trying to eliminate pests ""just
in case" may cause other problems.

Slugs do damage to plants, I use the slug bell,it's efficient and
attractive ( lots of different patterns and colours) it works for a long
time as it's completely waterproof too.

I tried that nemoslug thing and it worked very well.

We have been using the nemaslugs for years - the effect builds up the longer
you use it, so we use a lot less than the recommended dose this year.

We'd kind of forgotten how bad slug damage was beacuse we'd got used to the
lower levels of damage, but our sweet potatoes this year were absolutely
riddled! Will have to start nemaslugging over the other side from next
year!!