If anyone is worried about a lack of birds on their feeders at the
moment, don't worry. I think the entire UK population is all here!

Usually a single woodpecker visits late morning and mid afternoon.
Today, five all at once fighting for a foothold. A sparrow army
fighting a starling army (the sparrows won). Counted seven nuthatches
at one point. Too many tits and finches of all varieties to count.

Filled all the feeders and covered the bird table with about half an
inch of seeds early this morning. Used a kilo of sunflower hearts and
half a kilo of peanuts. Refilled all the feeders and bird table at
lunchtime. Another kilo of sunflowers and a kilo of peanuts (thanks to
woodpeckers scoffing the lot).

Just refilled all the sunflower feeders and the bird table, which was
bare! Have run out of peanuts.

That's three kilos of sunflower hearts in one day (so far). Close on
six quid's worth.

It costs a bit more than the TV licence but we both think it's a lot
more interesting and worth every pound!

But the ungrateful blighters always fly off as soon as the camera's
turned on and focused for the photo!!!!!

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling (after the great storm) from
the usually dryer (east) end of Swansea Bay.

Jake Nospam@invalid wrote in news:3ldpe71qvlqgb9en354i7292g6c8497dm1@
4ax.com:

If anyone is worried about a lack of birds on their feeders at the
moment, don't worry. I think the entire UK population is all here!

Usually a single woodpecker visits late morning and mid afternoon.
Today, five all at once fighting for a foothold. A sparrow army
fighting a starling army (the sparrows won). Counted seven nuthatches
at one point. Too many tits and finches of all varieties to count.

Filled all the feeders and covered the bird table with about half an
inch of seeds early this morning. Used a kilo of sunflower hearts and
half a kilo of peanuts. Refilled all the feeders and bird table at
lunchtime. Another kilo of sunflowers and a kilo of peanuts (thanks to
woodpeckers scoffing the lot).

Just refilled all the sunflower feeders and the bird table, which was
bare! Have run out of peanuts.

That's three kilos of sunflower hearts in one day (so far). Close on
six quid's worth.

It costs a bit more than the TV licence but we both think it's a lot
more interesting and worth every pound!

But the ungrateful blighters always fly off as soon as the camera's
turned on and focused for the photo!!!!!

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling (after the great storm) from
the usually dryer (east) end of Swansea Bay.


A bit the same here.
I made some bread for the first time this morning and it was a bit of a
disaster. I threw it on the lawn to feed the birds.
The starlings loved it until the gulls arrived. What a noise the gulls
made! And robbed the nut and seed meant for well, anything rether than
gulls.
Everything gone now and I don't think the tits or sparrows got even a
sniff.

Baz

On Sun, 18 Dec 2011 13:05:27 GMT, Baz wrote:



A bit the same here.
I made some bread for the first time this morning and it was a bit of a
disaster. I threw it on the lawn to feed the birds.
The starlings loved it until the gulls arrived. What a noise the gulls
made! And robbed the nut and seed meant for well, anything rether than
gulls.
Everything gone now and I don't think the tits or sparrows got even a
sniff.

Baz


I took the stale bread to the far end of the allotment today (Went
taking photos of the snow) and the gulls appeared after an hour or so.
Hope some of the little birds I could hear watching me got some first
though.
--
http://www.voucherfreebies.co.uk

Hi Jake, Yours sounds like my table, lots of birds eating me out of house and home ! You may have a reasonable supply of seed but out of interest, BandQ are selling 12 1/2 kg of seed for about £14 and you get one free !!! and seems a reasonable mix with lots of black sunflower seeds !
My biggest problem was a noticable build up in rats and mice and i'm thinking that all this seed has attracted them ? I actually had 2 stoats in the garden this morning, maybe as a result of the higher numbers of rodents around ??
Regards, Lannerman.
ps. Isnt a Welshman only a Cornishman who can swim HaHaHa !!

On 18/12/2011 15:58, mogga wrote:
On Sun, 18 Dec 2011 13:05:27 GMT, wrote:



A bit the same here.
I made some bread for the first time this morning and it was a bit of a
disaster. I threw it on the lawn to feed the birds.
The starlings loved it until the gulls arrived. What a noise the gulls
made! And robbed the nut and seed meant for well, anything rether than
gulls.
Everything gone now and I don't think the tits or sparrows got even a
sniff.

Baz


I took the stale bread to the far end of the allotment today (Went
taking photos of the snow) and the gulls appeared after an hour or so.
Hope some of the little birds I could hear watching me got some first
though.
My feeder has now started attraction the birds, though not the variety I
usually get, the first chaffinch this morning and no woodpeckers yet, I
have not heard them drumming recently either.
The only thing is I wish the birds were more grateful and stayed away
from my vegetables in gratitude for being fed they have the morals of
politicians!

--
Residing on low ground in North Staffordshire

On Dec 17, 3:46*pm, Jake Nospam@invalid wrote:
If anyone is worried about a lack of birds on their feeders at the
moment, don't worry. I think the entire UK population is all here!

Usually a single woodpecker visits late morning and mid afternoon.
Today, five all at once fighting for a foothold. A sparrow army
fighting *a starling army (the sparrows won). Counted seven nuthatches
at one point. Too many tits and finches of all varieties to count.

Filled all the feeders and covered the bird table with about half an
inch of seeds early this morning. Used a kilo of sunflower hearts and
half a kilo of peanuts. Refilled all the feeders and bird table at
lunchtime. Another kilo of sunflowers and a kilo of peanuts (thanks to
woodpeckers scoffing the lot).

Just refilled all the sunflower feeders and the bird table, which was
bare! Have run out of peanuts.

That's three kilos of sunflower hearts in one day (so far). Close on
six quid's worth.

It costs a bit more than the TV licence but we both think it's a lot
more interesting and worth every pound!

But the ungrateful blighters always fly off as soon as the camera's
turned on and focused for the photo!!!!!

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling (after the great storm) from
the usually dryer (east) end of Swansea Bay.

Sounds to me as if our bvirds have migrated East, Our numbers are
drasticaly down, We are using around 80% less feed than normal, we
just have Blue tits, a couple of great tits, a couple of robins
several blackbirds and a couple of greater spoted wood peckers, not a
sparrow in sight, last year we were providing bead and breakfast for
around 200 of the things.
I think that having a sparrow hawk moving in has driven most away..
David
At the wet end of Swansea Bay

In article ebd0849c-0a95-496a-b929-eb2eda04bc64
@n6g2000vbz.googlegroups.com, says...

On Dec 17, 3:46*pm, Jake Nospam@invalid wrote:
If anyone is worried about a lack of birds on their feeders at the
moment, don't worry. I think the entire UK population is all here!

Usually a single woodpecker visits late morning and mid afternoon.
Today, five all at once fighting for a foothold. A sparrow army
fighting *a starling army (the sparrows won). Counted seven nuthatches
at one point. Too many tits and finches of all varieties to count.

Filled all the feeders and covered the bird table with about half an
inch of seeds early this morning. Used a kilo of sunflower hearts and
half a kilo of peanuts. Refilled all the feeders and bird table at
lunchtime. Another kilo of sunflowers and a kilo of peanuts (thanks to
woodpeckers scoffing the lot).

Just refilled all the sunflower feeders and the bird table, which was
bare! Have run out of peanuts.

That's three kilos of sunflower hearts in one day (so far). Close on
six quid's worth.

It costs a bit more than the TV licence but we both think it's a lot
more interesting and worth every pound!

But the ungrateful blighters always fly off as soon as the camera's
turned on and focused for the photo!!!!!

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling (after the great storm) from
the usually dryer (east) end of Swansea Bay.

Sounds to me as if our bvirds have migrated East, Our numbers are
drasticaly down, We are using around 80% less feed than normal, we
just have Blue tits, a couple of great tits, a couple of robins
several blackbirds and a couple of greater spoted wood peckers, not a
sparrow in sight, last year we were providing bead and breakfast for
around 200 of the things.
I think that having a sparrow hawk moving in has driven most away..

We have sparrow hawks and other birds of prey in abundance here, the
hawks often hunt and kill birds in the garden but we still have hundreds
of small birds scoffing our feed supplies, just like Jake.

Janet (Scotland)

On Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:00:06 -0000, Janet wrote:


Sounds to me as if our bvirds have migrated East, Our numbers are
drasticaly down, We are using around 80% less feed than normal, we
just have Blue tits, a couple of great tits, a couple of robins
several blackbirds and a couple of greater spoted wood peckers, not a
sparrow in sight, last year we were providing bead and breakfast for
around 200 of the things.
I think that having a sparrow hawk moving in has driven most away..

We have sparrow hawks and other birds of prey in abundance here, the
hawks often hunt and kill birds in the garden but we still have hundreds
of small birds scoffing our feed supplies, just like Jake.

Janet (Scotland)

We get sparrow hawks here and also the occasional buzzard. However the
feeders are placed near shelter (overhanging thorny trees and shrubs)
and the table is near a tree and has a roof on it so opportunities to
swoop are limited.

I've had more sunflower hearts delivered today so I'm alright until
the end of January at current consumption but after that I'll have to
cut down somehow. There's no way I can afford to carry on spending at
this rate.

At least the blackbirds and thrushes have at last remembered where the
crab apple is and some tits are also having a go there. Downside is
that the car is parked underneath it so I have to remember to put a
cover over the car when it's on the drive. Don't say park in the
garage! Whoever designs modern houses doesn't allow for anything much
bigger than a Mini

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling (after the great storm) from
the usually dryer (east) end of Swansea Bay.

In article , Nospam@invalid
says...

On Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:00:06 -0000, Janet wrote:


Sounds to me as if our bvirds have migrated East, Our numbers are
drasticaly down, We are using around 80% less feed than normal, we
just have Blue tits, a couple of great tits, a couple of robins
several blackbirds and a couple of greater spoted wood peckers, not a
sparrow in sight, last year we were providing bead and breakfast for
around 200 of the things.
I think that having a sparrow hawk moving in has driven most away..

We have sparrow hawks and other birds of prey in abundance here, the
hawks often hunt and kill birds in the garden but we still have hundreds
of small birds scoffing our feed supplies, just like Jake.

Janet (Scotland)

We get sparrow hawks here and also the occasional buzzard. However the
feeders are placed near shelter (overhanging thorny trees and shrubs)
and the table is near a tree and has a roof on it so opportunities to
swoop are limited.

Sparrow hawks are fascinating birds and highly intelligent. I sited a
birdtable/feeders beside cover and in such a location that the hawk should
have difficulty flying to it. That only lasted until he updated his
navigation aids and started practising an approach that requires three
high speed 90 degree turns in rapid succession. One one dummy run he had
an engine malfunction, baled out and crashlanded almost at my feet. The
next time I saw him make that run he snatched a collar dove from the
birdtable roof, crashlanded in the same place and ate it right under the
kitchen window. He's now refined the technique and instead of trying to
grab the birds from the birdtable, his tactic is to scare them off it,
into the hedge (hawthorn, tight cut and dense). Then hawk bounces and
pounces along the top of the hedge trying to spook them out of it. If they
panic out of the hedge, they don't stand a chance at such close range. My
son had a fascinating sequence of this on his phone.

I've had more sunflower hearts delivered today so I'm alright until
the end of January at current consumption but after that I'll have to
cut down somehow. There's no way I can afford to carry on spending at
this rate.

We have some bottomless-pockets neighbours nearby, who spend over £300 a
month on bulk food for wild garden birds and still can't keep up with the
demand.

Janet

On Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:17:19 -0000, Janet wrote:


We have some bottomless-pockets neighbours nearby, who spend over £300 a
month on bulk food for wild garden birds and still can't keep up with the
demand.

Janet


That's alright then. Feel better now. Only £200 for six weeks. Though
no peanuts. Couldn't afford them on top! Fat balls will probably run
out next week.

OH has a small scar on side of forehead where a sparrow hawk swooped
and missed a few weeks back. Well missed the tits, just caught the
head during a valiant attempt to save the birds!

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling (after the great storm) from
the usually dryer (east) end of Swansea Bay.

"Jake" Nospam@invalid wrote in message
...

I've had more sunflower hearts delivered today so I'm alright until
the end of January at current consumption but after that I'll have to
cut down somehow. There's no way I can afford to carry on spending at
this rate.

Cheers, Jake

You could always move to the Mumbles :-))

BTW there's a shortage of birds here too. My Niger seeds haven't attracted
any interest yet.

Bill

On Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:00:26 -0000, "Bill Grey"
wrote:


"Jake" Nospam@invalid wrote in message
.. .

I've had more sunflower hearts delivered today so I'm alright until
the end of January at current consumption but after that I'll have to
cut down somehow. There's no way I can afford to carry on spending at
this rate.

Cheers, Jake

You could always move to the Mumbles :-))

BTW there's a shortage of birds here too. My Niger seeds haven't attracted
any interest yet.

Bill

That was the root of my mistake. I dispensed with Nyger and the so
called "No Waste, No Mess" mix as the first was getting ignored and
the second only selectively eaten (with the maize element generally
germinating in my borders). I switched to sunflower hearts. Bird
numbers increased a bit initially and then suddenly shot thru the
proverbial roof as did the range of varieties.

What was largely blue tits, sparrows and starlings with the odd
greenfinch, blackbird and thrush and a single woodpecker for variety
has now become blue, great, coal and long tailed tits, gold, green and
chaff-finches, sparrows, starlings, wrens, multiple woodpeckers, and
either marsh or willow tits (I can't tell the difference). Blackbirds
and thrushes are in quantity rather than one or two. Collared doves,
of which we assumed there was a pair locally, now appear in groups.
Mustn't forget robins which, round here are not territorial as there
are several in the garden. The singular nuthatch has become an
entertaining troupe that does everything upside down.

They seem to have realised that the cat will just sit or lie there and
watch them. They're not fazed by his presence at all, just as it's not
unusual for a bird to hang onto a feeder as I take it down to refill.

So try changing what you put out (though make sure your bank manager's
on your side first )

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling (after the great storm) from
the usually dryer (east) end of Swansea Bay.

"Jake" Nospam@invalid wrote in message
...
On Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:00:26 -0000, "Bill Grey"
wrote:


"Jake" Nospam@invalid wrote in message
. ..

I've had more sunflower hearts delivered today so I'm alright until
the end of January at current consumption but after that I'll have to
cut down somehow. There's no way I can afford to carry on spending at
this rate.

Cheers, Jake

You could always move to the Mumbles :-))

BTW there's a shortage of birds here too. My Niger seeds haven't
attracted
any interest yet.

Bill

That was the root of my mistake. I dispensed with Nyger and the so
called "No Waste, No Mess" mix as the first was getting ignored and
the second only selectively eaten (with the maize element generally
germinating in my borders). I switched to sunflower hearts. Bird
numbers increased a bit initially and then suddenly shot thru the
proverbial roof as did the range of varieties.

What was largely blue tits, sparrows and starlings with the odd
greenfinch, blackbird and thrush and a single woodpecker for variety
has now become blue, great, coal and long tailed tits, gold, green and
chaff-finches, sparrows, starlings, wrens, multiple woodpeckers, and
either marsh or willow tits (I can't tell the difference). Blackbirds
and thrushes are in quantity rather than one or two. Collared doves,
of which we assumed there was a pair locally, now appear in groups.
Mustn't forget robins which, round here are not territorial as there
are several in the garden. The singular nuthatch has become an
entertaining troupe that does everything upside down.

They seem to have realised that the cat will just sit or lie there and
watch them. They're not fazed by his presence at all, just as it's not
unusual for a bird to hang onto a feeder as I take it down to refill.

So try changing what you put out (though make sure your bank manager's
on your side first )

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling (after the great storm) from
the usually dryer (east) end of Swansea Bay.

My avian visitors are quite low in number of species, and individuals, also
my purchase of seeds/peanuts is low compared with yours.

Your are fortunate to have such a variety of visitors to your bird tables.

Bill

On Sat, 17 Dec 2011 15:46:16 +0000, Jake Nospam@invalid wrote:

That's three kilos of sunflower hearts in one day (so far). Close on
six quid's worth.

Where do you get sunflower hearts for less than £2/kilo? I buy 20 kg
bags, the latest was nearly £51 with free delivery.

Gardening on Wilts/Somerset border
on slightly alkaline clay.

On Thu, 22 Dec 2011 21:22:50 +0000, cotula
wrote:

On Sat, 17 Dec 2011 15:46:16 +0000, Jake Nospam@invalid wrote:

That's three kilos of sunflower hearts in one day (so far). Close on
six quid's worth.

Where do you get sunflower hearts for less than £2/kilo? I buy 20 kg
bags, the latest was nearly £51 with free delivery.

Gardening on Wilts/Somerset border
on slightly alkaline clay.

Ark Wildlife
(http://www.arkwildlife.co.uk/Item/St...er_Hearts.html)

52 kilos just under £100. They do 26 kilos (which will come as 2 x 13
kilo sacks) for £50 which is a bit cheaper than you pay. Free next day
delivery if you spend over £25 and order before 2pm.

Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Urgling happily from the dry end of Swansea Bay
because Santa's delivered a new weather station
so now I'll know how dry it is.