Please don’t forget

[fallen-archie]

During the predicted cold weather to put out some water and food for the birds, they are about to start breeding and should be in really good condition! I have my feeders topped up regularly and today had 10 goldfinches on the Niger seed along with chaffinch’s redpolls. Siskins and the usual array of **bleep** on the peanuts, a beautiful pair of partridge eating on the ground along with a lovely **bleep** pheasant, a flock of sparrows, dunnock, Robins, blackbirds, a tree creeper, a couple of wrens, and a host of other birds. So do what you can to help a native wildlife and start a list of visitors. And remember even if you live in a flat you can get a feeder which fits on your window, I get a regular visit around our upstairs window from a goldcrest which is Britain’s smallest bird and it goes behind the soffit boards hunting for spiders and flies 👍

[**tigerlilly**]

How lovely, all those ickle dickie birds. I put all kinds of food and titbits out in my garden and don't get any coming in at all. ☹

[fallen-archie]

What do you put out and where?
There are birds everywhere and they will come as long as you consider the potential dangers to them ie Cats, birds of prey etc etc they need to have places they can escape to and some feed on the ground others use feeders. Trial and error may be necessary however please don’t stop giving them food especially as we go through a cold spell😀

[upthecreekyetagain]

[023mjc]

Topped mine up this morning - but all I ever get is pigeons

[upthecreekyetagain]

We took part in the recent wild bird survey - our count included pheasants, two different woodpeckers, the normal range of **bleep**, magpies, jays, crows, and parakeets.

The wife spends a fortune on seed, fat balls, dried bugs and peanuts.

The pheasants must be getting hungry because this afternoon there were four male pheasants around the feed area feeding happily - normally they keep clear of each other and when they don’t they have a go at each other.

[fallen-archie]

We are yet to be invaded by parakeets, but I also spend a fair bit on food however buying bulk niger seed is well worth while as it really lasts for ages and provides my army of finches with much needed high energy Sustenance. A chap I know has successfully started feeding a buzzard which now visits his garden daily!

[otherego]

...all I ever get is pigeons

Time for a suitably stocked fishpond, perhaps?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZwPG_x6QEk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv3bdb_fTsI

Those show freshwater catfish catching pigeons. Although I found it difficult to see just how successful the fish were, I read somewhere that their success rate is about 28%

(Albi, in France - I think.)

[al**bear]

All my scraps go out the back garden and the large Birds eat them

 Jackdaws, Crows, Blackbirds,  etc

I do discourage the Seagulls, they shouldn't be here, vermin in my eyes sorry

But out the front, I put out 'No mess' high quality Wild Bird seed

(available free delivery from the website that can't be named on here)

I've got under half of my second 20kg bag of the winter, left

I've 6 young Collared Doves, who have visited all winter

Loads of various **bleep**, sparrows and Robins etc

and of Course my Magpies, who go to Both, led by one that I've seen in my garden for at least 15 years, He is massive and fights everything including Seagulls -

He treats my Cats with disdain, and the bold Horatio creeps around belly close to the ground if he's about

[al**bear]

Bleep =  T its 

[theelench]

I'm a bit limited as to what I can put out, only having a balcony, but both feeders are full.  Unfortunately, only having an old Lasagna dish for water, it freezes very quickly so isn't a lot of help unless the birds are quick.

I know it's not recommended but I do put out some bread for the Collar Doves, it's better than nothing.  I get Sparrows, Starlings and a few T its but not much else visiting.  I know that when Blackbirds and Parakeets start to visit they are getting desperate.

It started snowing last night, there's about two inches at the moment  and it's been falling heavier since I got up.

Question.  The Pied Wagtails that run about in car-parks and on the roads have increased in numbers since the week-end.  Have they come inland from the beaches and what can they be looking for?  I would have thought that bare tarmac can't provide anything for them to eat but they do seem to peck up something.

[fallen-archie]

Pied wagtails eat small invertebrates and that is what they are looking for, they will eat mealworms and I’m told finely grated cheese. Should you wish to help them out!

[**tigerlilly**]

Yayyyyyy, had one little wren this morning.I put out wild bird seed, mealworms and home made and bought fat balls.  I hang some, put some low in a bird bath and some higher on a bird table and I will put fresh water when I remember.

I don't usually get any birds, not even the pigeons.

[theelench]

I'm amazed that they find any invertebrates when it's this cold, but they must be finding something or wouldn't be there.

Can't put fat balls or anything similar on my balcony, had to stop that and get the carpet cleaned once before.  I would love to put some food on the grass below but have one wretched neighbour who complains to the council if anyone dares to feed the birds.  Others have tried and we have all got a stern letter warning of "Enforcement Action" if we encourage vermin.

[fallen-archie]

If your balcony isn’t enclosed why not hang up a few feeders which have a tray to catch any detritus there are loads on the market however if you look up the peckish range they are strong and birds seem to find them useable😀

[upthecreekyetagain]

No birds first thing but this little tyke is stuffing himself

[fallen-archie]

That’s a superb array of feeders you have there Creeky 👍 wouldn’t it be lovely if that were a native red squirrel rather than a grey import?

[theelench]

Thanks for the suggestion, I've had a look at them but they don't seem to cater for the difficulties I have any better than others I've seen.

My balcony has solid walls at each end and railings at the front which are "Child-proof", i.e the gaps are about three inches wide.   Being on the forth floor it is often quite windy.  I've found that feeders narrow enough to fit into the gaps batter themselves on the railings and the birds don't seem to like them there.  Being so narrow they don't have anything to catch detritus that then drops onto the balcony below and annoys my neighbour, especially if it lands on laundry that they're airing.

My only other choice is to hang the feeders from the ventilation gaps in the sophits, the birds seem to like them there and use them.  It works OK with the cheap plastic ones I use because they are short but again have nothing to collect detritus.  The longer one I tried was not a success, the wind blew it into the window and knocked most of the seed out.  When I shortened the wire hooks to stop that happening the birds didn't want to use them as much.

I think their dislike is because in both cases they are too close to solid surfaces while trying to land on a moving feeder in the wind.

To update from yesterday.  Yesterdays early snow mostly disappeared but more fell during the night, so today is starting very similar to yesterday.  I think people in the houses have put out food as yesterday my feeders were mostly ignored by the usual visitors.  This morning I've seen a few sparrows, they don't stay long.  I hope the other birds are finding food in gardens where they are more sheltered from the freezing wind.

[upthecreekyetagain]

Many moons ago my sister lived in a flat with a similar setup.

She simply put a plate on the floor of the balcony with seed in and a bowl with water.  There are many birds that prefer to feed from the floor rather than a swinging feeder.

I don’t know how long it took for the birds to get used to the setup but she always seemed to have birds on her balcony.

[theelench]

Will try that then, even if only temporarily.  In this weather they need all the help they can get.  Unfortunately the wind seems to be picking up again which will keep many away.

Re. the water, I've started building a wall of ice bricks turned out from the Lasagna dish to try to make sure they have access to some water for while before it freezes again.