|
Post by aeshna5 on Jul 26, 2015 16:42:14 GMT
The last couple of weeks my feeder seem to be emptying every day. Today House Sparrows, Goldfinches + Greenfinches are there constantly with Blue, Great + Coal tits occasionally sneaking in while 2 Wood Pigeons feed below. For months the Goldfinches have ignored the niger but with the sunflower hearts now depleted for the day they've started to feed on this with the sparrows trying to copy them. Today has been very wet (as was Friday) but even on fine days the hearts have all gone by the time I get home.
There is natural food about as I saw c50 Goldfinches feeding on seed heads in my local country park down the road, but surprised that there's at least as much activity in my garden as in cold winter days.
Are other people also experiencing this?
|
|
|
Post by alf1951 on Jul 27, 2015 6:56:34 GMT
Indeed, I've never known it so busy at this time of year. It seems to be the House Sparrows, Great, Blue and Coal Tits and Chaffinches (oddly only female Chaffinches) and the occasional Dunnock.
|
|
|
Post by NellyDee on Jul 27, 2015 12:19:09 GMT
Agree - our birds seem almost desperate. Don't know where you are in the Country but here there are no butterflies or moths, or extremely few, thus no caterpillars. None of our fruiting trees/plants - rowan. raspberries, blackberries etc are in fruit yet. So no natural food for some of the birds. However, we have an inordinate number of insects. It is the first time I have seen the smaller birds - chaffinch, greenfinch doing amazing aerobatics trying to catch insects in flight. I have been having to fill the feeders every day, but by mid afternoon they are empty again. prior to fledging our GSW and the blackbirds where digging out the insects in the fat square to take to their young.
|
|
|
Post by shirl100 on Jul 27, 2015 17:18:16 GMT
Same here, especially blue, great and coal tits, greenfinch and chaffinch - feeders empty by lunch time. It is odd though as we have loads of insects and butterflies but even the juveniles are heading for the feeders. The blue tits and GSWs are going mad for the coconut shell suet food.
|
|
|
Post by Harold Smith on Jul 28, 2015 8:32:04 GMT
Same problem. As soon as I fill the feeders they are empty again. Mainly it is the sparrows. I can have up to 40 in the garden at any one time. Up to half a dozen Blackbirds will be about picking up the spillage under the feeders. There's Dunnocks, Collared Doves, Blue Tits, occasional Great Tits, a family of five crows and Jackdaws. Feral Pigeons can be a problem now and then. They bully the Collared Doves and Wood Pigeons. Despite the small size of the spill trays the Woodies have learnt how to land on them and to tuck in.
Harold.
|
|
|
Post by alf1951 on Jul 29, 2015 7:00:16 GMT
Jackdaws and to a lesser extent rooks were a regular problem around the feeder but solved by relocating the feeder so that it's rarely out of sight of people in the house and less accessible to larger birds.
|
|
|
Post by rowanberry on Jul 29, 2015 13:24:16 GMT
It's the same here- mainly sparrows, (we never get finches) and great/coal tits, but also the GSW family are on and off the feeder all day. Can't keep up with the demand for seed and peanuts, and I'm even having to refill the black sunflower seed feeder every few days. Even in winter I've not had to do that.
|
|
|
Post by htcdude on Jul 30, 2015 13:53:30 GMT
My feeders were empty for a while, as soon as I topped them up they had been emptied within a couple of days (almost daily with the fatballs!).
Starlings seem to consume the fatballs, Goldfinch on the nyjer and Sparrows, Robin, Dunnock and Tits on the fatballs and sunflower seeds.
Nige
|
|
|
Post by NellyDee on Aug 2, 2015 16:10:52 GMT
The birds are getting more and more desperate and now seem to be fighting over the food, I had two fight to the death by chaffinches - never seen this before -(I know robins do). Got really surprised yesterday when my Pied Wagtail, decided to take control of the bird table, literally shooing off the 10 or so other birds that were on the table, including 1 blackbird. The other thing that is now concerning me is my red squirrel, who usually comes late evening and generally take a week to empty his squirrel feeder, for the last couple of days he has been coming mid-day and doing mad dashes back and forth grabbing a nut, burying it and dashing back again, emptying the feeder with in 1/2 hour. The crows are also taking ducklings and flying off with them, presume to feed their young as usually the eat where they find. I am having a moan, but non of the fruit -rowans, blackberries, raspberries blackcurrants have ripened and the trees are getting their autumnal leaves (bit early I think?)
|
|
|
Post by Debxan on Aug 14, 2015 20:16:46 GMT
My bird table busy too, here in Essex. Starlings and sparrows getting through 3 fat balls a day plus nuts and anything else I put on the table. But quite a few blackberries coming through here so other food is available.
|
|
|
Post by alf1951 on Aug 15, 2015 5:32:58 GMT
Last 2 or 3 days it's gone very quiet here. Far fewer birds at the feeders and the fighting has stopped. In fact, generally fewer birds to be seen. Of course, demand to feed young has stopped, and other food sources are coming available. I guess some birds are moulting too - haven't seen a blackbird for a while. Like NellyDee's location it feels autumnal here too - leaves changing colour on some trees already.
|
|
T
Junior Member
Posts: 94
|
Post by T on Aug 15, 2015 16:06:08 GMT
I have a ton of house sparrows at my feeders with quite a few finches and tits nipping in and out.
|
|
|
Post by NellyDee on Aug 16, 2015 6:39:41 GMT
Birds still massing at the feeders which numbers have increased with all the young birds. Bit worried that these youngsters are not learning to get their food in the wild, but there is virtually nothing for them to eat, Raspberries just beginning to ripen, no rowan berries. Still not seen any caterpillars - no butterflies just a few moths. There are lots of insects, but the finches tits and blackbirds don't seem to be able to catch these, though I have seen them try.
|
|