hank
Junior Member
Posts: 71
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Post by hank on Dec 5, 2015 23:20:28 GMT
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Post by aeshna5 on Dec 6, 2015 5:49:34 GMT
Completed. 7 on the sunflower hearts yesterday afternoon.
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Post by NellyDee on Dec 9, 2015 10:37:45 GMT
I found the list of other surveys done very interesting - seeing the surveys listed and their results was good as I had missed the original surveys.
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Post by shirl100 on Jan 5, 2016 18:17:39 GMT
We had 6 last week and regularly 2 or 3 daily - but the Goldfinches only go for the high energy (no grow) seed , they don't touch any of the other feeders including the Niger seed.
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Post by Tringa on Jan 6, 2016 21:15:17 GMT
Always interesting to hear the experiences of other about the same occurence. The goldfinches here would sometimes eat niger seed but their preference is definitely for sunflower hearts and a full niger seed feeder would, more often than not, be used only as a perch on their way to the hearts. I say 'would' because we have stopped feeding niger seed - most of it went mouldy.
The change in the number of goldfinches is also interesting. Probaly six or seven years ago we saw a few in Jan/Feb and they disappeared as spring arrived, over the next few years they stopped for longer, and then for the whole year. Now they are the most numerous birds in the garden.
Dave
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Post by aeshna5 on Jan 7, 2016 6:42:28 GMT
The second most numerous bird in my garden after House Sparrow. I think 25 is the maximum number at any one time.
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Post by aeshna5 on Jan 9, 2016 15:34:13 GMT
I also get a lot of mess under the sunflower hearts feeder even though it should all be edible As the Goldfinches + House Sparrows (the main 2 species here though tits take some + odd Greenfinch which prefer black sunflower seeds) jostle for position a significant amount falls to the soil. Though a couple of Wood Pigeons take some a lot seems to be left + makes a mess which can get mouldy after rain.
Not sure what the answer is? A tray fitted to the base of the feeder would allow the Woodies to perch + scoff the lot, so that's a non-starter. /wish the birds in my garden were better behaved!
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Post by Cotham Marble on Jan 9, 2016 16:56:38 GMT
I also get a lot of mess under the sunflower hearts feeder even though it should all be edible As the Goldfinches + House Sparrows (the main 2 species here though tits take some + odd Greenfinch which prefer black sunflower seeds) jostle for position a significant amount falls to the soil. Though a couple of Wood Pigeons take some a lot seems to be left + makes a mess which can get mouldy after rain. Not sure what the answer is? A tray fitted to the base of the feeder would allow the Woodies to perch + scoff the lot, so that's a non-starter. /wish the birds in my garden were better behaved! Not a perfect solution but I've started to use metal mesh food covers - they vary in price but you can get them in super markets and £shops for about £1 ! It's just a case of inverting them, cutting two small holes on the rim across a diagonal (for the dome shaped ones) and attach to the feeder with soft wire so that it swings under the feeder. At around 30cm (size varies) small birds can get into the bowl of the cover to pick up spillage, though with the perpetual rain we've had for the last two months there's still some level of decay that needs to be cleaned out on a regular basis. And it can be a bit more of hassle when it comes to refilling. I was prompted to start using this arrangement by presence of R.norvegicus, something that's likely to increase because of the lack of any serious cold weather to inhibit the population. For illustration purposes only - not a product recommendation : www.tesco.com/direct/kitchen-craft-round-metal-mesh-food-cover-35cm/118-3423.prdI've also found that the no grow mix has majorly gooed up in the exceptional wet. It helps a bit to add some cheap wheat based mix - ok if you have House sparrows who are happy with it, though it gets discarded by other birds and without a trap grows everywhere - but I've also started putting a rain block over the top of each feeder, made out of half a 1litre tetra pack - the square profile type that non dairy milks come in - these have helped a fair bit but I'm still having to shake up the feed every couple of days if it has been finished, just to unclogged it and get it to fill the feed ports. Oh and to stay on topic - Goldies only want my teazels, once they'd blitzed these over a couple of days they moved on not to return.
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Post by aeshna5 on Jan 9, 2016 19:44:18 GMT
Thanks for an idea. In the past I did once have some resident rats which were not welcome. Last year I saw 2 youngsters on one occasion but perhaps because I have almost resident Foxes in the garden (usually tucked up in a large Buddleia over my derelict shed for much of the day) I never saw them again. One reason I'm happy having the Foxes despite a certain amount of damage especially when the youngsters appear.
Probably at least a couple of cats pass through on a daily basis but suspect they are of less impact on rats.
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