Please care about my birds!

[Bunnyhop1502]

I live in a noisy, built-up area where wildlife is nobodies concern. In the autumn I bought a few bird feeders and a little bath. Probably spent less than £20. Anyway I’ve been putting the food out and changing it regularly, keeping the bath clean and unfrozen but did not have a single birdy visitor until today! I’ve had a pair of great tits (yes I know), a robin and a fat woodpigeon stop off for lunch. I’m sadly thrilled about this! DH and DC aren’t interested so somebody please make a fuss!

That's great op!

Several years ago we had a flock of waxwings in the garden!

In other news, last time I did the big bird watch NOTHING turned up. Absolutely nothing.

That's lovely, OP. I'm an avid feeder of birds too, I have several ha going in my front garden - can't have them in the ba k as it encourages the dog to chase them! My favourites are the goldfinches, so pretty.

I did once have a buzzard on the back lawn. He was sitting there eating his prey. We just looked at each other and I said to him "what on earth are you doing!". He just carried on with his lunch.

I love seeing different birds in my garden. Had to stop feeding them as I just got a flock of pigeons [suburbia] who used to throw the seed out constantly and I was concerned it would attract rats.

But in the garden I see blue tits now and then, a couple of robins, sparrows, blackbirds [male and female], a couple of wrens and a couple of bullfinches in the summer.

I put a feeder out a month ago. I haven’t seen any on it yet but they hop about branch to branch on a tree outside, hopefully eyeing it up.

Hi OP - birds do take some time to adjust. Give it a few more days (possibly even week(s)!) and you will be inundated!

Our birds tend to give anything "new" (like a new feeder) a wide birth initially.

I am obsessive bird feeder, 5 types of feeder, cleaned once a week. Have to have cover when I am away. Reckon I spend at least a pound a day. It's a major hobby and I love it.

Yay for your birds! 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🐦

We did the Big Garden Birdwatch at the weekend and got a robin, a blackbird and a female house sparrow. Last year we got zilch, so that's a 300% improvement! 😆

I washed out the feeder and topped it up last week.

Bloody dogs will drink the water, so that's a struggle.

I have two big feeders filled with sunflower hearts and we get goldfinches, robins, blue tits and sometimes nuthatches and bullfinches.

We've recently put up bird feeders. Blue tits, gold finches, chaffinches, sparrows and robins all regular visitors. Plus wood pigeons and black birds picking up the fallen bits off the ground. Today two red kites were circling high up, the rest of the bird population was going crazy!

We used to live in a very urban area but also by a reservoir and had all kinds birds visit our garden. Song thrushes, wrens, finches, so many birds. We are a bit more suburban now but our garden is just a big empty space. Magpies, pigeons and seagulls is all we get!

Feeding the birds is lovely. I get loads of sparrows and they are so entertaining. Have a robin or two but otherwise mainly pigeons and crows.

Oh yes forgot about the sparrow hawk which likes to pick off the feeding birds

Depending on the time of year we have parakeets, lots of them. Since I began putting food out the bird population has increased and yesterday there were 8 magpies and one lonely wood pigeon and the squirrel that is a nuisance. In warmer weather there are usually 2 pairs plus some extras.

Today it was one magpie and 4 crows.

Not long ago a sparrow hawk took a magpie which saddened me and a little while ago there was a patch of feathers which looked as if it had happened again, to a pigeon. They are 'my' pigeons, I love to see them waddling around and flirting on the fence.

Yes OP!

I love it. Wilko, Home Bargains and B&M are great for slightly more affordable foods!

I'm stingy and only buy the fat balls (10 for £1 in Wilko - always remember to cut them out of the nets), black sunflower seeds (80p B&M/ Home Bargains) and the fat mealworm squares and half coconut shells (2 for £1 in B&M!).

Oh and the no-mess bird seed from Wilko as I don't like germinating wheat under my bird feeders

I refill the coconut shells with a mixture of seeds, oats and melted lard - set in the fridge overnight.

Mine seem to love all of the above! I avoid feeding on the ground due to having a cat/ neighbourhood cats.

I have a nyger seed feeder but didn't get any goldfinches last year

I avoid peanuts as they're bad for young birds and can go mouldy and toxic in the feeder.

Jealous of those with parakeets! I'm suburban and struggle to attract birds but after a few months/years have blue tits, sparrows, robins, blackbirds, various other small tits and (greedy) starlings. Nothing very exciting but everything is in decline.

I had a spotted woodpecker last year which was incredible!

I'd encourage people to cover their fences in climbers as it provides good cover for garden birds and encourages insects. Pyracantha is great as a burglar deterrant and the birds love the berries in winter. I constantly have pigeons and blackbirds in all three of mine

Climbing honeysuckle is evergreen and there are some good evergreen clematis and honeysuckle.

Very excited to see a zebra finch one day, so I started hanging up bird feeders only to be completely invaded by starlings for the whole summer. Clearly the finch was a decoy bird sent it to tempt me to spend loads on bird food...

I like them I don’t think the neighbours are keen but you can’t have everything, I get the parakeets flying over daily but not actually stopping (probably for the best) wood pigeons who regularly try to have sex on very wobbly fence, a daily robin, magpies and crows who actually manage to remove the whole feeder to get to the food and a red kite (who soars over but again doesn’t stop) I could waste ages watching them all!
(Oh I’m near Heathrow)

I had a woodpecker on the feeder the other day.

Made my day.

Well this is great! Hello other bird-fanciers!

We used to live in West London and the noisy paraqueets were the worst thing. Gorgeous to look at, but they don't half make a racket, plus they used to strip our cherry tree of fruit as soon as it turned red. We've now moved to the Midlands and have just started to put out food, word pidgies and squirrels is mainly what we get, our neighbour is a bird feeding legend though (has all the kit) and he has all manner of gorgeous birdies. There is an owl who lives in the woodland behind us, he (I'm guessing a he) hoots at around 10pm ish most nights. And of course the bats then are out.. love wildlife

Aww I loved watching the birds on our feeders until the f*cking squirrels come along and destroy them, emptying the seeds all over the garden and making an unholy mess.

Well done op. I am really happy for you. I think living amongst birds is quite magical if we just stop and look and think about it. Battled through beast from the east to keep birds going and keep water free of ice for at least part of each day. Feel it a real honour that at least some of the birds I see now are those who were so amazing to get through. Have nest pods hidden for them in ivy etc.
My big problem is this was all at my ma’s garden where I would stay and Last winter stayed for a bit as ma was ill. she passed away recently and I am going to mourn the garden and her birds terribly when the house is sold.
Plan to leave bequest to rspb when I go as truly magic thing is if we protect birds we also protect countryside, waterways, coast etc etc.
Anyway op it is really great ! Well done. What an honour.

*sorry meant climbing hydrangea

Really enjoying everyone's birdy stories!
Particularly the decoy zebrafinch and the shagging pigeons

I weirdly don't get any squirrels. Glad that my crows and magpies have shown no interest in taking apart the feeders! My starlings are greedy so and so's hence me only feeding cheaper foods but the racket they make seems to alert the smaller birds that there's food available.

We hav a Robin, various tits, a sparrow, woodpigeons, squirrels and my favourites (along with the robin) blackbirds.

I have just bought a feeder with a cage around it (squirrel deterent) for just £6 from Wilko to hold peanuts. They do a fat ball one too.

I also refill the coconut halves with peanut butter, oats, seeds etc.

My late dad used feed all the birds that turned up in his garden every day and put out food on the bird table, but the naughty squirrels would pitch it, when they got the chance! I wonder if the birds miss him, I certainly do.

I’ve been putting seed and fat feeders out for a few years now. Our daily visitors are a robin, pair of bluetits, blackbirds, large and entertaining sparrow gang, magpies and pigeons. The crows watch from afar and rarely come down. We occasionally get a thrush and starlings. The sparrow hawk is a rare and scary visitor.