Why aren’t birds using new bird feeder

[Penelopepeace]

I bought a bird feed in Wilkinson’s last Sunday. It has 3 hanging feeders - one with niger seeds, one with peanuts and one with mixed seeds. There is also a platform which I have put some meal worms on. So far not one single bird has visited. What am I doing wrong?

Nothing, it just takes a while for them to find it. Especially this time of year as there is usually a lot of food about naturally for them I think. Give it time, once one has found it, the rest should follow!

It might take a few weeks for them to investigate and then trust it. Also, birds are far less reliant on feeders at this time of year - there are plenty of small (and big!) insects around for them to feast upon. The birds will really want your feeders in a couple of months.

Is it too near a hedge/tree or too far away from a hedge? There's a perfect distance apparantly. Too close and they worry cats could be hiding, too far away and they worry it's too far to get back to safety.

Also it takes time for birds to realise its there. Can be weeks. They might not come frequently until food is scarcer in autumn/winter.

where is it?
it needs to be somewhere where cats can't reach it.
somewhere close to shrubs where they can hide.

Thanks @AllGoodDogs I was beginning to wonder if there was some sort of bird snobbery and they were boycotting Wilko seeds

where is it?

I’ve put it in the middle of the lawn so as far away from the hedge/shrubbery as possible

It needs to be near enough to hedges etc so that the birds can fly to safety quickly if need be eg if a predator such as a sparrow hawk comes visiting.

It needs to be near enough to hedges etc so that the birds can fly to safety quickly if need be eg if a predator such as a sparrow hawk comes visiting

It’s about 18 foot from the nearest hedge. Is that too far?

that's too exposed. max 3ft away, roughly a bird's hop,

Thank you. I will move it. I was worried about the neighbourhood cats lying in wait

No birds, but I do have bats visiting this evening 🦇

I have my bird feeder about 3ft away from my apple tree. It is quite close to the boundary wall, but they don’t seem to mind. My bird bath is further away from the tree, and the only birds I get visiting that are wood pigeons and magpies. Perhaps I should move the bird bath closer to the tree...

Unless your birds are more sophisticated than mine, don't worry about them not liking Wilko's bird food - mine love it!

We go through loads of seed most of the year but they haven't touched it for the last month or two, there must be better things to eat at the moment. But come the cooler months they'll be back fighting over it

Does seed keep in the feeders or do I need to change it?

It took mine two years to really start visiting, this year we have had about 20 different species. They seem to have stopped coming around now. I imagine they are finding enough food in the countryside. I expect the will be back by winter

Seed can go rotten in feeders, also you need to was them in warm soapy water about every 2 weeks or they can pass on nasty germs

I miss feeding the birds, we got some lovely visitors before the squirrels found us. They destroyed all the feeders and spilled the seed daily across the grass which was a PITA to clear up (the dog would eat it if not, and I was worried it would attract rats), and they'd sit on the shed roof, stuffing their faces and shitting all over it 😒.

We had a lovely pair of bull finches as well as great tits, blue tits and Robins. We have a lot of starlings nearby as they roost in the BT tower by our house. I'd love to feed them again if I could find some legitimately squirrel proof feeders.

I miss feeding the birds, we got some lovely visitors before the squirrels found us

Oh dear - we have loads of squirrels but they are currently well fed on hazelnuts and walnuts so aren’t interested in the feeders.

Wilkinson’s sell Squirrel proof feeders or perhaps a search on Amazon ?

they are ignoring our new one too, I have been out there...and yes told them its there ((((yep you mr Robin))) nothing,\surely they can see the phone box, (they had no trouble finding the swing)

I have tried so called squirrel proof feeders but they seem to manage to get them and trash them. The favourite past time is to get them off the hooks and onto the ground and open the lid, pouring the seed out!

Maybe I need to set up a separate squirrel feeder and maybe they'll leave the bird ones alone?!

Birds are suspicious creatures so it will take them a little while to realise your feeders aren’t a trap! And as other PP’s have said, you need to place all feeders close to trees/shrubs so if visiting birds feel threatened then they can fly into them for protection. This will also encourage birds that like to grab seeds from the feeder and fly to a branch to nibble them whilst holding them in their feet (Great and Blue Tits like to do this).

Sometimes though the birds you have in your area may not like what’s on offer - I’ve been feeding birds for over 10 years in 3 different homes and not once have I ever been successful in feeding them peanuts! I’ve found two foods that are irresistible to birds - sunflower hearts and suet pellets. I don’t feed mine anything else now as I found all birds will eat those things, instead of buying lots of different types of food. They are both high in energy too and my birds eat these all year round (in the summer they bring their babies to feast too).

Our local Blackbirds wait in the morning for my DH to leave for work as that’s when he throws them the pellets! 😃

We have a 'baffle' device on the pole of our feeding station. It successfully stops the squirrels from feasting.

We have a 'baffle' device on the pole of our feeding station

These look good - I will definitely order one