Are these birds taking the piss?

[Serin]

We feed the birds but if feels like the little buggers are coming from miles around to eat at our table. Flocks and flocks of them, more every day.
Today at 8.30am I filled a large feeder with RSPB approved peanuts and it is already half empty.
I also put chopped apple and pear out for the thrushes.
I dont want them to starve but does anyone have any idea of what I can safely feed them that doesn't cost a fortune?
A budget meal plan?
Like lentils??

I’m well jel, I am looking at buying one of those glass window feeders, imagining myself as Sleeping Beauty, singling to the birds.

I’ve made my own before with lard and the bits out if the bottom of the cereal packet. No idea how nutritious it is though
I have a holder which holds 4 fat balls, lasts around 2 days

I had one of those window feeders, magpies and fat pigeons kept trying to land on it and knocking it off. I gave up after the third one got broken

I’m well jel, I am looking at buying one of those glass window feeders, imagining myself as Sleeping Beauty, singling to the birds.

I had the exact same plan but then a proper fat bastard wood pigeon landed on it and broke it.

Re the window feeders, you will end up with bird shit all over your window and the ground below will be a stinky midden.

Our squirrel couple treats our feeders like an all you can eat buffet. They are also regularly seen hanging upside down on the seed feeders, chewing at the plastic to get the thing open. Good job the buggers are cute.

Our 2 cats lounge by the window, watching the carnage and mewling. Best cat tv ever.

I'm having to restock our numerous feeders every day and I am spending a fortune, so thanks to pp for the tips on cheaper alternatives.

Don't forget to fill out your RSPB bird survey for the Big Garden Bird Watch, 25 - 27 January!

My birds all hate the fat balls but the squirrels cleared 6 yes 6 in less than 4 hours!

My neighbor called me to say she had seen one of them running past with a whole fat ball looking like a bank thief with its loot.

I am genuinely impressed by this post. I thought I was the only one sad enough to consider remortgaging the house to sustain the needs of the wildlife. I'm being robbed for sunflower hearts. Lasts a few hours.

You need some bird food which is tuppence a bag.

Sorry

(This bit always made my cry though)
"Come feed the little birds, show them you care
And you'll be glad if you do
Their young ones are hungry, their nests are so bare
All it takes is tuppence from you"

It’s actually astonishing how much birds eat, I have goldfinches and they can put away a feeder in a matter of hours.

Our squirrels are numerous and greedy. There is one particularly big squirrel (not fat - he's just a bruiser) and he treats the feeders like his personal thunderdome domain. I've seem him bodily throw the other squirrels off the feeders. It's like something out of WWE.

Also, the ate their way though every single berry on the shrubs.
Love seeing the fat pigeons try to to balance and eat at the same time.

• Starlings regularly eat 4 of my fat balls in one day, and we've had complaints from the neighbours about the noise.

I'd make my own, but I'm worried about my husband eating them*

It's like having another pet! I'm sure I've spent more on bird food than our dog

I spend a fortune feeding the birds too! 🙄😆 Trouble is I love the little buggers, so I don’t really mind ☺️

All seed eating birds love sunflower hearts so I just buy a big 20kg bag for around £20/22 from an Amazon seller (no P&P) and that generally lasts around 6 months (massive feeder needs refilling every other day). I supplement this with some suet pellets for the ground feeders (mainly Blackbirds, of which we have a few) so I buy them in bulk from Twootz - £25 for 25kg last time I bought some and they last around 6 months too (depending on how often I put them out). The Woodies and Doves tend to do a good job clearing up the dregs that fall on the floor from the feeder. We also have a fat filled half coconut hanging up too, the blue tits absolutely love them and they’re relatively cheap.

I'm not saying my birds are spoilt, but I've just been wondering how to help the smaller birds at the expense of the pigeons.
It's like being in a Hitchcock film when I go out in the morning, and there are 12 pigeons on the roof staring at me...

I have 3 feeding areas, 2 of which are commandeered by the pigeons; the third is exclusively used by the tits, robins and nuthatch pair (with the pigeons toddling around underneath for dropped food). Very pleased with that feeder. For some reason it doesn't suit the bigger birds.

Anyway, I'd just been wondering whether I could get an aviary out there, and make some small-ish holes in it so that the "brown birds" and tits could get in to feast without the damned pigeons and magpies scaring them off ... But I've just bought a ground cover thing with integral feeder that's supposed to stop the big birds. So we'll see. But yes, the wildlife's costing me a fortune! And I can't even get finches to come (my ambition in life!), although a friend down the road gets loads.

Have you tried Nijer seed, IWant?

It’s the only thing that will lure the goldfinch to my garden. They come, check and turn up their noses at the peanuts, but nijer seed are acceptable it seems.

Oh yes; we have 2 cats that were prolific hunters, but since getting the dog (whom they hate), we've found the cats stay out of the back garden mostly, and inadvertently the dog has saved our bird population!
(He chases the pigeons, but he's not fast enough to catch them). Watched a fox in the garden trying to chase a blackbird the other day!

That sounds sensible, demons. I'll make a note.

This is how I feed my robins, who seem to prefer ground/low feeders. It's two half circle planters from B&Q (the type you line with moss to make wall/hanging baskets). I've fastened them at the top with small cable ties and then I can open the bottom to slot in the tray of food. Only the robins and tits have been in to feed and it stops the pigeons and bigger birds grabbing everything.

Second picture shows Mr Robin visiting.

I wouldn't dare feed birds, we have enough bother with seagulls attacking people on bin day as it is.

My mum swears by B&M for cheap bird food though.

You need to implement a supermarket deli style ticket system, birds queue at your window, you give them a ticket and they get 30 seconds at the feeder.

Good job OP, the birds really need our help.

I love birds too, Mr Robin is gorgeous. I was wondering about half coconuts. Someone hangs them on one of our street trees and it's lovely to see the peck marks. They seem to last quite well

great that you feed them. i put nuts out in a hanging basket that gets emptied really quickly by: squirrels/mice/magpies etc. nuts are going pretty quickly. i buy bird food from sainsbury's

@IWantThatName I had the same problem (attracting Finches) when I started feeding the birds years ago - Goldfinches do like Niger seed but they also love sunflower hearts, as do all other seed eaters! I always recommend just buying one type of seed rather than lots of different ones (that then end up costing a small fortune) as they’re universally loved so no waste etc. Plus you don’t need a special feeder like you do for Niger seed.

@picklemepopcorn It’s so much cheaper to buy in bulk - I know it can seem like a lot all in one go but the small amounts soon add up to one big cost and if you buy in bulk it’s bought and you don’t need to worry about constantly running out etc.

I have 3 feeding areas, 2 of which are commandeered by the pigeons; the third is exclusively used by the tits, robins and nuthatch pair

If it was me I would stop using the 2 the pigeons use, but then I hate the pigeons in my garden and wish the woman whose back faces ours would stop feeding them as the numbers are getting ridiculous now and they try to nest on my roof.

Luckily if I put some mealworms out very early when mr robin and the starling are waiting for me, they get their fill before the fat pigeon buggers turn up. The rest of the food is not accessible to them and the other small birds clean up the mess the tits and finches make.