garden birds

[mypropertea]

I want to encourage the smaller song birds in my front garden. Not mr pidgin, magpie or crow particularly but I guess they may rock up. In the past I have had a few bird feeders filled with small seeds, fat balls and peanuts. Unfortunately no birds were even slightly interested!

What am I doing wrong? I know there are birds as I see them eating the green fly off my roses.

Any help appreciated. Thank you.

Try a different location. Maybe the feeders are too exposed, or alternatively they are near a place where a cat can easily reach them?

I read that you may need to leave them in place for a few weeks before the birds catch on to them.

You need the right fat balls. My birds won't touch the ones you buy in bulk in little nets but will demolish a Harrison's suet roll in a few hours.

Goldfinches will only use my nyger seed feeder and all the birds go crazy when I mix mealworms and sunflower hearts in a feeder.

Seeds and peanuts are also ignored in my garden.

Yy to fat ball type. My birds love suet pellets (they're an rspb branded one) which you can put in a peanut feeder. They also devour peanuts as well. And I make homemade feed by mixing melted lard with oats and some seed and that is very popular if the squirrel leaves them some. We're lucky enough to have a pair of woodpeckers and the lard/oat mix is their favourite.

I've got four different feeder locations. One is close to a fairly 'open-structured bush, and has fat sticks, fat block, mixed seed & niger seed. (so far the goldfinches have ignored the latter).

At the end of the garden close to a thick privet I have a single seed feeder.

Hanging on the washing line pole I have a metal peanut feeder which the squirrel often helps itself from.

I've just put another peanut feeder in a very prickly bush (injuring my arm slightly) for the smaller birds.

I had to move the items on the main feeder about a bit so that the pigeon can't land on anything. Can't stop the starlings though. They're so clever & agile, I think they deserve it!

God, the starlings! They're eating me out of house and home! I think I must've spent a fortune on suet rolls over the last few months, they get through 3 a day! I don't mind though as they are bringing their babies and I love watching them sitting on the lawn with their mouths open while ma n pa stuff suet down its gullet🐣🐦🐦