Wednesday, September 19, 2018

nuts






While I'm waiting for the kettle to boil for my coffee in the mornings, I often look out at the bird table to see if we've any little visitors. Today I saw an almost empty bird table, despite the huge amount of seed/mealworms/suet I put out last night. We have to do something to stop the pigeons hogging everything before the little birds get a look in! Modifications to the bird table coming up, I think. 

One visitor I do enjoy welcoming to the garden is this little chap. We put nuts out for him, but when they are gone he pinches them from the bird feeder and is gradually ruining it, it will fall to pieces soon. I'm thinking of getting a squirrel-proof feeder for the birds' nuts and a squirrel feeder for Cyril.  





You may notice the coconut shell filled with suet is tied on with an elastic band. I have to do this and twist it around the hooks to secure it or the whole shell gets taken. I'm not sure who the thief is! 

6 comments:

  1. I used to have a bird feeder right outside my kitchen table at my old house. Just sitting there watching the birds (and those naughty squirrels!) brought me so much joy. I don't have the same kind of space in the house I'm in now; the windows in the kitchen overlook the driveway, and the backyard is visible only via the window in the door, so I miss my 'nature TV,' as we used to call it. Thanks for sharing yours!

    We used to have the same problem, with certain birds (usually grackles and sometimes blue jays) picking out all the 'good' seeds and tossing the rest on the ground, where the sparrows and other small birds would eat it. We'd have to refill the feeder several times a week because of that. But those squirrels, they were just as much of a nuisance!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. When we renovate and enlarge our kitchen I'm hoping for a kitchen table with a view of the bird table too. For now I have to stand and watch through the door, too.

      Delete
  2. When I lived in Ohio many years ago, I fed the birds and the squirrels loved to visit as well. Now that I live here surrounded by woods I cannot feed birds because of bears! (oh my!). I know my dad buys squirrel proof bird feeders and the squirrels still can get in, they are smart.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Debbie, I came to visit from Nine-to-Five, so "hello". We have the same bird feeding problems (suspect most folk do) which culminated when I watched the very clever rooks lifting a peanut feeder off its hook, dropping it on the ground, and then stomping on it to get all the food out!

    It's not a perfect solution, but I now have a "cage" around my feeders which mean anything up to blackbird-sized can get in (including Greater Spotted Woodie which is lovely), but pigeons and larger cannot. Now the corvids have discovered the feeders are not accessible they've mostly b*ggered off which leaves things much safer for the smaller birds.

    Pictures here: https://theviewfrombagend.blogspot.com/2018/06/settle-down-buckle-up-this-is-going-to.html Sorry it is a long post, but the bird stuff is halfway down.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Jayne, thank you for popping by. I had a look at your solution, very clever!

      Delete

please leave a comment or just say hello, I'd love to hear from you!