These birds will bankrupt me!

Cherrycola

We recently bought a bird feeder and seed from the local pet shop, and have been swamped with all sorts of birds in the garden since, and they are savages!!!!:D:D They are clearing out the feeder everyday.

So, what sort of stuff can i give them that i might have around the house, ie stale bread/cakes, and should i be preparing it in any particular way?
And should i just scatter it in the yard, or put it in the feeder? Its a seed feeder not a peanut one.

Thanks

Oliverdog

We're nearly skint too, but we've had another 10 days of night frosts so we are consoled by the knowledge that many of the fat songbirds in our garden would be dead by now. More than a dozen blackbirds were milling around the feeder this morning, not even quarrelling among themselves.
You need to consider the birds who do not like clinging to the feeders. We have chaffinches, robins, blackbirds, sparrows and collared doves on the ground beneath the feeders, sometimes 30 or more birds feeding together. Magpies and rooks are also here. Blue and Great tits, greenfinches, goldfinches, and the odd blackcap use the feeders, but knock down a lot of seed to be swept up by the ground feeding birds. The seed is about €18 for a 25kg bag near us, and we're in there about twice a month for a bag.
My wife grinds up peanuts in the food blender and mixes it with shredded suet, which is very cheap from Tesco. Nearly all the birds go mad for this at the moment and it doesn't cost much. If you put out bread or cake, give it a soak first.

Keep spending - spring is just around the corner !

Cherrycola

We always make sure to scatter some seed on the ground for the larger birds too, but we have seen some blackbirds swinging off the feeder filling their bellies!

I will see if i can get a larger bag, which is probably cheaper than buying the small ones im getting at the moment.

wonderboysam

saw the title, thought you were talking about your wife + daghter

Cherrycola

:D

I like it! But i would be one of those birds unfortunately, and yes, my husband is well and truly bankrupt!

Dizzyblonde

Aldi sell a huge bag of birdseed for €14.

Half-cocked

Porridge oats and cheap apples cut in half will keep your blackbirds and other ground feeders happy and your bank balance in the black. Shop around for peanuts, sunflower seeds, mixed seeds etc. Buying in bulk usualy works out cheapest.

meathstevie

I've a cluttter of birds hanging about the garden as well. They eat anything and everything. From applecores and breadcrumbs to rolled barley out of the chicken pen to crumbs of dogfood the collie spills, wagtails are even picking through the dog's droppings for stuff he hasn't digested. The one or two birdfeeders I have hanging about have dirt cheap nuts in them. You have to keep in ind that these are wild birds that fend for themselves and pick around their territory and as such gather up a fairly varied menu, no need for you to be a veterinay dietician. Just make sure that what you put out is eaten by most birds and gives them some energy.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

meathstevie wrote: »

... wagtails are even picking through the dog's droppings for stuff he hasn't digested...

Just for clarity. Pied Wagtails eat insects. If they are around dog droppings it is for any flies etc that may be attracted, not for any undigested faecal matter.

Amalgam

I'm a bit ashamed to admit this, I was away for a few days and someone, in the meantime, decided to shove a block of Frytex or Cookeen in my suet cage.. and surprisingly, the blackbirds, thrushes and tits love it.

Harmful or ok, to make this available to them?

The Blackbird will peck at the block and a Song Thrush will wait below, looking up every so often.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

No problem at all. What do you think fat-balls are made from?

Amalgam

I thought the suet would be more 'unrefined'. That the processed material might be.. [I'm clutching at straws here, I'll get my coat..]

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Amalgam wrote: »

I thought the suet would be more 'unrefined'. That the processed material might be.. [I'm clutching at straws here, I'll get my coat..]

I'll hold the door for you...

Half-cocked

Amalgam wrote: »

....someone, in the meantime, decided to shove a block of Frytex or Cookeen in my suet cage.. and surprisingly, the blackbirds, thrushes and tits love it.

I made a load of fatballs with mixed seeds and Cookeen and it went down a treat. The only disadvantage is that they were softer than the commercial fat balls and didn't last as long - too easy to rip apart, and made a terrible mess of the decking below. I suppose their being easy to rip apart was good fro the birds though.

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Melt the Cookeen. Add the seeds/nuts. Press into containers. Allow to cool and they are as hard as any I've purchased.

BrianD3

Spending a lot myself too. Bought around 15 tubs of mealworms in ALDI this week, they were on offer a while ago but there were still plenty left. I steam them before putting them out, the birds gobble them.

100 g tub of mealworms in ALDI - 3.49 euro
110 g tub of mealworms in Woodies - around 10 euro :eek:

Cherrycola

Got a 20kg bag of seed today in the local petshop for 17quid. Got a few fatballs too.

The guy in the petshop was telling me how a farmer he knows was finding loads of dead robins around his farm.
This winter has been hard on the little guys.

Oliverdog

We've seen dozens of dead Redwings on our walks - really tragic, as they migrate here from Northern Europe to get away from the cold weather; as far south and west as they can get, and they are hit with the coldest winter in living memory here.
But every one of you feeding birds this winter is doing his/her best to help the recovery of species devastated by the cold weather. Keep it up !

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Oliverdog wrote: »

But every one of you feeding birds this winter is doing his/her best to help the recovery of species devastated by the cold weather. Keep it up !

There's no more needs to be said.

VERYinterested

I have been on the lookout for reasonably priced Nyger seed. Breffni Pets in Windy Arbour near Dundrum in Dublin are the cheapest I've seen €6 for a 2.5 kilo bag = €2.40 per kilo, the birds are going through a bag a week at the moment and it's an expensive little extra. I've been adding Canary mix to help bulk it up and they seem to enjoy the variety, lots of empty shells around the feeders.

I just rang them (Breffni Pets) there to double check the price and quantity before I posted and he tells me he has just got a 20kg sack for €36, that works out at €1.80 per kilo.

I've seen 3 kg bags in Woodies and Maxi Zoo for €12 :eek: that's €4 per kilo!

Amalgam

There should be a bird feed price watch thread. Some of the retailers have piss-taking prices.

springwell7616

Cherrycola wrote: »

We recently bought a bird feeder and seed from the local pet shop, and have been swamped with all sorts of birds in the garden since, and they are savages!!!!:D:D They are clearing out the feeder everyday.

So, what sort of stuff can i give them that i might have around the house, ie stale bread/cakes, and should i be preparing it in any particular way?
And should i just scatter it in the yard, or put it in the feeder? Its a seed feeder not a peanut one.

Thanks

I scatter any old bread plus a mixture of wild bird seeds and peanuts in our back garden in the frosty weather when the birds can't get to their regular worms and slugs. Seems to do the trick, so much so that whenever it is frosty they all hang around awaiting feeding time. Feeding birds in winter is like feeding starving people, everyone wants to make sure that they get enough to keep them alive for another day. Take pleasure in what you are doing knowing that you are helping to keep another species alive.:)

Calibos

Could have posted this thread myself We're renting up at the foot of BrayHead, closer to wooded areas than we've lived before. In previous suburban Bray gardens we've had, the most exotic bird we got in the garden were Robins and the odd blue tit

Had a real education in the variety of wild Irish resident birds up in this rented gaff though.

Had a flock of Redwings and green finches for a few days during the worst of the weather in January but our regular birds since then have been up to 30 starlings at a time which are actually a problem as they monopolise the feeders. Loads of Sparrows and Chaffinches at a time. Lots of male and female blackbirds, Thrushes, usually have about 7 or eight male and female blackcaps, lots of Robins. Regular few pairs of Blue Tits and great Tits and in the last few days I was delighted to finally get a pair of Gold Finches, a pair of ring necked doves and a pair of Siskins. Thought those were actually Greenfinches till I caught sight of a black head on one of them and realised it was actually a siskin. Those Goldfinches are something else though. You don't realise there are such colourful birds in this country!

Its gas. Every morning there are literally 60 or 70 birds (albeit 50% starlings) perched in the bushes waiting for the feeders to be refilled. I have a special place in my heart for the Robins though. While the other birds fly up to the top of the bushes when I come out, the Robins will actually quickly hop back down through the leafless bushes/tree's and be sitting on a branch literally 18 inches away watching me put out the food. So close I could literally simply bend my arm at the elbow and reach him. I'll look out the corner of my eye at them..." Watching you, watching me"

1squidge

I buy Tesco own brand lard and sultanas. I mix 50% lard to 50% sultanas,mealworms,peanuts and black sunflower seeds. It usually lasts about a week. Starlings,blackcaps and redpolls are the main customers of this treat.

pinc

What do ye use to hang the homemade fatballs.? I can't use a bird table as the magpies would have anything on it gone in a sec,nasty beggars.

Mollywolly

Calibos wrote: »

I have a special place in my heart for the Robins though. While the other birds fly up to the top of the bushes when I come out, the Robins will actually quickly hop back down through the leafless bushes/tree's and be sitting on a branch literally 18 inches away watching me put out the food. So close I could literally simply bend my arm at the elbow and reach him. I'll look out the corner of my eye at them..." Watching you, watching me"

With a little patience, you could literally have the robins eating out of your hand! It's dead easy - just put a little seed in the palm of your hand (preferably the smaller seeds) and hold your hand out towards them. It might take a couple of days, but curiosity eventually gets the better of them and they will come and have a nibble

I have a resident robin who is usually hopping around the clematis outside our patio door on these cold mornings waiting for me to come and feed him. Mind you, I have noticed that if he can't be bothered waiting, he'll join the other birds around the feeder!

jmkennedyie

Calibos wrote: »

Could have posted this thread myself We're renting up at the foot of BrayHead, closer to wooded areas than we've lived before. In previous suburban Bray gardens we've had, the most exotic bird we got in the garden were Robins and the odd blue tit

Lucky you...and in your neck of the woods keep an eye out for Great Spotted Woodpecker too... http://www.birdwatchireland.ie/News/GreatSpottedWoodpeckersNewtoIreland/tabid/568/Default.aspx

Also just to clarify for ring-necked doves - guess you mean collared doves?

Calibos

Sorry, Yes, thats what I meant. Collared doves.

I'll keep an eye out for that woodpecker alright. How cool would that be!

Its funny how the distribution of birds can be. Since I've started reading a few threads here in the last few weeks I've come across several posts by people talking about their Gold finches nonchalantly but saying they would give anything to see a blackcap. I didn't realise how lucky I was because I have had loads. 3 or 4 males and 3 or 4 females at a time. The males chasing off each other and the females chasing off everyone I think they stand up to the starlings more than the other species too. ie. not as flighty when a few starlings come in to land. As for the aerial dogfights of the starlings........! The biggest thrill was finally getting to see a Goldfinch and Siskin at the feeder though. I'm nonchalant about the blackcaps and would give anything to see more goldfinch. Just seen a single one once for a few minutes in the morning the last two days. They dont't seem to come back or with pals for the rest of the day, wheras with the blue tits, once I finally got some, they come back every day and several times a day.

VERYinterested

Calibos, the secret to more Goldfinches is...Nyjer Seed! I have an abundance of them along with Redpolls and Siskins. The flock (of all 3 types) has been growing by the day and there are usually 50 or 60 of them in my small little garden, 12 feet away from the kitchen window. At least a dozen are Goldies. It is an amazing sight.

I love to see the Starlings, purely because each Spring when new Starlings come in to the world, they cause havoc on the fat balls and watching them trying to land on my neighbours metal shed is comical, with them sliding all over the place. My wife nicknames them the crazy gang, because of the noise they make as they kill each other for position. They are usually much bigger than their poor mother's that spend every minute trying to satisfy their insatiable appetite. You can almost see the mothers relief as they bring them to the fat balls and just sit in the branches and say to them, "knock yourselves out!" Along with Pigeons and Magpies they make short work of any kitchen scraps that are put out.

I used to hate Magpies until one day I learned from them. They are a very clever bird and I wondered why birds weren't bothering with some stale bread I threw out. I watched a Magpie outsmart my dog and it took a piece of stale bread and dipped it in the bird bath and wolfed it down. Now if I'm putting out bread I always soak it and read that that was the correct thing to do as dry bread expands in the stomach and can kill them. So a Magpie taught me that! I know they kill other small birds, but it's part of nature.

If ever you see a Sparrowhawk take a small bird it is breathtaking, along with the beauty of the Sparrowhawk itself, so each bird has its place and purpose, I now love to see any bird in the garden and then I get to see a Heron and a Little Egret daily as I walk to work!

Amalgam

Cheers for the tip off on the Nyjer seed VERYinterested, I am currently paying about, well.. close to 4 euro for just over a kilo. Which is nuts, but I just love watching the various finches hunker down at the feeder and munch away.

Next year I'll avoid the various DIY retailers and buy bulk, once off purchase.