# Bird watching



## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

We have the big bird table in the garden.

Today Hans made 2 special feeders for 2 windowsills. Inside is fat, flour, sunflower seeds and porridge oats made into a pie. This is specially for the great tits and blue tits, but I bet the sparrows will soon learn what to do.

Hopefully they won't be bumping into the window and injuring themselves or worse.
We were very upset the other day, we don't have robins about here often and one had crashed into the window while we were out and we found it dead when we came home. :crying:


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## HurricaneSmith (Jul 13, 2007)

Like so many others we hang feeders and fat balls all around the garden and buy sunflower hearts in 20kg bags. 

We've been too successful (is that possible? ) because the 'splash' from messy feeding is killing the lawn. I've tried moving the feeders about but all that does is kill the lawn everywhere.

I don't have a Plan B. :-(

Still, the pleasure they bring us is priceless. Fresh grass seed next Spring. 

.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

HurricaneSmith said:


> Like so many others we hang feeders and fat balls all around the garden and buy sunflower hearts in 20kg bags.
> 
> We've been too successful (is that possible? ) because the 'splash' from messy feeding is killing the lawn. I've tried moving the feeders about but all that does is kill the lawn everywhere.
> 
> ...


Could you put some stone flags around the feeding area?


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

Full watering can and give the area water every day to dilute, it may then act as a fertiliser John.😃 :grin2:


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## HurricaneSmith (Jul 13, 2007)

Hmmmm. Thanks, both, but.......... 

The stone flags will kill the grass even faster, and water dilution is a great theory in principle, except that we are on heavy clay and at this time of year it's like a quagmire. 

Last year we kept off the grass until it was fit/safe to walk on.

I can't see a solution other than repair next Spring. 
.


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

HurricaneSmith said:


> Hmmmm. Thanks, both, but..........
> 
> The stone flags will kill the grass even faster, and water dilution is a great theory in principle, except that we are on heavy clay and at this time of year it's like a quagmire.
> 
> ...


I didn't mean when it's already wet John, in the months when it's dry.
We don't have that trouble with bird droppings, we have feeding stations all over the plzce. just with not weather and no rain for months we have a sandy desert where grass should be.
First visitor to our window feeder at this very minute :laugh: a great tit.


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## HurricaneSmith (Jul 13, 2007)

We seem to get them all here, probably because we are in The Weald, goldfinches, sparrows, robins, bluetits, great tits, bullfinches, chaffinches,...... Then ground feeders like blackbirds, woodpigeons, collared doves., etc. Sadly, a sparrowhawk takes the occadional one out, but that's nature. 

Occasionally, squirrels try to tip the seed into their mouths by tilting the squirrel - proof cages, but they fail because they are too heavy.

Yesterday, a great spotted woodpecker returned and balanced on the cage exterior and poked his long bill through the rails to get at the seed. Priceless. 
.


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## Drew (May 30, 2005)

Is that a small coconut Jan?


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## JanHank (Mar 29, 2015)

Drew said:


> Is that a small coconut Jan?


Yes Drew, we have them scatter about the garden (hanging on trees) front back and side.
Hans makes a huge pot of his *birdie pie *to fill them all with.

2 years ago we had a wonderful thing happen, every evening just before dark in the winter, a blue tit would come to roost in an empty coconut we had hanging at the window, we would wait for it every evening and it never ceased to make the heart flutter.


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## Pudsey_Bear (Sep 25, 2008)

HurricaneSmith said:


> Hmmmm. Thanks, both, but..........
> 
> The stone flags will kill the grass even faster,
> .


The idea of the flags, maybe a circle is to prevent damage to the grass and it would be a feature, and not a nuisance, obviously I have no idea of your situation as regards the garden, but it's what we did for the same problem, it's about 2 metres diameter.


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## caulkhead (Jul 25, 2007)

HurricaneSmith said:


> We seem to get them all here, probably because we are in The Weald, goldfinches, sparrows, robins, bluetits, great tits, bullfinches, chaffinches,...... Then ground feeders like blackbirds, woodpigeons, collared doves., etc. Sadly, a sparrowhawk takes the occadional one out, but that's nature.
> 
> Occasionally, squirrels try to tip the seed into their mouths by tilting the squirrel - proof cages, but they fail because they are too heavy.
> 
> ...


Same here on the Isle of Wight except the Bullfinches! We also had Yellowhammers regularly when we first moved here 6 years ago but they have disappeared over the past couple of years. We have a pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers who are hilarious as they hang on the peanut feeders and peck away through the wire mesh. A couple of months ago we started seeing a hen Pheasant in one corner of the garden. She came every morning for a couple of weeks but then disappeared! She must have seen the glint in my eye!!!

Andy


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## caulkhead (Jul 25, 2007)

JanHank said:


> We have the big bird table in the garden.
> 
> Today Hans made 2 special feeders for 2 windowsills. Inside is fat, flour, sunflower seeds and porridge oats made into a pie. This is specially for the great tits and blue tits, but I bet the sparrows will soon learn what to do.
> 
> ...


We have some feeders that stick directly onto the window glass by way of suckers. I was dubious about them but they have been very successful. I feared that birds may fly into the glass but that doesn't appear to have happened. The feeder is transparent so if you stand very still you get a close up as the birds feed. It's mostly Blue Tits that feed from them but Greenfinches occasionally bully their way in as well.


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## autostratus (May 9, 2005)

We had one of these and they make for interesting viewing.
One can almost cuddle up to the bluetits.


Sadly a pidgeon took to sitting on the top for a s a resting perch and eventually its weight broke it.


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