We have fat balls, peanuts, niger seeds and wild bird seed out with a mix of currants & dried suet. Birds on the feeders right now - one blackbird, one sparrow & a robin. I think the neighbours newish cat is responsible for the lack of bird life around here. However we have a big garden & there are plenty of birds in other areas of it.
I know that you shouldn't give birds nuts when there are fledglings to feed - think of human babies choking on nuts and then think tiny little birds and nuts......definitely a no no. We don't have any baby birds here yet.
Our garden is full of birds at the moment - lots of goldfinches are harvesting the rudbeckia seedheads as well as visiting the sunflower heart feeders, and we've got bluetits and coal tits, dunnocks, robins, house sparrows, blackbirds, collared doves and wood pigeons as well.
I've put porridge oats, suet, chopped apple and raisins out for the blackbirds, and mealworms and 'no grow' seeds for the dunnocks and robins, and of course I'm making sure the bird bath is defrosted every morning.
Lovely pix Hosta. They're one of my favourite birds, but I haven't had them in this garden - yet. Used to get them in the garden round the corner.
They always feed in a little flock, aym. They don't tend to be seen except 'en masse'. Makes them all the more appealing
Despite cats and noise ( cars and children) I have lots of birds regularly visiting, so don't give up on attracting them. Get one of those water scarecrows to deal with the cats, and get the right food out consistently, and they will start visiting. It takes time, but worth it. The right plants and habitat all helps as well. This garden was sterile, but not any more, and it didn't take long to get birds in. Hardly any the first winter - loads by the following year, and now the nuthatches. Every day's a party!
The blackbirds haven't visited a lot yet, but they've been busy stripping all the cotoneasters. The second spell of frosts we had in November, when the garden was frozen for over a week, brought them all in for some extra grub though. The apples are always popular with the blackies when the ground's hard, aren't they Dove? It's been unusually mild and benign here, so I definitely haven't used as much food as I would normally have done by now.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
At a previous house we had a Malus 'Golden Hornet' outside the front window and it was badly afflicted with Woolly Aphid every winter ... the Long-tailed tits came in flocks to feast on the woolly aphids, they absolutely love them. It was worth having a sickly tree just to enjoy watching them.
I've just been outside here - I could hear the Longtails in the big ash tree but couldn't see any (the fog has come down again). In the spring they gather tiny spiders' webs from the house eaves and tree trunks to make their nests.
“I am not lost, for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost.” Winnie the Pooh
I'm chuffed to bits after seeing Hostafan's photos of the long tailed tits on the fat ball feeder in her garden, we have had a couple of visits on ours during the past few days, about half a dozen l.t.ts. for a few minutes each time - both times they came as a group and as soon as one took flight the others followed it.
I have never seen them on these feeders which are close to our house before, sorry no photos, but they did look lovely hanging on for dear life whilst munching at the fat balls, we also got two gold finches on the nyger seed feeder (We have had up to 9 of these birds in the summer, so I thought they had all migrated for the winter)
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I'm not photo guru. It was just good luck.
I took that through the window from seat at the breakfast table. I didn't want to move for fear of scaring them off.
A couple more :
Very cute little birds. They remind me of the Chickadee.
We have fat balls, peanuts, niger seeds and wild bird seed out with a mix of currants & dried suet. Birds on the feeders right now - one blackbird, one sparrow & a robin. I think the neighbours newish cat is responsible for the lack of bird life around here. However we have a big garden & there are plenty of birds in other areas of it.
Yes I do too aym.
I know that you shouldn't give birds nuts when there are fledglings to feed - think of human babies choking on nuts and then think tiny little birds and nuts......definitely a no no. We don't have any baby birds here yet.
Our garden is full of birds at the moment - lots of goldfinches are harvesting the rudbeckia seedheads as well as visiting the sunflower heart feeders, and we've got bluetits and coal tits, dunnocks, robins, house sparrows, blackbirds, collared doves and wood pigeons as well.
I've put porridge oats, suet, chopped apple and raisins out for the blackbirds, and mealworms and 'no grow' seeds for the dunnocks and robins, and of course I'm making sure the bird bath is defrosted every morning.
Info re feeding peanuts here https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/read-and-learn/helping-birds/feeding/whentofeed.aspx
Last edited: 30 December 2016 12:46:54
Lovely pix Hosta. They're one of my favourite birds, but I haven't had them in this garden - yet. Used to get them in the garden round the corner.
They always feed in a little flock, aym. They don't tend to be seen except 'en masse'. Makes them all the more appealing
Despite cats
and noise ( cars and children) I have lots of birds regularly visiting, so don't give up on attracting them. Get one of those water scarecrows to deal with the cats, and get the right food out consistently, and they will start visiting. It takes time, but worth it. The right plants and habitat all helps as well. This garden was sterile, but not any more, and it didn't take long to get birds in. Hardly any the first winter - loads by the following year, and now the nuthatches. Every day's a party! 
The blackbirds haven't visited a lot yet, but they've been busy stripping all the cotoneasters. The second spell of frosts we had in November, when the garden was frozen for over a week, brought them all in for some extra grub though. The apples are always popular with the blackies when the ground's hard, aren't they Dove? It's been unusually mild and benign here, so I definitely haven't used as much food as I would normally have done by now.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
At a previous house we had a Malus 'Golden Hornet' outside the front window and it was badly afflicted with Woolly Aphid every winter ... the Long-tailed tits came in flocks to feast on the woolly aphids, they absolutely love them. It was worth having a sickly tree just to enjoy watching them.
I've just been outside here - I could hear the Longtails in the big ash tree but couldn't see any (the fog has come down again). In the spring they gather tiny spiders' webs from the house eaves and tree trunks to make their nests.
Perhaps I should grow something which is prone to woolly aphid Dove!
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I'm chuffed to bits after seeing Hostafan's photos of the long tailed tits on the fat ball feeder in her garden, we have had a couple of visits on ours during the past few days, about half a dozen l.t.ts. for a few minutes each time - both times they came as a group and as soon as one took flight the others followed it.
I have never seen them on these feeders which are close to our house before, sorry no photos, but they did look lovely hanging on for dear life whilst munching at the fat balls, we also got two gold finches on the nyger seed feeder (We have had up to 9 of these birds in the summer, so I thought they had all migrated for the winter)
Foxes!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-38528003