Bird feeder suggestions
Guernsey Donkey2
Posts: 6,713
At present we have a trellis fence alongside our dormant pond. We hang all our feeders on this trellis, but the seeds that are dropped are causing problems, they will be dropping in our pond.
Therefore we are looking for suggestions for a new feeding station. We need to be able to see it from our windows (watching them is half the fun of feeding the birds). There is the cat who can jump up quite high, and a bird table on a stand is out of the question due to the strong winds we get.
We have looked at the metal telescopic feeders, which we could put up in the field within our view. Are they secure and worth investing in or do they have a short life, and can cats or rats catch the birds/eat the food?
Can anyone come up with other suggestions, or show pictures of their bird feeding arrangements please?
Pictures show what we have now, it is mainly the nyger seeds that seem to all end up in the pond
Last edited: 21 March 2017 14:45:02
Posts
Hi GD....my feeders are as below
3 of the metal pole type, if the cat can jump quite high then I'm guessing it could reach the feeders and the birds, though I have seen cats below mine I've never seen one try to jump up at the birds and I doubt a rat could climb the pole.
The feeders have been up about 2 years and although a little rusty in places they are still solid.
At minute I'm only using half of the feeders, but once the Goldfinches start to turn up in numbers, about 60+ last year, I'll put the rest out.
Those feeding stations are ok, actually. My mum's got one which stands in the middle of her garden, three or four different feeders and trays on it, always with a regular rush of commuting birds, several finches, all the tits, nuthatch, woodpecker and, of course, pigeons. The metal ones stick in the ground, the sections slot together neatly (bit of vaseline helps) and the various feeders attach easily. I've always had the Gardman ones in stock which seem ok. The RSPB show one similar for £8 more and I can't see the difference!
H-C
Thanks for sharing the pictures Sheps, they look so neat all in a row. I think that is the type we have seen for sale over here, but are yours secured into the slabs - don't they blow over. How many feeders can you fit on each stand? Do you know what make they are?
Do you really get 60 + Goldfinches - if so you are extremely lucky. I thought we were doing well getting about 14 last year (all at one time). Do you live near a wood or country area?
We find the nyger seeds are the ones that are dropped the most. I don't know if the Goldfinches are just messy eaters or drop the husks.
The above are Gardman...and like H-C says, they are ok, there are much better quality ones out there, like the Tom Chambers ones that are bombproof and made from heavy gauge metal, but then you will be paying about 4 times as much.
We are going to the shop later, so will take a look at what is on offer. I have always thought that Guardman is a good make to look out for - and thanks for the tip re: vaseline Hortum.
We saw Tom Chambers last week, but at that time we weren't so sure that the metal feeders was the way to go.
If we have something made in wood, we would have to either coat the wood or wrap some sort of metal around the base to prevent it from rotting in the soil. The lengths we go to, to feed the birds! My mum just used to throw all the scraps on the lawn and let the birds get on with it, and then wonder why she had a regular rat visitor.
Hi DG...just missed your post while typing
I drilled through the patio slabs with a concrete hole saw and then knocked in the bottom posts, then filled with a sand / cement mix to secure, so they are rock solid and can't blow over.
Yes, I really do get 60+ Goldfinches once the breeding season is over and all the parents bring the young uns, it costs a fortune in Sunflower Hearts and Nyger seed.
I have two similar to Sheps' ones in my lawn. They slot into ground sockets and have withstood many a storm. Rats and squirrels can climb them though so both of mine are fitted with squirrel baffles which seem to work so far.
Hi DG...if you did want to go down the wood route, you could buy a treated timber post, a ground spike and fit some cheap hanging basket brackets on each side, and hey presto, a very, very solid bird feeder.
Last edited: 21 March 2017 16:22:31
As the nyger feeder is the one that is the problem, why not just move that one and leave the others where they are? Have you got a tree perhaps, that you could hang it from?