There is a variety of different types of bird feeders and ways in which you can fird the wild birds.
A bird seed feeder is suitable for things such as sunflower seeds, sunflower hearts, huskfree wild bird food, original wild bird food, premium wild bird food, and feeder seeds.
The design of this type of bird feeder ensures that all of the above bird foods will flow through the bird feeder . Sizes can range from two port right up to a 12 port bird seed feeder.
Tube feeders are used by many types of wild birds including Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Siskin, House sparrow, Tree sparrow, Blue Tit, Great Tit and Coal Tit.
A niger bird seed feeder is similar to the seed feeder in that the seed flows down the tube as the birds take the food. The niger bird seed feeder is just for niger seed which is smaller in size and flows a lot easier than regular wild bird seed so the holes in the tube are very small but big enough for the birds to take the seed from. Goldfinches are the main species of bird that eat niger bird seed but other species such as greenfinches will also eat it.
A wild bird peanut feeder is a mesh bird feeder that peanuts can be eaten from by wild birds. Peanuts should always be put in a peanut feeder because a relatively large size of a whole peanut is difficult for many bird species to eat and there's also the danger of young birds choking on the nut if they were given it by a parent.
The species of bird that will feed on a peanut bird feeder are fairly mixed, but will generally be any of the Tits, Greenfinch, House Sparrow, Siskin and Great Spotted Woodpecker.
Wild bird fat ball feeders can be hung from a branch or hook and house the fat balls in a cage
It's mainly the different species of Tit that feed from Fat Ball Feeders, Long Tailed Tits are particularly attracted but other birds, including Robins, will feed on them if they're able to stand on the cage.
Birds such as the Song Thrush, Blackbird and Dunnock won't use any of the bird feeders already detailed - they're just not adapted to feed in this way. For these sorts of species, they'll usually feed from a bird table or simply from the ground
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
Feeding wild birds in your garden
In the winter many people like to supplement their garden with wild bird food and especially in harsh weather this can be a real life saver for the wild birds. Not only does this benefit the wild birds but it also gives you the addition of beautiful wild birds and hours of entertainment.
The main questions often asked about bird feeding are when to feed the birds?, when should you stop feeding birds?, where should I feed the birds?, what should i feed the birds? and why should I feed the birds?
A fair proportion of birds migrate south in the winter to eat insects which is their main food source, but our resident birds have to compete with birds, such as thrushes and blackbirds, that have migrated here from northern countries, such as Scandinavia, so after the glut of autumn fruits has passed, and insects are no longer flying, which is why winter is the perfect time to feed the birds.
There are two thought on when you should stop feeding birds. The first says to stop feeding the wild birds gradually once winter is over and more natural foods become available. The other says that stopping increases the stress to birds when they are already under pressure building bird nests, defending territories for example. It is true that allowing blue tits to feed their young on wild bird peanuts is likely to cause their death as the young birds can't digest the nuts.
You could strike a happy medium and switch to other bird foods that are high in protein. There is always natural food available in the garden in summer, with greenfly and caterpillars in abundance, but many people continue feeding with things like wild bird seed mix which is a great benefit for the wild birds.
Different species of wild birds have different feeding habits. Hanging bird food is ideal for members of the tit family, so using a peanut feeder is fine aslong as it is high enough out of the way of cats.
It is best to provide nearbycover such as trees and hedges because if the food is exposed the birds may be in danger from sparrowhawks. It isn't advised to put the wild bird food near nest boxes as the busy atmostphere will put the birds off nesting.
Bird tables are suited to most types of bird and have the benefit of being off the ground so other foraging animals like mice and rats can't get at it. A roof to the bird table helps to keep rain off but is not essential. Many birds prefer to eat on the ground, so put bird food on the lawn.
If you have old trees, you can smear fats and fix nuts into crevices in the trunk, which nuthatches, treecreepers and woodpeckers adore. Fresh water should be provided in a shallow container so wild birds can drink and bath without danger of drowning.
The best foods to feed wild birds with are high energy foods such as various wild bird nuts and bird seeds, but things such as soaked bread, leftover cakes and apples cut up are good aswell, but wild bird seed provides all the energy the birds need throughout the winter.
People have been feeding birds for many years simply for their own pleasure, but there is more to it than that. The massive loss of habitat in the wider countryside has meant that birds have retreated back to where there is still food - surviving hedgerows, nature reserves and privately owned wildlife friendly areas - of which gardens form the major part.
The best wildlife gardens are those that provide a wide range of natural bird foods, shelter and water. But even these struggle to support the numbers of birds attracted to gardens in winter. By supplementing their diets with extra bird food, you are in a way, maintaining a falsely high population of birds in your garden, and once you have started feeding it would be disastrous to them if you stopped as there is simply not the wild food available.
The main questions often asked about bird feeding are when to feed the birds?, when should you stop feeding birds?, where should I feed the birds?, what should i feed the birds? and why should I feed the birds?
A fair proportion of birds migrate south in the winter to eat insects which is their main food source, but our resident birds have to compete with birds, such as thrushes and blackbirds, that have migrated here from northern countries, such as Scandinavia, so after the glut of autumn fruits has passed, and insects are no longer flying, which is why winter is the perfect time to feed the birds.
There are two thought on when you should stop feeding birds. The first says to stop feeding the wild birds gradually once winter is over and more natural foods become available. The other says that stopping increases the stress to birds when they are already under pressure building bird nests, defending territories for example. It is true that allowing blue tits to feed their young on wild bird peanuts is likely to cause their death as the young birds can't digest the nuts.
You could strike a happy medium and switch to other bird foods that are high in protein. There is always natural food available in the garden in summer, with greenfly and caterpillars in abundance, but many people continue feeding with things like wild bird seed mix which is a great benefit for the wild birds.
Different species of wild birds have different feeding habits. Hanging bird food is ideal for members of the tit family, so using a peanut feeder is fine aslong as it is high enough out of the way of cats.
It is best to provide nearbycover such as trees and hedges because if the food is exposed the birds may be in danger from sparrowhawks. It isn't advised to put the wild bird food near nest boxes as the busy atmostphere will put the birds off nesting.
Bird tables are suited to most types of bird and have the benefit of being off the ground so other foraging animals like mice and rats can't get at it. A roof to the bird table helps to keep rain off but is not essential. Many birds prefer to eat on the ground, so put bird food on the lawn.
If you have old trees, you can smear fats and fix nuts into crevices in the trunk, which nuthatches, treecreepers and woodpeckers adore. Fresh water should be provided in a shallow container so wild birds can drink and bath without danger of drowning.
The best foods to feed wild birds with are high energy foods such as various wild bird nuts and bird seeds, but things such as soaked bread, leftover cakes and apples cut up are good aswell, but wild bird seed provides all the energy the birds need throughout the winter.
People have been feeding birds for many years simply for their own pleasure, but there is more to it than that. The massive loss of habitat in the wider countryside has meant that birds have retreated back to where there is still food - surviving hedgerows, nature reserves and privately owned wildlife friendly areas - of which gardens form the major part.
The best wildlife gardens are those that provide a wide range of natural bird foods, shelter and water. But even these struggle to support the numbers of birds attracted to gardens in winter. By supplementing their diets with extra bird food, you are in a way, maintaining a falsely high population of birds in your garden, and once you have started feeding it would be disastrous to them if you stopped as there is simply not the wild food available.
Thursday, 23 April 2009
Wild bird feeders and wild bird tables
You will want bird feeders and bird tables in a place where they can be seen and enjoyed from a view inside the house but obviously this will depend on the size and layout of the garden.
Bird feeders should idealy be at least 1.2metres off the ground which will help protect feeding birds from preying cats.
Cats are able to hide in shrubs and hedges so place bird feeders and bird tables away from them to protect the birds while feeding.
During the winter its is good to have the wooden bird tables in a position where they get direct sunlight. This helps keep them dry and prevents the build-up of green algae on the surfaces.
Bird feeders should idealy be at least 1.2metres off the ground which will help protect feeding birds from preying cats.
Cats are able to hide in shrubs and hedges so place bird feeders and bird tables away from them to protect the birds while feeding.
During the winter its is good to have the wooden bird tables in a position where they get direct sunlight. This helps keep them dry and prevents the build-up of green algae on the surfaces.
Wild bird food help & advice
If you’re fairly new to feeding garden birds, then we hope we can provide some information that will help you and advise you on feeding wild birds and get the most out of it. Even if you have experience in feeding birds then we hope that some points will still prove useful to you.
It can be very rewarding and exciting attracting a wide variety of wild birds to your garden and is also a very important thing to do as many species of wild birds are now highly dependant on us for their survival.
If you are new to feeding birds, then one of the first things to understand is that not all brands of bird food are of the same quality. Feeding lower quality foods to birds will generally mean that a lot of the bird food won’t get eaten (it will just build up as waste under the bird feeder) and birds won’t benefit as much from them compared to high quality foods which supplies them with energy used for keeping warm or for feeding fledglings.
At Wild Bird Direct you’re only buying the very best quality bird food, bird seed and bird treats and the ingredients used are suitable for wild birds and provide them the goodness and energy they need.
It can be very rewarding and exciting attracting a wide variety of wild birds to your garden and is also a very important thing to do as many species of wild birds are now highly dependant on us for their survival.
If you are new to feeding birds, then one of the first things to understand is that not all brands of bird food are of the same quality. Feeding lower quality foods to birds will generally mean that a lot of the bird food won’t get eaten (it will just build up as waste under the bird feeder) and birds won’t benefit as much from them compared to high quality foods which supplies them with energy used for keeping warm or for feeding fledglings.
At Wild Bird Direct you’re only buying the very best quality bird food, bird seed and bird treats and the ingredients used are suitable for wild birds and provide them the goodness and energy they need.
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