Bird Feeding Stations

ivk

Anyone that can help? I bought a feeding station just about 3 weeks ago and with the wind it broke only a couple of days later. I have now put all the feeders along the fence as I don't have any trees in the back garden. The birds seemed to prefer the station. Anyone know where I can buy one that is durable?

Funkyzeit

Hi There,
Aldi have ones this weekend - I have that one and it lasted through the recent storms so I assume it's alright - for 20 quid you can't go wrong:

http://www.aldi.ie/ie/html/offers/2867_8230.htm

ivk

Thanks for the tip.

podrisco

Woodies have a similar one, it has some more hooks, a water tray and a mesh seed tray. I think its €39.00

myjugsarehuge

podrisco wrote: »

Woodies have a similar one, it has some more hooks, a water tray and a mesh seed tray. I think its €39.00

I bought this one from Woodies, its great, really sturdy. You fix it in the ground with a sturdy spike and when the ground gets a bit mucky below you can easily move it. I hang 1/2 coconut shells filled with fat/seed mixture off the smaller arms and also a niger feeder for the Goldfinches. I don't use the water bowl for water as it gets lots of seed and bird sh*t in it but apart from thats its brilliant for the price.

I used to have a wooden bird table but it kept blowing over and got smashed in the end.

ivk

That's the one I had. It looked good in the garden and the birds seemed to love it. I only had it a couple of weeks and it broke, I wasn't sure if it was bad quality or just bad timing with the weather.
It seems like bad timing if it's working for you!! Thanks for the advice!

Manuel

Slightly off-topic, sorry, but can anyone help me to attract goldfinches to my garden? I just have peanut feeders and a suet block (probably not the correct term, but you know what I mean). In my last house I had goldfinches all the time at the peanut feeder.

I have had just two brief visits from a solitary goldfinch this year, but on each occasion he kept a safe distance, observing the marauding tits and greenfinches, and appeared to conclude that it wasn't worth the hassle of competing with them and continued on his way.

Would greatly appreciate any tips as I really miss them.

The regular visitors (residents at this stage!) are: blue/great/coal tits, sparrows, greenfinches, chaffinches, blackcap (singular).

Finally, when should I stop putting out peanuts?

Thanks!

boneless

Manuel wrote: »

Slightly off-topic, sorry, but can anyone help me to attract goldfinches to my garden? I just have peanut feeders and a suet block (probably not the correct term, but you know what I mean). In my last house I had goldfinches all the time at the peanut feeder.

I have had just two brief visits from a solitary goldfinch this year, but on each occasion he kept a safe distance, observing the marauding tits and greenfinches, and appeared to conclude that it wasn't worth the hassle of competing with them and continued on his way.

Would greatly appreciate any tips as I really miss them.

The regular visitors (residents at this stage!) are: blue/great/coal tits, sparrows, greenfinches, chaffinches, blackcap (singular).

Finally, when should I stop putting out peanuts?

Thanks!

Just give them time and they will find you !!

The right time to stop putting out nuts??? There are two trains of thought on this that I know of; one is to stop during the nesting season but the other is that as long as the birds do not have access to whole nuts but have to 'chip away' to get them, you can feed them all year round.

myjugsarehuge

Manuel wrote: »

Slightly off-topic, sorry, but can anyone help me to attract goldfinches to my garden? I just have peanut feeders and a suet block (probably not the correct term, but you know what I mean). In my last house I had goldfinches all the time at the peanut feeder.

I have had just two brief visits from a solitary goldfinch this year, but on each occasion he kept a safe distance, observing the marauding tits and greenfinches, and appeared to conclude that it wasn't worth the hassle of competing with them and continued on his way.

Would greatly appreciate any tips as I really miss them.

The regular visitors (residents at this stage!) are: blue/great/coal tits, sparrows, greenfinches, chaffinches, blackcap (singular).

Finally, when should I stop putting out peanuts?

Thanks!

Putting out Nyger (Niger) seed in a special feeder can help attract goldfinches, I've got 4 or 5 regulars and also it attracts Siskins which tend to come into gardens around Feb/March time.

I feed table seed and peanuts in a mesh feeder well into May, I usually stop then and start again in September but you can safely feed peanuts all year round if you like. Studies have shown the adult tits feed their young caterpillars even if peanuts are freely available.

There is a good online birdfood stockist supplying to Ireland now this is the website http://www.birdfood.ie/ free delivery on orders over 80 Euro. I've asked for a catalogue to be posted to me.

littlebug

I got one of those woodies feeding stations last year and it got bent to fook with the winds. I didn' bother this year. I've just hung the feeders on the shed and everyone seems happy with that arrangement.

Re goldfinches I think geography can play a part. I get loads but my father hardly ever sees any at his feeders. He reckons it's because there are more thistles in the countryside where I live. I don't know how true that is.

Funkyzeit

boneless wrote: »

Just give them time and they will find you !!

+1 - Had no Goldfinches for the first few weeks of putting out my new feeder - this year - now they are by far my most popular visitors

I also will leave the peanuts out for the whole year - that and a supply of water