I've uploaded these photos of my bird feeder which is something new for me, I hung it on November 8th. and filled it as you can see with four fat balls but despite frequently checking so far it has not attracted any attention. I have looked every day closely at the balls but there is no apparent marks on the balls to show any interest.
In the left picture you can see the context and proximity of the bush and tree line, the tree just the other side of the fence is actually in the park that backs onto my garden and has many birds frequenting it. The right picture is a closeup of the full bird feeder.
So I would like some advice from folk more knowledgeable and experience than I have on whether or not I am doing something wrong, perhaps the sighting is wrong or is it just the wrong time of the year?
Many thanks for any help.
I will be interested in Phil's comments when he sees this. When we first put a bird feeder up, no birds came for a couple of weeks. Now we get several robins and a whole family of blue tits most days. I wondered if they took time to find it....
Hi all
Passerine birds need the feeders to be near a tree or bush that they can go to after grabbing the food for shelter from predators (the sparrowhawk in my locality often lifts the passerine birds as they grab seed) The tree over the fence may not be close enough?
If this is new, you say you put it out early November, they may just not trust it yet - as Casablanca says, they take weeks to trust a new feeder, it’s ‘different’ so they will be very wary, so if it is new or you move it, it’ll take a while before they will use it.
FInally feeders need to be clean and dry - We have fat and seed feeders and noticed no birds recently - all were water logged with wet/damp food - a quick clean, leave to dry naturally and the birds came back.
@phil_sandford Thanks Phil, that is most helpful. I have washed the feeder and resorted it nearer the treeline. I didn't realize it would take a month or so for the birds to get used to it so I shall leave it alone now until next year (!). Just one thing you mention wet food, the fat balls don't feel wet but since they have been out through some Mansfield rain do you think I should dump them and replace with fresh ones?
@allsop My fat ball feeder (and my fat slab feeders) have a cage around it to keep Starlings off them and they have a ‘floor’ which catches the scraps and water and causes a mush. Looking at yours, any liquid or scraps will fall to the ground so you don’t need to bin them every time it rains (it’d bankrupt you in the UK). Wet seed in particular they won’t touch.
Hope they come, the birds provide me so many subjects for my project (oh yeah, Jackie said about rats - clean up the stuff the birds drop on the floor regularly - even the guaranteed ‘no grow’ might grow and the waste the finches in particular cause (watch them on the feeders (green, chaf and gold finches), they weigh every grain in their beaks and drop what they don’t like) throw on the ground will attract rats (we’re never more than 4 feet from a rat, but who wants more))
Passerine birds need the feeders to be near a tree or bush that they can go to after grabbing the food for shelter from predators (the sparrowhawk in my locality often lifts the passerine birds as they grab seed) The tree over the fence may not be close enough?
If this is new, you say you put it out early November, they may just not trust it yet - as Casablanca says, they take weeks to trust a new feeder, it’s ‘different’ so they will be very wary, so if it is new or you move it, it’ll take a while before they will use it.
FInally feeders need to be clean and dry - We have fat and seed feeders and noticed no birds recently - all were water logged with wet/damp food - a quick clean, leave to dry naturally and the birds came back.
Hope that helps?
Hope they come, the birds provide me so many subjects for my project (oh yeah, Jackie said about rats - clean up the stuff the birds drop on the floor regularly - even the guaranteed ‘no grow’ might grow and the waste the finches in particular cause (watch them on the feeders (green, chaf and gold finches), they weigh every grain in their beaks and drop what they don’t like) throw on the ground will attract rats (we’re never more than 4 feet from a rat, but who wants more))
I had rats ON the feeders, at first we thought squirrels with thin tails!