Our Feeding Stations :):)

since all of the snow has melted it has been a bit quieter but as long as its there when its needed.

I was thinking of putting out some dried raisins and sultanas that I have leftover from making the fruit loaf and I was wondering whether the birds can eat them whole or if I would have to chop them up a bit smaller for them to eat.

Does anyone here do this and what do you think would be best???

I guess if you chop them up a bit it would be easier for the little birds but to be honest one of the bird feeds we are putting out on the tray at the moment has some largish raisin/sultanas and they are amongst the first things to go on the tray so I wouldn't worry too much.

Having said that, for the little birds it would be easier, I keep forgetting how many jays, jackdaws, crows and today 4 hen pheasants like to visit

Lai

We put them in Mrss S's Bird Food, which is eaten by all the Tits, and small Birds, and they love them as they are. Just put them out PPH
WS

One of the bird food I have been using has raisans in and they always go like a flash and they don't appear to be chopped up so I imagine they do cope with them.
Like you have all said, my feeder is much quieter since the cold weather has gone but my mum said today she had heard that our weather is going to get even colder, so we do need to make sure our feeders are topped up and we have a stock of food for the little birds and im sure the bigger ones as well.

littlewid-x-

It really is important to keep everything topped up. The frost can happen over night, and the two most important feeding times for Birds are breakfast, and supper. Beakfast to replenish the energy they've lost over night keeping warm, and Supper to help their reserves of energy to last over night
WS

I always double check morning and evening WS and top up both times. During the heavy frost and snow I was topping up all the time. This evening we have had rain so I have just checked the food is all ok for overnight and will check it all again in the morning. Earlier this evening I had a few little feeders but not many.

littlewid-x-

We finaly got over to Mrs S's Sisters on Friday with all the bad weather with their Xmas present. We had been racking our brains on what to buy them both for ages, then Mrs S had a brain wave. We got them a Feeding Station, 3 Feeders, bag each of nuts, wild Bird seed, and some fat balls. They were over the moon with it, they used to throw food on a flat roof for the Birds, but the big Birds eat the lot. So not only have we made them happy, bot hopefully some more of our feathered friends, will have a Happy New Year to
WS

What a lovely present WS - Mrs S's sister is happy and so are the birds, that's definitely a result

Lai

That sure is a result WS on both accounts the little birds get the chance of some food and Mrs S's sister gets hours of pleasure watching the little birds feed and seeing what little visitors she has to her garden Nice one.

littlewid-x-

Safari Maiden has been on at me to take some photos of some of our feathered visitors. We've had a huge range of birds coming to our feeding station, and here's a few pics taken this afternoon...

You did good boy, well done you. Loved looking at all of those......do you want to come and take some pics of my feathered friends

littlewid-x-

beautiful pictures TT

I'm stocking up on the mealworms in readiness for the baby birds in a few months time.

I hope I get the great tit family again

Sure Littlewid, I'll snap your avian friends. Thanks for the compliment too! :)

Princess, the mealworms are the most popular offering along with the insect mix birdcake.

On a slightly different note, a Buzzard has taken up residence down the road. It's using the same two lamp posts as observation platforms and has a lovely wide agricultural area to hunt in - at least until the developers build 3000 houses on it.

Brilliant Pics TT. It's great to see you have so many different species visiting. That £50 was well worth spending , Developers .
WS

Lovely photos TT and great to see a variety of birds.

How great to have a resident Buzzard, fingers crossed they don't build 3000 houses, wildlife is far more interesting.

Lai

Sadly Lai the 3000 houses will go ahead. I was on the Council when we rejected the planning application, but it was taken to appeal by the developer and as usual local democracy was ignored and planning permission was granted by some remote 'inspector' down in Bristol.

I'm really thrilled about the Buzzard. Looks like a male and he's still hanging around the area. About 2 miles further away there is another one - hopefully a female, it was hard to tell when perched in a tree.

One clear lunchtime in the autumn I was treated to the sights and sounds of three Buzzards circling very high up and calling out loudly. One was then chased away before the remaining two caught an air current and drifted off. If these two stay in the area we might see more of the same. It was awe inspiring.

One thing puzzles me however. Despite a huge variety of birds and several types of raptor, we are yet to see any falcons. We've got plenty of Kestrels, the Buzzards of course, a couple of Sparrowhawks and now the Red Kites, but no falcons. Given the plentiful supply of Pigeons, Starlings, Blackbirds, Tits and Finches this strikes me as curious.

Any thoughts, anyone?

TT - you need to find Great Crested Newts or bats and then the 3000 houses can't go ahead. We have both in abundance, perhaps we could send some south.

Lai

I know exactly how you feel TT. Where we lived before there was an area of land behind the houses that had been left for years, and years, it was completely wild. It was a haven for wildlife. Some developers bought the land, to build about 25 houses onit. I lead the objectors to the developement. Unfortunately we could not find any protected species of wildlife or trees, so we objected on grounds of access, and safety. Under previous planning laws the developement would have been stopped, and indeed the local council, and county council threw the application out, but as in your case it was passed by an anonymous person in Cardiff.

WS

near my uncle's flat there was a huge hedge which if you traced it was (with the occasional break) about 4 miles long and is an ancient boundary

the council were planning to cut down the 750yrds it has responsibility for as it cost to much to maintain and my uncle wasnt happy as he knew many species of birds and animals nested and used it but the council insisted on doing it. so he had seen some bats going in and out of the hedge and he got the local bat expert to come out and put in writing that it was perfect habitat for a rare species of bat and suprisingly the council backed down as it would cost a lot more to do get a survey and the risk that they would find that it did have this rare species and the cost of protecting it afterwards than the cost of maintenance or cutting it down.

Its amazing what small victories you get when it comes down to money

To true PPH, its always money that counts. Well done to your Uncle for standing up to his, and Animal rights. Whish we could have seen something like that, but unfortunaely although we tried there was'nt anything we could identify
WS

Just had a think about your question about Falcons TT. We have Buzzards, Sparrow Hawkes, and Kestrels, but no Red Kites. Although we have no Falcons that I've seen, they are over the other side of the mountain from where we live, and the same Raptors are there as well, so it does seem strange. Next time we go to our local RSPB I will ask if they can think of any reason
WS

Thanks for your responses guys.

Re: the bats and newts. If I recall correctly an eco survey was commissioned as bats were known to be in the area, but nothing definitive could be produced. Although there is a body of water there are no newts. Ken Livingstone is believed to have taken them all...

WS: Thanks for that. Would be very interesting to know. Perhaps it's because we are on relatively flat land?

Four more of our feathered friends who have moved into the neighbourhood thanks to the birdfeeder...

Great shots TT. It's amazing how many more species you see after you've put the feeder up
WS