What Bird feeders Advice Please

I wouldn’t be too worried at the moment @widget. As previously said, it takes time for birds to visit a new feeder or table. Once the weather starts to warm up there’ll be more of them around.

 

I was about to say the same as @Sheal. Predators can easily hide and put birds off a feeder. It's a relentless battle here with cats.
Many of my feeders are in specially built cages suited for the small birds, but the ground feeder is in an open site, and I also put some small handfuls on the ground among shrubs which the blackbirds like. The caged ones are on the fence and a screen I have, but the ones on the fence have nearby cover of shrubs/trees because of the problem with cats. It's vital that they can easily access that protection. The one on the screen is a more open site, but with nearby shrubs etc, so they can see if there's anything dangerous nearby. I still have copious amounts of different birds visiting, so it's probably just a matter of adapting your site a bit, and patience.
Over time, you'll also get a feel for what birds are local to you, and you can then adapt the food you use accordingly. I only use no grow seed mixes and sunflower hearts, plus suet blocks/balls. I don't use peanuts as that just encourages squirrels - and they're the wrong kind

 

IMPORTANT…

RSPB stops selling flat bird feeders owing to deadly finch disease

 

I think it's easy to forget about cleaning bird tables. Those of us who have been feeding birds for years know about cleaning the hanging feeders, but perhaps at the expense of the bird table surfaces.
My little ground feeder has a mesh base which allows water through, so I just turn it upside down and skoosh it with the hose now and again. A good scrub with a brush/soapy water would work with a conventional bird table though.

 

2 weeks today and still no birds,

 

Just read that about bird tables @Tidemark , interesting we have only one out of a few different feeders dotted around our garden. To be honest we don’t get any Finches on our Feeders BUT see Goldfinches come on our Teazles we grow and plant in different places and they usually come with a few mates, Lovely birds !

 

Do you have neighbours @widget? If so they may be feeding the birds, so it may take a while for them to find your feeder.

 

Do any birds visit your bird bath @widget?

 

I am a corner bungalow and I know my nearest neighbour does not put bird feed out, at the moment the birds are stripping my crab apple tree so I am hoping when that is gone they might find the bird table.

 

A pigeon might have a bath but not often, have not seen any drink from it lately

 

It also may be that there are not many birds about, i've seen the numbers here drop big time, i only see a few now it's cold but go back about 5-10 years and i had so many you couln't count them, in the last bad snowy weather we used to have a good 100 also back birds come in now we can count 7

 

Like @Jiffy, I also think there may be less birds around at the moment. I have seen fewer here and they don't seem to like the cold either . Once the nesting season starts soon you should see more interest in extra food so just give them time @widget .

 

I moved house last summer and the place I've moved into had been standing empty for some while. It was more than three weeks before birds started to come to the feeding station. Give it a little more time widget.

If they are being put off by it's colour, you could try winding some climber stems round the base and up the main post to disguise it. Something soft like Lonicera (Honeysuckle). Birds also have problems with certain seed mixes. I find if there is too much barley in the mix the birds aren't interested. Some will toss it out and others will completely ignore the feeder. The only birds I find that will eat it are Doves and Pigeons.

 

Thanks Sheal, that is a good idea about climbing stems, I have an evergreen honeysuckle, might give that a go, something like a camouflage.

 

Indeed @Sheal - many of the cheap mixes are bulked out by wheat and barley, which doesn't appeal to lots of birds. It might seem more expensive to buy the no mess mixes, but it's cheaper in the long run.
There does need to be other planting to attract a larger variety of birds, so anything you can add in that respect will help @widget. Many birds are predominantly insect eaters, so you could look at growing plants that will attract them, and climbers are a really good way of doing that. You'll often find blue tits etc checking the foliage for them.
Anything which produces berries is useful for all sorts of insects too [ as well as for birds ] as the flowers are used by lots of them first, and the soft new growth of plants in spring can attract aphids which are great for the young of many birds too. If you can create little log piles, or even just piles of branches and rocks tucked around the garden, that's also a habitat for creatures to hide, and for insects to overwinter and breed. Plants which have hollow stems as they die back are used by insects too. I also put sultanas out in frozen temps as the blackbirds enjoy those as well as the apples. Making sure the water sources aren't frozen is also important.

I have plenty of birds all year round in the garden, but there are lots of plants and other areas which provide varying habitats, which helps enormously. It does take time though, so just keep adding to what you have over the next year or two.