The Dangers Of Bird Feeders

Your two doves are good parents then, shame about the poor magpie - not my favourite bird but it's never nice to see something being bullied.

 

I have just bought one of those feeding station thingies. I have bought sunflower hearts, niger seeds, suet balls. It has a nut feeder, which are the best nuts to buy please?

 

I had to take my peanut feeder down, as well as the fatball feeder! All due to a murder of crows who seem to know the exact moment I fill these two feeders. They then stay at the feeders until there's no food/nuts left for the other birds. They are very greedy feeders, and always chase the other birds away so they have exclusive access to the feeders.
I did use to chase them when I saw them, but gave up in the end. Think the neighbours also thought I'd escaped from the local mental institution, seeing me running up the garden roaring, jumping about and waving my arms in the air
Now I stick to sunflower hearts, niger seeds, wild mix for the little birdies, and the mating pair of collared doves that visit every day

SF

Edit: I really meant to say Rooks, and not Crows - as there were quite a lot, as well as Jackdaws!

 

I'm surprised that you had to take the peanut and fatball feeders down because both of those designs are such that only 'clingers' can feed on them, larger birds can't fit onto the tiny posts and they certainly couldn't cling to a fat or suet feeder.

If you're feeder and feed specific you'll get the birds you want but if you have flat surfaces that you place feed on and the feed is grain based (still includes sunflowers) you'll be calling birds other than the songbirds.

 

I often find the peanut feeder lying on the ground, with the lid off. And the fat feeders are either forced open, or the Corvids dangle from them pecking like mad to get at the fat inside (one does the dirty deed, while the rest wait below for the food to drop to the ground)

Sneaky sneaky!!!

 

Good god, i'm staggered