Do you feed the blackbirds/starlings etc?

We have a bird feeder in the back garden, which is filled with a seed mix. The tiny birds visit it.

When the tiny birds feed, there is inevitable spillage, and the blackbirds collected the dropped seed.

For reasons unknown, the tiny birds to come as often now, which is unfortunate for the blackbirds that like to collect the spillage. So I came up with a temporary solution, whereby I've put some seed on a saucer thing in the garden. The blackbirds seem pleased enough with this arrangements, as I regularly see them filling their faces there.

I've never really known anyone to feed the slightly larger wild birds. Is it right to do so or am I just making them lazy do you think?

 

I'm sure that our current government would wholeheartedly agree with you.

Those good for nothing, idle, lazy birds who pay no taxes whatsoever should sort themselves out and not rely upon handouts.

Cor, just look at all these scroungers!

 

I also put sultanas out and if I have any old apples I chop them into 6 and the black bird eat those. Since the weekend we are getting a lot of starlings in the garden and they are all over the fat ball feeders. Not seen any starlings in my garden before and on Saturday there were 15 in the garden at the same time and 6 were on the fat ball feeders.

Rusty

 

They'll slap you with a "Discrimination" case if you don't!

 

We feed all birds big and small, holders with peanuts and seeds done the same as Armandii with seed holder and we have trays on the ground as well,

At the moments we have at about 45 black birds coming down for Oats (in trays) when its cold they just come in, then when it warms up again they go off looking for the worms again, I'm shore there is a big sign that the birds can see which says, free food here at Jiffy's

We do feed other wildlife as well, but we have big problems with the grey things with bushy tails, we thought we only at 6 but counted 44, we now only have 2??????? hopefully

 

One bird table with wildbird seed for all, one peanut holder for the tits (Blue, Great and Coal), Sparrows, nuthatch etc, one fat ball holder for Sparrows, Robin and Starlings and one nyjer feeder for Siskns and Goldfinches. I throw some seed on the lawn for the ground feeders, Chaffinch, Dunnocks and Blackbirds and Wagtails.
Still getting upto 30 Sparrows a day but the Siskins have gone back to the forest.
I ecourage all the birds EXCEPT the Woodies!

 

I have the lot and it costs me a fortune. The starlings do tend to clean up after them by cleaning the ground as there are so many of them up on the fat balls and half cocunuts. The Jays come and take all the loose peanuts and I have keep the peanut holder full for the tits etc. But it is amusing watching the lot of them.

 

yes I feed but I have Great tits and Blue tits who just like to pick out all the seed on the (seed feeder) they can empty it in a day, I do have pea nut feeder as well so the mixed seed must have something they really like ?.

The lawn is covered in to much seed which I dont like attracts vermin !!

I like Armandii feeder with the tray at the bottom that would solve the problem.

Spruce

 

My general habit has been to only put out seed and suet in the winter months. I want the birds to eat the insects etc during the warm weather.

 

We don't always get warm weather here Esther!!!!!!!
What birds do you get where you are?

 

I feed all birds including the odd pheasant, who struts his stuff up the path in the winter. They do make a little mess, but nothing that can't be tidied up, if not eaten by the ground feeders. I'm just happy feeding them, I get as much pleasure from watching them, as they do from eating the food. I feed on a bird table and hanging seed feeders with seed, fat, nuts, dried worms (especially for Mr and Mrs Robin) and fruit. I buy cheap apples and chop them into little pieces. I've noticed an increase this year in many birds, long tailed tits and blue tits mostly and I'm sure there will be more as the winter goes on!

 

Excellent, thanks people. I'll continue to feed them then. I still don't understand where the tiny birds went, unless they migrate. For the first few weeks the feeder was being empties within a couple of days of filling it, then they just stopped.

Like I guess most gardens do, we have at least one resident blackbird that hunts about in the back garden, looking for worms and bugs and slugs presumably. There's not much going on bug wise at this time of year, so I felt sorry for poor blackbird having to sort through the limited spillage from the feeder, which is why I sorted it out its own saucer which I put the seed mix on.

 

I'm sure the little birds will be back. They may have found a supply of food elsewhere, or the sparrowhawk is hanging around. They do disappear every so often from my feeders, and different types of birds come on different days, the longtail tits only seem to come on a Saturday afternoon?? Strange, but true...and the gold finches haven't been for a couple of weeks now.