Hi Matt,
I have been feeding birds for too many years to remember at many sites,i have only recently moved to strongstry but have already set up a couple of feeding stations,mainly used for photography,i tend not to feed after the end of march and start again around august,theory being the young birds learn not to be dependent on artificial food sources,having said that i have feed through the summer and found similar results as you have,the main reasons i think are,the majority of passerines need high protein food to breed and raise young,ie insects,the undergrowth and trees are fully grown and abound with food,the days are long so plenty of time to feed,i think the wet weather also keeps them in hidding,pigeons are seed eater so they will always look for a free handout,try feeding with live meal worm on a regular basis and i think you will find they will return,or wait and feed seeds etc later in the year

Best regards Brian.

Hi Matt

I feed sunflower hearts and fat products all year and have a constant stream of finches, tits, house sparrows and peckers etc.  If yoy are going to feed all year I would persevere and eventually the birds should come.  Mealworms can be bought off the internet or locally I think the tropical fish shop in Waterfoot would supply you if you asked them.  they are also available to buy freeze dried from pet shops etc these days.

cheers Kevin

Hi Matt
One thing that nobody has mentioned is the cost! I think we would all gulp if we were to add up how much we spend on food for the birds.

It too is quiet in my garden at the moment, although this can vary from garden to garden. Through many triials and at great cost I have now found that Sunflower Hearts ( that's with husk removed) by far away the best food, and the one most liked, and can now be found locally very cheap in bulk. It always amazes me how they know what has the most calorific value.

I also feed Mealworm, peanuts, fat cakes and, at certain times of the year a treat for the Greenfinch, Hemp which is again cheap in bulk.

To be honest I think on the whole Peanuts are almost reduntant apart from the odd Woodpecker or Long Tailed Tit visit. It's strange really as even the Woodpecker and Siskin , traditionally birds of Peanuts, now prefer the Sunflower hearts with the Pecker clinging to the seed feeders and ignoring the peanuts.

If it helps any here are a few places I use for my food and feeders.


Mealworm http://www.livefoods.co.uk/
              http://www.globallivefood.com/shop/home.php

Foods   C J Wildfoods  http://www.birdfood.co.uk/
            Ernest Charles  http://www.birdfood.co.uk/
            Haiths             http://www.haiths.com/
            Jacobi Jayne     http://www.jacobijayne.co.uk/
          Sunflower Hearts Sherfin mill 22kg appox £17
A lot of these sites sell decent birdfeeders something I would recommend strongly if you are to feed regularly as this will save you lot's of money in the end!

To keep the Starlings out of the Mealworm tray keep them in dedicated feeders that the sites above ( C J Wildfoods)  provide.

The bird table has become the domain of the Starlings as I have now finally accepted that they are here to stay. They have now finally accepted that they are only allowed to be fed on that table so as to allow the other bids a bit of peace. This of course depends on how many Starlings you attract. I can have over 200 in my garden all trying to feed so I have now placed there table a bit further away from the other feeders and made it more difficult to feed on any other feeder. This has worked as they prefer the "least resistance" method and so stay where I want them to be.

Good luck with it and I am sure that in time your list of garden birds will grow not sure if any of us will beat Kevins' Goshawk having lunch though! 

-- Edited by Ste Rush at 20:14, 2007-07-05

-- Edited by Ste Rush at 20:18, 2007-07-05