Birds returning

Getting some birds back in the garden, mainly starlings and sparrows. Any hints and tips for encouraging birds, eg is a flat table better than the cage things, at least a table won't move so much

Pentax 55-300mm

C & C please

[IMG]http://i1100.photobucket.com/albums/g406/tyronet2000/_IGP1678-1.jpg[/IMG]

If you put that fat on a flat table, the starlings would finished it in no time Stan. To encourage them you need a variety of feeds. For example, sunflower for the tits, bullfinch and greenfinch, nijer for the goldfinch, seed for the spuggies. They will all take feed from caged feeders. You would need a table for the likes of robins, blackbirds and thrushes. Just put standard seed on it. Alternativel, they'll feed off the bottom on anything that has fallen from the feeders.

Best photographing the birds on something natural. My feeders (although I've stopped feeding now that they are nesting) are near trees. I can take pictures of the birds on the trees rather than on feeders. If you haven't got trees rig something up with a branch for them to land on as a stopping off point before they make the final flight to the feeder. There is a hierachy amongst many birds and spuggies for example will queue up on a branch waiting to take their turn on the feeder.

That's a very good start Stan.

There are numerous ways to attract birds to the garden, each will have its own preference for where it likes to feed, you can often attract ground feeders like Robins, Dunnocks and Blackbirds to a flat table, other birds that normally prefer feeders such as Tits and Finches will also use a bird table if there's a handy snack waiting for them.

Food wise, mealworms (even dried ones) will attract Robins, Nyjer seed and Sunflower Hearts will attract Goldfinches, though Nyjer seed makes a right mess leaving thousands of tiny husks to clean up.

Try and set up a perch near the feeders, stick a suitable branch in the ground nearby and you'll find the birds often land on that and have a look around before jumping to the feeder, they will also use it when there is a queue for the feeder

Then there's the old trick of drilling a hole in an old spade handle and baiting it with food, capturing birds on props like this is much more rewarding that snapping them on the feeders.

EDIT: my namesake beat me to it, I really must stop breaking off typing to put the kettle on

High Stan as the two Alan's said its the variety of food that help to attract different birds to your garden. I my self feed the birds all year round although you do have to use your common sense about what type and size of food you give them.

A good site to go on is the RSPB one. If you google RSPB and go to their site then in the search box type in feeding birds all year round, you will be taken to an advice page where it will have about feeding birds.

I see that you have a feeder like mine (black metal type) what I've done with mine is to fix some branches to it with garden wire which gives them some where to land before going to the feeders, this gives a more natural look to the photos you get.

I also move the feeder and other branches closer to our kitchen window and use the kitchen as a hide which has proved quite successful for me.

Another point to make is to keep all feeders clean and out of the reach of cats. Hope this helps you to get the photos you want

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. I think I'll have to get a Hienz 57 varieties of food and do up the feeding station with some braches, and put up a flat table.
I still get the occasional visit from a cat but since I cut back the base braches of the coinfer it doesn't have a place to hide. Have now got a summerhouse so that will be a good hide for me. the shot posted was taken using the remote cable with the camera outside on a tripod. Then it started to spit Lots of fun to look forward too, every day something new

Just something else for you to consider Stan.

One school of thought is that if you have any residents nesting nearby, and you suddenly invite all these strangers into your garden, you may find that the residents spend most of their time defending their territory instead of concentrating on feeding their young.

That's why I've stopped feeding for now. I've got blackbirds, and dunnocks nesting in my hedge. And Blue tits and house sparrows behind the plastic fascia on the roof.

Never thought of that Alan. I've seen a few starlings feeding young on the roof of the SH and on the path but to be honest haven't seen a lot of other birds, an odd blackbird and a couple of spuggies, oh and some big crows which I chase away as Liz doesn't like them. there is a massive leylandi type tree two gardens away but don't know if theres any nests in it as its so dense, plenty bird noise coming from that direction though. The conifer I have is about 7ft high and about 3ft diameter, suppose there could be something in there, but to dense to see through. Will have to pay a bit more attention That big square of food has gone already just put it out at 1000 hrs so all that is left is a few peanut and 1.5 fat balls. No more till I go to the shop

Hi Stan

At home we just hang up fat balls (I'll wait for the questions like whose he? etc) as in all honesty it is the easiest and seemingly most popular thing in our garden

One thing not to do is to buy an old m42 NPS 400mm lens - the pics are ok but in the main the moment this lens is attached to my camera just about every winged thing disappears

[quote] One thing not to do is to buy an old m42 NPS 400mm lens - the pics are ok but in the main the moment this lens is attached to my camera just about every winged thing disappears [/quote

I just need to look out the window and think Camera and there is a mass evacuation

at least it is not just me then Stan