Robin At A Feeder

[seadogg]

During this cold spell a robin has learned to use one of our hanging feeders, which has a high energy mix, containing dried mealworms. Normally they are ground and table customers. Is this so unusual, or are my robins just a bit slow to catch on?

[Captain2]

Our pair of robins do use the feeder but seem to feed 'on the wing'. They ony stay long enough to pick up a seed, with wings still flapping, and they are straight back to the nearby tree. It's fascinating to watch but I wish they'd stay for a full meal.

[seadogg]

Good point Captain. Mine dont exactly look comfortable on the job but I guess its necessary to have a go in the present conditions.

[Chipchopper]

I think their ancestral home is the woodland floor, foraging among leaf litter but they can be surprisingly adaptable, much more so than the dunock, which seem happy enough with their place on the ground, cleaning up the fallen crumbs from the feeders above.

The robins that visit my garden have now taken to eating suet pellets. I have mounted the window mounted feeders on up stairs and down stairs windows, they eagerly wait for me to fill them up every morning. this allows me to watch robins + blue tits and great tits at very close up from behind the glass and if I get up late, they actually tap on the glass and wake me up!

[seadogg]

My freeloading robins could learn from yours chipchopper! O.K. on the dunnock being more restricted to ground feeding which, of course makes them vulnerable to marauding cats. Thanks for the fascinating comments.

[gen2]

My robins used to occasionally hop up to the feeders if no other birds were around to spill seed to the ground for them.
I said 'used to' because I haven't seen one around recently, possibly because 4 out of my 5 nearest neighbours have 5 cats between them.

[ladybirder]

I've been putting Live meal worms in my window feeder for the last month to help the birds out during this prolonged cold spell. Blackbirds don't usually come to it as it's mainly filled with sunflower hearts. However, since the mealworms arrived, Mrs Blackbird comes and yanks them out from under the seeds at about 50/70 a minute. And when she's eaten them all she jabs her bill into the seeds out tosses them out of the feeder. The minute I put the worms in they hide under the seeds but she knows they're there. Clever girl. When she's finished the Robin pops in for any leftovers. Window feeders are brilliant for close ups of birds feeding and a must if you live in a flat.

Think I've lost my wrens with the cold weather:-(

[SpikeyBush]

Robins seem to flock to my garden to pick over my dog's number twos before I get chance to clean them up. Ewwwww! But while they're down they hoover up a pile of pests too.

[ladybirder]

Thanks for sharing that Spikey:-)

[Stargazer]

Don't the birds bash themselves using window feeders? I have never used them because of this possibility.

[ladybirder]

Mine don't stargazer. They come straight from the trees, about 3-4 metres away and land on the see-through bird feeder. Some of them land on the top first and then hop down into the tray. If you are thinking of getting one, could I advise you to get the one with 3 suckers (rather than 2) and an apex roof rather than flat one. The apex discourages pigeons and larger birds to land on it and the 3 suckers give it a better grip and ensure it won't come unstuck. This one from Asda looks good but the picture is crap. It does have 3 suction pads and looks as if it has the apex roof. Good price as well. If you load them with good quality food they are fab for getting a close-up of the birds.
And seadogg if you get a window feeder your robins will come and sit in it:-)

[ladybirder]

Oops!

http://direct.asda.com/Window-Bird-Feeder/000828355,default,pd.html

[Stargazer]

There is regularly a robin feeding from my black sunflower seed hanging feeder and it also feeds from a cage with mealworm cake in it. I haven't got a table at the moment but remember that robins generally feed from a table.

[Chipchopper]

Stargazer, I think the likelihood of birds bashing into window is less likely if there is a feeder on it.
From my observations, they tend to use a near-by bush, before flying directly up to the feeder, grab what they want then back to the bush or tree

[DaisyNonna]

I have two wndow feeders, one on the living room window, one on my bedroom window. First fooor flat. Never a problem with birds bashing themselves. Gives me a lot of pleasure and the birds a lot of food.

[pootler15]

There are lots of wrens starting to nest lower down the hill near town, so maybe many have moved to slightly warmer areas in this cold. My robins come to a dish feeder full of mealworms. I have only rarely seen them at the nut feeder.

[Stargazer]

This is especially for Ladybirder. Last week, following the window feeder postings I could not wait until I went to an Asda but bought one from my local (small town) bird shop for £13.50. I also bought some live meal worms (a mere hen's nose full for £2.50).
I also ordered online an Asda window feeder for £7.98 which was postage free as it was picked up from my nearest store (25 miles away) by my daughter who lives closer. When I unpacked it I found that it was an identical one to the one I had bought at my local shop. They are made by an American firm called Droll Yankees and the locally bought one was marketed under the name Jacobi Jayne & Company. The Adsa one is endoresed by Bill Oddie and is marketed by a firm called Haith's and endorsed by the BSA.
I would like to know if the birds find the dried meal worms just as tasty as the live ones are so expensive from my local shop at any rate?


http://direct.asda.com/Window-Bird-Feeder/000828355,default,pd.html