birds

[chazza]

i have a bird table and have been putting seed and bread on it.  The birds like the bread but havent been eating the seed!

 

what other things could i put on the table to attract them?

[ineedahobby]

generally they love fat based stuff, so chopped up bacon rind or something.  Also if you mix up the seed with left over fat from cooking (hard fat, not oil) they seem to like that too.

[boobesque]

yes, ive heard similar to ineedahobby make a ball of fat and roll the seeds in it, birds love it apparently!

[ineedahobby]

pity their arteries though

[Cetti]

Please do not put bacon rind out for birds as this is highly dangerous - they will choke! White bread is best kept for humans as well, though brown is ok in small pieces.

On a lighter note this is the time of plenty for them so they will just go and have a look at the various 'take aways' on their patch and select what takes their fancy or is the easiest.

When the trees and bushes are devoid of fruit, berries and the weather is cold this is the time when they really need our help. Fat balls are good (in small amounts) , so are niger and sunflower seeds - the latter 2 are quite pricey but a real winter treat put in feeders and well placed so there's no sqabbling. Don't forget that fresh  water is as important as the food -  even when it's cold they still need to drink and keep their feathers up to scratch.

[ineedahobby]

well I got the bacon rind advice from the AA  complete book of british birds.  They say its absolutely fine if its chopped up (which is what I said).

[shaneystar]

My tribe of sparrows love peanuts but I hang them in a feeder.
The robin likes mild cheese grated up and I put out bits of apple and cold potatoes.In the winter I hang up fat balls for them. The RSPB website gives lots of good info on feeding the birds in your garden.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/

[mycatis]

I put out bird seed, fat balls,cheese (honestly), bran flakes, raisins,any kind of cooked potatoes and in winter apples cut in half.  I also put out a tub for water, let the rain water collect, rather than tap water.

[spudqueen]

I've got peanut feeders and seed feeders (in one of which I put sunflower hearts) but I do also put out jacket potatoes cut in half (I don't like giving them any potatoes which have been cooked in salt), grated cheese, raisins and during the winter I make my own fat balls using suet and seeds. Someone I know has mixed corn (for hens) in one of his seed feeders, and it does seem very popular!

[helpme!]

They love fat balls......but so do rats!  A friend had a rat at the end of their garden and the pest control man said it was attracted to the fat ball their neighbour had put out for the birds 

[Cetti]

ineedahobby, I am aware that  bacon rind finely chopped is included on some sites and also  in bird books. As it must be the unsalted variety and very finely chopped I still think it best to err on the side of caution and leave this out as there are so many better foods like apples, cooked rice, potatoes and meal worms etc. that will be enjoyed and cause no harm.

[WendyS]

I use dry porridge oats to soak up the surplus flat in my grill pan.  The birds love it, especially in cold weather. Sunflower seeds are also very popular with virtually all bird species.