Thanks all. Will persist with the feeding and also planning to get a bird bath. I should also say, the fairly imonous sparrow beak didn't seem to put off the other sparrows, as when I went out to investigate, about 3 were clinging onto the feeder pecking away!
It’s all part of the circle of life ... sparrowhawks have to eat too.
I find it helpful to site the birdfeeders fairly close to shrubs so that they have somewhere sheltered from predators where they can queue up at the cafeteria. If the shrubs have thorns eg pyracantha, that gives even more protection.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
"A cat may have come into the garden, under the gate, and caught an unsuspecting sparrow, but cats either play with the bird and leave it uneaten or eat the whole thing. (That’s what our cats do anyway.)"
My cats vary but generally leave the head and spine with the feathers.
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I find it helpful to site the birdfeeders fairly close to shrubs so that they have somewhere sheltered from predators where they can queue up at the cafeteria. If the shrubs have thorns eg pyracantha, that gives even more protection.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.