I wonder if you are mixing up lard with suet. Lard is very sticky, and melts at a much lower temperature and birds do not like it. Suet is much harder in texture and birds love it if melted and mixed with dried fruit and nuts etc. I re-use coconut shells which I refill.
I saw a flock of wagtails on the beach yesterday during my walk with my dog. I could not see what they were catching, constantly flying up from the seaweed but guess it was flies. There must have been a couple of dozen wagtails in the flock. My regular robin with a single white feather in one of his wings seems to have disappeared and a much braver one has begun visiting my garden. They are very gregarious birds and each year the banks between my garden and the fields are a fighting zone as they try to establish territorial rights. They also fight over who has feeding rights at my feeding station. Last year there were at least 5 pairs of robins squabbling constantly.
I always put an apple or two out on a spike/skewer to hold them in place. The blackies and thrushes love them, especially when the ground's frozen/snowy/icy, as it has been recently, especially a few days ago. I chop up the fat balls, mix them with sultanas or raisins, and chuck them under shrubs for them. I often fix a fat feeder onto something near ground level too, so that they can access them. Under my bench was a useful place I've done in the past.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
The spotted woodpecker is now a regular visitor to the fat balls hanging on the hazel tree. The tits don't like him so I've had to hang up another fat ball container for them.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
Unfortunately I am thinking of removing my fat feeders. Between the grey squirrels and now green parakeets the smaller birds and the woodpecker are hardly getting a chance. I have tried all sorts of defense strategies but they are defeating everything at the moment.
They can't get in my cages @Allotment Boy . Not those things you can buy [which don't work] but purpose built ones. Woodpeckers wouldn't get in, but all small birds can. Up to bullfinch size. The mesh is approx. 1.5 inches or so. The squirrels try, but they can't get through it, and they try to eat through various bits [including the thumb turns for the door] but they eventually give up.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Yes but the problem I have is how to deter the parakeets but let the woodpeckers in. I tried an improvised cage but that allowed the squirrels to get hold. Currently my fat feeder hangs below a dome on a long wire so as it is it defeats the squirrels but not the undesirable birds.
Anything that lets woodpeckers in, will also let those parakeets in, unfortunately. I think you'll have to decide which is worth more to you. Perhaps removing them for a while is the only solution.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
We had a visit from our male cardinal in the daylight hours of Christmas eve - very exciting because he and the Mrs. usually only show up at the crack of dawn or just at dusk.
And here's something I've never seen. Woodpeckers constantly fly in for the suet cakes my mother puts out, but neither of us has ever seen a woodpecker actually eating seeds from a feeder before. This one came back multiple times for seed.
New England, USA
Metacomet soil with hints of Woodbridge and Pillsbury
What a smasher that cardinal is @CrankyYankee. He'll certainly brighten things up. Really beautiful
I don't often get woodpeckers in the garden here, although we hear them regularly in the surrounding woods etc. Too many good food sources nearby for them to need anything else. Perhaps your recent weather has made it difficult for them?
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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Suet is much harder in texture and birds love it if melted and mixed with dried fruit and nuts etc. I re-use coconut shells which I refill.
I saw a flock of wagtails on the beach yesterday during my walk with my dog. I could not see what they were catching, constantly flying up from the seaweed but guess it was flies. There must have been a couple of dozen wagtails in the flock.
My regular robin with a single white feather in one of his wings seems to have disappeared and a much braver one has begun visiting my garden. They are very gregarious birds and each year the banks between my garden and the fields are a fighting zone as they try to establish territorial rights. They also fight over who has feeding rights at my feeding station. Last year there were at least 5 pairs of robins squabbling constantly.
I chop up the fat balls, mix them with sultanas or raisins, and chuck them under shrubs for them. I often fix a fat feeder onto something near ground level too, so that they can access them. Under my bench was a useful place I've done in the past.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Woodpeckers wouldn't get in, but all small birds can. Up to bullfinch size. The mesh is approx. 1.5 inches or so. The squirrels try, but they can't get through it, and they try to eat through various bits [including the thumb turns for the door] but they eventually give up.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I think you'll have to decide which is worth more to you.
Perhaps removing them for a while is the only solution.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I don't often get woodpeckers in the garden here, although we hear them regularly in the surrounding woods etc. Too many good food sources nearby for them to need anything else. Perhaps your recent weather has made it difficult for them?
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...