You could be right aym, nyger seeds are a great success in the summer, we have 2 feeders of them to cater for the 10 gold finches that often all come at once. I do have sunflower hearts but they are in a general bird seed mix, perhaps I ought to buy them as a separate item.
GD - I buy a separate bag of sunflower hearts and add them to the no mess mix. The little birds chuck out what they don't like from the feeder and all the ground feeders snaffle that up. The nuthatches, in particular, are quite fussy, but everyone's a winner!
All the birds seem to like the hearts so it's definitely worth getting them to add to what you have
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Aym, jays like peanuts. They are shy though, and we don't often get one even though we're on the edge of a wood. (Acorns are one of their favourite foods, and the wood - we're on the edge of the local park - is mostly oaks.) My experience is that the jay will only eat from the ground, not a bird table.
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
We get jays here and, like Liri, have only ever seen them feed from the ground. The magpies, however, will give anything a go - the bird table, the feeders, the fat balls. Our feeders are on shepherd crook type affairs and you can see them flexing under their weight.
You can have my jays, aym - they, along with the magpies and crows, just threaten and hassle the little birds. Very beautiful but I wouldn't mind them keeping their distance a bit more.
'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'
Aym, if you have squirrel-proof bird feeders the big birds will soon learn they can't feed from them, and stay with your neighbours instead of bothering you...
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
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You could be right aym, nyger seeds are a great success in the summer, we have 2 feeders of them to cater for the 10 gold finches that often all come at once. I do have sunflower hearts but they are in a general bird seed mix, perhaps I ought to buy them as a separate item.
GD2
l have Niger seeds and sunflower hearts hard to tell which the goldfinches prefer
My niger seeds and sunflower hearts aren't touched by the goldfinches - they swarm over the verbena bonariensis though :-)
GD - I buy a separate bag of sunflower hearts and add them to the no mess mix. The little birds chuck out what they don't like from the feeder and all the ground feeders snaffle that up. The nuthatches, in particular, are quite fussy, but everyone's a winner!
All the birds seem to like the hearts so it's definitely worth getting them to add to what you have
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Aym, jays like peanuts. They are shy though, and we don't often get one even though we're on the edge of a wood. (Acorns are one of their favourite foods, and the wood - we're on the edge of the local park - is mostly oaks.) My experience is that the jay will only eat from the ground, not a bird table.
We get jays here and, like Liri, have only ever seen them feed from the ground. The magpies, however, will give anything a go - the bird table, the feeders, the fat balls. Our feeders are on shepherd crook type affairs and you can see them flexing under their weight.
Last edited: 14 January 2017 09:18:52
You can have my jays, aym - they, along with the magpies and crows, just threaten and hassle the little birds. Very beautiful but I wouldn't mind them keeping their distance a bit more.
They won't be ravens - not in Essex - does your neighbour mean jackdaws, or rooks maybe?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I did Niger Seeds couple of years back goldfinches never touched it so have not used them since they do love the sunflower hearts though
Aym, if you have squirrel-proof bird feeders the big birds will soon learn they can't feed from them, and stay with your neighbours instead of bothering you...