Comments on: Helping The Early Birds http://www.thebirdsinthemeadow.com/2010/01/helping-the-early-birds/ Loving nature while living in the city Tue, 06 Sep 2011 15:53:26 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: LG http://www.thebirdsinthemeadow.com/2010/01/helping-the-early-birds/comment-page-1/#comment-7507 LG Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:37:40 +0000 http://www.thebirdsinthemeadow.com/?p=2560#comment-7507 Lovely post. Enjoy your blog. Lovely post. Enjoy your blog.

]]> By: Anna http://www.thebirdsinthemeadow.com/2010/01/helping-the-early-birds/comment-page-1/#comment-7500 Anna Mon, 25 Jan 2010 04:17:15 +0000 http://www.thebirdsinthemeadow.com/?p=2560#comment-7500 Looks like a food house. I had to give up mine because we started to get rodents up to our window trim scratching all night. It is also a responsibility, once they know where the food is, they will come back. Bird hope you are doing well. Anna :) Looks like a food house. I had to give up mine because we started to get rodents up to our window trim scratching all night. It is also a responsibility, once they know where the food is, they will come back. Bird hope you are doing well. Anna :)

]]> By: Bird http://www.thebirdsinthemeadow.com/2010/01/helping-the-early-birds/comment-page-1/#comment-7498 Bird Mon, 18 Jan 2010 10:47:35 +0000 http://www.thebirdsinthemeadow.com/?p=2560#comment-7498 Hi Chrissy, I learned pretty quickly that I had to move the food about a bit every day or put it out in several different places for exactly that reason - and when the pigeons discovered the food I had to make sure that it was spread evenly throughout the garden so that smaller shyer birds could get a look in. A good trick I found was cramming raisins or peanuts into forks of trees or holes in bark - I even saw a wren eating raisins that way! I bet you wouldn't get robins sharing on your hand - seems like waaaay too small a space for such argumentative little birds to get cosy :D Hi Chrissy, I learned pretty quickly that I had to move the food about a bit every day or put it out in several different places for exactly that reason – and when the pigeons discovered the food I had to make sure that it was spread evenly throughout the garden so that smaller shyer birds could get a look in. A good trick I found was cramming raisins or peanuts into forks of trees or holes in bark – I even saw a wren eating raisins that way!

I bet you wouldn’t get robins sharing on your hand – seems like waaaay too small a space for such argumentative little birds to get cosy :D

]]> By: Bird http://www.thebirdsinthemeadow.com/2010/01/helping-the-early-birds/comment-page-1/#comment-7497 Bird Mon, 18 Jan 2010 10:42:42 +0000 http://www.thebirdsinthemeadow.com/?p=2560#comment-7497 Hi Lana, yep, the squirrels are doing fine - in fact I knew it was time to stop strewing food on the ground when I saw one frantically collecting it all up to hide somewhere :) And thanks for the reassuring words - I know the birds don't rely on supplementary feeding around here because they don't normally get anything, but it's very good to be reminded that humans are not always the big fat deal we like to thing we are :D The snow has stopped now and the ground has thawed so emergency feeding isn't quite so important, but after over a week of frozen ground many birds were truly struggling - our climate isn't usually so harsh. I know they wouldn't normally rely on feeders but this winter has been a bit different to others. Hi Lana, yep, the squirrels are doing fine – in fact I knew it was time to stop strewing food on the ground when I saw one frantically collecting it all up to hide somewhere :) And thanks for the reassuring words – I know the birds don’t rely on supplementary feeding around here because they don’t normally get anything, but it’s very good to be reminded that humans are not always the big fat deal we like to thing we are :D

The snow has stopped now and the ground has thawed so emergency feeding isn’t quite so important, but after over a week of frozen ground many birds were truly struggling – our climate isn’t usually so harsh. I know they wouldn’t normally rely on feeders but this winter has been a bit different to others.

]]> By: Bird http://www.thebirdsinthemeadow.com/2010/01/helping-the-early-birds/comment-page-1/#comment-7496 Bird Mon, 18 Jan 2010 10:33:54 +0000 http://www.thebirdsinthemeadow.com/?p=2560#comment-7496 Vicki, that's a tough one. I bet local birds already know about and avoid the hawk, so feeding might bring in other, less clued up birds who'd be vulnerable to attack. I have no idea at all how you could hawk proof a feeding station, but I'd take a guess that the hawk is already extracting a bird tax from your garden if small birds are what it hunts. So the question would be - are weather conditions so bad that the birds in your yard need the extra food no matter what? And how upset would you be if you saw the hawk benefiting from your kindness? You could just take the attitude that you have the entire food chain in action out there and view the hawk as just another visitor coming for the food I guess... ;) I have a similar problem in that our garden is usually filled with cats; I took the decision to feed the birds because conditions were so bad, plus the cats were not around while it was so cold. Now there has been a thaw I've stopped feeding the ground foragers (they don't really need me any more) and I'm just filling up the feeders. I'm fairly sure the birds on the feeders are not vulnerable to cats, so my problem isn't as hard to solve as yours. Anyone out there got any ideas?. Vicki, that’s a tough one. I bet local birds already know about and avoid the hawk, so feeding might bring in other, less clued up birds who’d be vulnerable to attack. I have no idea at all how you could hawk proof a feeding station, but I’d take a guess that the hawk is already extracting a bird tax from your garden if small birds are what it hunts. So the question would be – are weather conditions so bad that the birds in your yard need the extra food no matter what? And how upset would you be if you saw the hawk benefiting from your kindness? You could just take the attitude that you have the entire food chain in action out there and view the hawk as just another visitor coming for the food I guess… ;)

I have a similar problem in that our garden is usually filled with cats; I took the decision to feed the birds because conditions were so bad, plus the cats were not around while it was so cold. Now there has been a thaw I’ve stopped feeding the ground foragers (they don’t really need me any more) and I’m just filling up the feeders. I’m fairly sure the birds on the feeders are not vulnerable to cats, so my problem isn’t as hard to solve as yours.

Anyone out there got any ideas?.

]]>