Feeding the birds

We put out peanuts in a feeder for the bluetits. DH scatters wheat and seed mixture for ground feeders. I'm sure fruit and nut mix is fine, they would not have eaten it if they didn't like it.

We have just broken the ice on our pond, so the fish can breathe and the birds can drink.

Anyone see the deer walking along a high street looking for food?. It must be so hard for all wildlife. I’m doing what I can for the birds

If you’ve got spare Marge or butter, it helps them if you spread it on crusts.
Lard can be melted with breakfast cereal added to make a fat cake when cool.

Try to feed the birds, but the rats run accross the field and get there first. Sorry little birds....

oops you need my abominable snowman!! Ratter in chief he is

I mixed some bird seed with some old lard that I'd kept in the freezer for situations like this, but the only bird that was interested was a pigeon [probably the one that poos over my car every night! I did put some more peanuts in the bird feeder and I've got some suet that, again, was past it's use by date, that I put out. Can they eat porridge? I do have some more fat in the freezer that I can use. Annoyingly I haven't got any apples at the moment, but the blackbirds love them.

I read porridge oats are good to feed ducks so I mix them in with all the birdseed (a lot of ducks here as there is a mere at the end of the garden) - Tesco value oats are actually cheaper than the cheapest birdseed I can find. Not being mean but it was costing me £15 - £20 per week and no way I can afford that. So the ducks get all the human food scraps now as well. The mere is actually frozen today and my cat was walking across it at 7am ?. Another thing to worry about in this horrible weather.

I don`t feed the birds, not because I don`t like them, I do, but I have a cat, and there are lots of other cats around here as well, so don`t want to put the birds in danger by tempting them into the yard.

I'm beginning to think we spend as much on wild bird food as we do on the dogs, cat and chickens put together.

I am worried about my local robins and the various tits that come into my garden.
Before the beast from the east came along I was hosting a family of several Long tailed Tits Coal tits, blue tits and quite a lot of other small birds.

I don't know how these very tiny birds survive.

Anyone see the deer walking along a high street looking for food
Yes, it was on the news, extraordinary. I hope someone had some food suitable for them.

varian if you put a ball in the pond or in the bird bath it will stop the ice forming apparently; probably a tennis ball in the bird bath and a football in the pond. That was a tip from Mike Dilger on our local news last night.

I haven't seen any tits in my garden recently which is a worry. The robins seemed to be having a right battle today over whose territory my garden was. Annoyingly I was too lazy to cover todays bird seed that was on the ground so I bet the rats are eating it now! Currently going through my store cupboard to work concoct some recipes for them [the birds, not the rats]. Must get up early tomorrow cause that's when the birds are most active [unlike me].

Well some of the nuts and raisins I put out last evening are still there so perhaps that means no rats. The little birds are eating them now. Rats is part of the reason I never put any foods stuff out,together with my irrational fear of birds but the weather is so bad I felt sorry for the little living beings. Maybe I should invest in a tall bird table for next winter! The weather should improve over the weekend so my stash of fruit and nut mix will hopefully last that long

Just tottered out and put some hot water out- that will be frozen in a minute

My little pied wagtail has found the dry mealy worms hoorah!

would dearly love to feed the birds.... but! having had Rats making a big nest under my shed due to next door putting too much bird food out...and the birds not eating it..hence the rats enjoyed 3 course meals....

I love to watch the birds sat in the conservatory (ha I dont mean the birds sit in the conservatory)

Mostly a blackbird on my bird table but also tits, a robin and a thrush yesterday. I buy bird food at the pound shop.

I’ve found some buckwheat in the cupboard and have boiled up a painful. Do any of you know if the raw state is digestible for birds?

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201803/medium-126979-a7d93216-3693-4e44-8a67-0e7f26daf0a1.jpeg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201803/medium-659256-23606836-15da-4c4d-947d-c812d48e0593.jpeg

Who’s this little fella? (Oh dear I’m turning into a bird watcher)

You can still feed the birds without feeding the rats or the squirrels, get some of these:

www.amazon.co.uk/Hanging-Acrylic-Integrated-Suction-Attachments/dp/B06XFGGK43/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=window+bird+feeder+uk&tag=gransnetforum-21&ie=UTF8&qid=1519899132&sr=8-4

The added advantage is that you can sit on your sofa and watch them.

We've just spotted a fieldfare in our back garden. They only come in from the fields when they are desperately hungry.

morethan2 That's a pied wagtail.
I don't like birds flapping around me but enjoy watching them through the window.

Fielfares here

pbs.twimg.com/media/DXMj2f_WsAEAImY?format=jpg

Thank you oldgoat I’m the same as you I really don’t like them flying about. If they got in my house I’d run out the house and probably get run over by a bus(not today there aren’t any nor any traffic because of the snow)