Which Bird Feeder? and Swans

Wildlife Garden Tips

Which Bird Feeder? and Swans

As winter gets colder (and wetter) bird food ‘sharers’ and the ‘wide boys’ get hungrier

Attempts to give the little birds a share leads to feeder defences becoming an escalating battle of wits, expense and ingenuity! As a special Christmas gift, I have just indulged myself with two new Red Barn feeders - one for seed and one for fat balls

 I felt I deserved it, having for some years improvised with an old broken feeder for balls

... replaced wire access, hung it upside down in order to support balls, clad it in wire netting for extra protection, and battled with bits of bent wire to refill it!

The solid base designs (5) will catch dropped food and the sturdily constructed cage simply lifts off for refilling and cleaning. It is quite a lot cheaper than the Squirrel buster design which works on a sliding collar principle – creatures over a certain weight close the access (one can adjust the critical weight).

Above shows a Red Barn nut feeder in action (with Long-tailed Tits) at WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre– their shop has a variety of feeders*.

 Our Great Spotted Woodpecker demonstrates the Squirrelbuster + Improvised tray catcher below.

Like many people, our history of feeders has been something of a journey into the unexpected. Our ‘wide boys’ include (1) agile ‘A’ level squirrels; (2) pigeons – eat lots and spill lots as they lurch and swing; occasional corvids (3) Jackdaw and (4 at Slimbridge) Jackdaw with grey nape or ‘shawl’ - compare to Rook grey-based beak and larger. And of course, our ever present, very observant, savvy magpies pictured in my mid-November post. Also, a very unexpected one – read on!!

Our uncaged plastic tube type seed feeder was recently devastated by ‘A’ level squirrels tearing out the lower tube and feed ports. A few years ago, a particularly strong badger put his weight against a metal feeder stand, bent it down in order to grab the hanging ‘Squirrelbuster’ seed feeder. Unable to work the mechanism in the prescribed manner he simply chewed and tore open the metal mesh guard

!

This last expensive tale did have a positive outcome - unrepairable damaged feeder and its residual seeds attracted a hungry Vole and a Wood Mouse (big ears). They became regular feeding colleagues a few feet from our outdoor table for several days!

[WWT Slimbridge has a good shop for wildlife garden kit. Only an hour away (...as the swan flies?) it is an excellent place to see many species including migrant swans and geese just now

 And the corridor is lined with affordable Bird/Nature Artworks... a unique Christmas present? with extra treat outing. Profits support their splendid work creating and maintaining vital wetlands... not just for birds, but for our future. This habitat absorbs and stores an enormous amount of carbon as well as helping to cleanse water, also holding and regulating water flow through soil and rivers.]

If too long a journey, swans can be seen here occasionally! A few weeks ago, I was outside hanging the washing and heard that unmistakeable, slow steady rhythm of huge wings overhead. Thrilling! Three swans overhead in a V formation flying from west to east across the Turleigh Valley... and then more the next morning... how better to start the day?

Photo credits: 2,3, Bob Drower, others Nicolette Scourse