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I've been hanging my nuts out the front for a couple of weeks now, and apart from seeing the odd couple of tits, I've had pretty little interest from many birds. I'm offering them my seed too but none of them seem to have interest in that at all.
Why don't they like my fatty balls? Do I just need to wait for word to get around that the good stuff is available, or do I need to do something different?
Dunno - the birds go mental for my fatty balls. 4 or 5 at once sometimes.
Perhaps fresher, more succulent balls are tempting the birds away from yours? There comes a point where you just have to give up and accept the days when they would flock around you are gone.
Could try growing up. Or more poo jokes. Ughhh dunno.
Perhaps fresher, more succulent balls are tempting the birds away from yours?
My balls are definitely fresh. My seed not so much to be fair, I've been storing it up for a while.
musical interlude
Are they out in the open or protected?
It can take time for them to start using new food sources.
Are they out in the open or protected?
They're hung under a tree, above a hedge, so reasonably sheltered
The jungle drums need time.
Word will get out via 'twitter' and your balls will be enjoyed with glee.
Edit: water essential nearby, either bird bath or bowl.
Word will get out via ‘twitter’
Does Buster Gonad live near you? He might be attracting all the birds so you need to deal with him first.
What @Bunnyhop says, if we go away for a week and the feeders get empty it take time for the birds to come back.
Same here Bruce.
Birds soon come back though.
Nettles - try a feeder around the back as well, if there is some tree or bush shelter (ideally a metre away).
Where you live look out for wheatear, linnet, reedbunting, pippits, Curlew and Winchat, kestrel above too.
If there's a large territorial male in the area it could be intimidating females from feeding. So, if you shake off your big cock you'll get more birds on your balls. I'm sure of it.
We've had to put our balls in a cage to stop the local jackdaws pecking them to bits. Would you like some free jackdaws?
Nettles – try a feeder around the back as well
Hmm, so birds might be interested in back door action, interesting...
Where you live look out for wheatear, linnet, reedbunting, pippits, Curlew and Winchat, kestrel above too.
Yeah, been a lot of curlews this year, but the only things I've had on my nuts are tits.
I got my balls out next to the back door. I was hopeful but there was little interest and they went a bit manky. Probably needs emptying to make space for fresh seed if I'm honest.
Yeah, nowt worse than manky balls. The birds will be put off by that.
There’s a distinct pecking order in my garden, first are the sunflower hearts, next is the mixed seed then the fat balls, Niger seed and finally the peanuts. Great spotted woodpeckers do like the fat balls though.
We’ve had to put our balls in a cage to stop the local jackdaws pecking them to bits. Would you like some free jackdaws?
I'll take your jackdaws (to add to our existing fleet) if you take our rooks.
I tend to find once Tits lay eyes on your Balls everyone else finds them - they seem to be the explorers and other birds seem to find food by following them
Coat them in hunny. They'll soon be surrounded by tits...
I'm quite intimidated by (Dirty) pigeons trashing my balls. They love a bit of it, apparently.
Trouble is there's nothing left for anyone else
My balls hang for weeks until the magpies peck em into bits and they fall out of my ball cage. Nuts, nothing seems bothered with - seed mix they love, sunflower hearts less so, but mealworm goes quicker than I can put it out. 🙂
A month ago I put up the tit box North facing and I was amazed at the quality of nest built within 2 weeks and 8 eggs laid
So much activity just now in and out both of them must be feeding the young ones
I do love to see tits
Coat them in hunny
I tried that but it only attracted Bees 🤷♂️
Some excellent advice from an AI bot.
I understand that you want to attract more birds to your fat balls. There are some factors that may affect how appealing your fat balls are to the birds, such as:
- The location of your fat balls. You should hang them in a well-lit area where the birds can see them easily and feel safe from predators. You can also hang them on a tree branch with plenty of space around it to avoid spinning or swinging.
- The quality of your fat balls. You should also avoid using artificial additives or preservatives that may harm the birds or make them lose interest.
- The freshness of your fat balls. You should make sure your fat balls are not too hard, dry or mouldy, as this will make them unappetising and unhealthy for the birds⁴. You can refrigerate your fat balls.By following these tips, you may be able to attract more birds to your fat balls and enjoy their company.😊
Source: Conversation with Bing, 5/10/2023
Where to hang Fat Balls for birds - Wildlifeful. https://www.wildlifeful.com/where-to-hang-fat-balls-for-birds.
How To Make Fat Balls For Birds (UK Guide) - Binocular Base. https://binocularbase.com/how-to-make-fat-balls-for-birds/.
How to make fat balls for birds | Natural History Museum. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/how-to-make-fat-balls-for-birds.html.
Attract Birds to Your Garden | BBC Gardeners World Magazine. https://www.gardenersworld.com/plants/how-to-attract-birds-to-your-garden/.
I’m quite intimidated by (Dirty) pigeons trashing my balls. They love a bit of it, apparently.
PARKLIFE!
Could try growing up
Ova-rated.
I’ve tried all sorts of different things that birds are supposed to go mad for, most have been a complete failure. Fat balls would sometimes get eaten, but would mostly go manky. As did the feeder full of peanuts, the mixed seeds, the Niger seeds, the fat blocks, and probably a number of others.
What does work are sunflower hearts, for the goldfinches, although their numbers have dropped dramatically, suet pellets, although the ones with mealworms in are most popular, calci worms, which I use instead of mealworms - I have a clear plastic tube feeder that originally had mixed seeds in that never got eaten, so I tried mealworms, and the starlings spotted those and will empty it in twenty minutes! I changed to calci worms because the hedgehogs gobble up the stuff the birds drop, and mealworms aren’t good for the ‘hogs. I have found fatballs the birds do like, the Peckish energy balls, which have sunflower seeds and other stuff in. They’re a bit more crumbly than most, which might be why most birds seem to like them. I’ve got them in a long plastic feeder with fairly large holes in, which I’ve managed to hang in a position that the pigeons can’t get at now, but the starlings, sparrows, several varieties of tit, a pair of magpies and a pair of carrion crows all take advantage of it, which is good to see.
I was watching the crows this morning, and they’re surprisingly delicate about eating from the feeder, (unlike the starlings…), they peck at the balls, almost picking out the best bits, then drop down onto the patio and pick up the bits they’ve dropped.
I get mine from Wilco’s, but Homebase and other places sell them, I buy the All Season energy balls, in a 12 for the price of six pack, so a good tryout without spending lots on a tub.
Something else I’ve noticed as well; I’ve made up a new feeding box for the hedgehogs, it’s one of those storage boxes that go under the bed. I put three saucers along the lid, because the box is upside down, and cut two holes one side, one the other, so the ‘hogs can get in and out if there’s several of them. It used to be that there would always be food left on the plates I used to use the next morning.
Except the plates were almost completely clean. Then I got up fairly early one morning and checked out the birds, and the starlings are going in and out of the holes and clearing up the leftovers! That’s a benefit I hadn’t considered.
My garden houses a mix of crows/ magpies and small wild birds (haven’t seen them, but I can hear them!).
The small birds have ransacked the pellets, peanuts and suet blocks* on the bird feeder.
*They go ‘nuts’ for that.
The smaller birds never bothered with the suet balls (too hard).
I placed the suet balls on a mesh tray, attached to a rope.
I can raise the tray out of the way of predators.
The crows and magpies seem to approve.
Apparently, the smaller birds lose the plot for ‘flutter butter’.😉😉😉
Could I suggest adding chocolate and salt?
Sat outside in the sun today, watching the birds, so I took a photo of the feeders, you can see the long green feeder with a blue tit pecking away at what’s left of the Peckish fat balls in the smaller feeder to the left, the birds have polished off two packs of twelve over the last week, so they clearly like them.
I mentioned the starlings clearing up the hedgehogs leftovers, here’s a couple in the act - the one inside is fresh out of the nest, it’s still got the yellow along its beak.
The new fledglings don’t take long to pick up bad habits from their parents, there was one constantly picking fights with the others.
An update on my balls - after sporadic tits, this morning I had a more exotic bird getting a good mouthful
#humblebrag
Nice Woody.
(that feeling when you missed a blindingly obvious double entendre opportunity)
We’ve had to put our balls in a cage
Balls in a cage sounds quite extreme. Presumably you need to go to a specialist to get the gear.
Are your Boobies scaring them off?
(that feeling when you missed a blindingly obvious double entendre opportunity)
A wood pecker surely counts more than merely double.
A wood pecker surely counts more than merely double.
I read on another thread that Ti is where its at these days....
I read on another thread that Ti is where its at these days….
Damnit, beaten to the required reply.
I've got one of those clear plastic things with suction cups on stuck to the first floor bedroom window which is my office. There is a least one pair of blue tits feeding from it and taking the majority back to the nest along with grubs they have caught as well. They can demolish a fat ball in a couple of days and don't seem bothered about me sitting just the other side of the glass. Maybe they can't see me?
It took them about a week or ten days to notice it was there initially.
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https://youtube.com/shorts/GWpnGym9qJ8?feature=share
They can demolish a fat ball in a couple of days and don’t seem bothered about me sitting just the other side of the glass. Maybe they can’t see me?
They might just not care. Went to fill up the birdfeeders a couple of days ago and a bluetit waited for me to get within about 2ft before deciding to fly a couple of metres away to wait impatiently.
Currently got about 30 starlings on the feeders/pecking in the grass.
Impressed with the Great spotted woodpecker IHN. You probably get green woodpeckers near you (listen out for the yaffle cry).
Plenty of natural food around this year, insects and seeds out in the meadows, fields, woodlands.
Keep mold away from the nut pouch by scrubbing daily, your tits will thank you for it :O)
Regarding the fatballs I bought last week, which were the Peckish Natural Balance Wild Bird Energy Balls, instead of the Peckish Extra Goodness Balls; the miserable, ungrateful, wretched little sods pecked at them a bit, then completely ignored them! 😖
Who’d a thunk it, they’ve clearly been picking up tips from the bloody hedgehogs in culinary critique! Anyway, Wilco had some more of their favourites in, so I’ve replaced the ones in the feeders, and the starlings were back on the feeders within about half an hour.
The other ones I’m breaking up and putting onto the bird table and on the ground so they can scavenge the bits.
Anyone know if there’s a Michelin classification for wildlife restaurants?
Something I’ve noticed is that the starlings, as well as going into the hedgehogs feeding box and clearing up the leftovers, they’ve twigged there’s another exit hole on the other side of the box, with water dishes outside, so if they’re picking up food dropped from the feeders, and the box is in the way, they just hop right through the box now instead of going around it.
Further to the squabbling, there were two baby starlings having a furious scrap, flying up into the air and pecking and hitting each other, while at the same time there were two pigeons stood watching them. Then one of the starlings broke off and flew into the tree, with the pigeons heads turning to watch it, then they both turned their heads back to look at the one on the ground, then looked directly at each other and actually seemed to shake their heads! Honestly, it was like watching a bloody cartoon, I’d have loved to have been able to film it, but I was in the kitchen with no time to get my phone ready.
My swinging nutsacks have enjoyed all manner of pecking the past few weeks, highly satisfying to sit back and enjoy. Birds everywhere, even had Jays visiting.
BUT, a filthy great heron has started appearing in my garden and it's scaring off the tits enjoying watersports on my koi pond cascade.
I stacked the suet balls on a tray and hauled it by rope to a safe height.
I was hoping that the crows and magpies would get a look in. Nope.
Just some bloody pigeon spent the entire day guzzling through them.
Peckish Natural Balance Wild Bird Energy Balls
...
little sods pecked at them a bit
What did you expect? They were "peckish" and they got peckedish.
I've invested in some of the recommended Peckish products and if the birds aren't all over my balls this time tomorrow, there will be trouble!
since getting 2 new neighbours, tits have lost interest in my nuts
Jackdaws have been ramraiding the feeders too
so i chucked some chicken on the shed roof
no more, jackdaw!