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My garden bird feeding station

Smithy

Smithy

The Awesome One!
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Joined
Dec 15, 2024
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Location
England, UK
What do you guys think?
I am currently using a dog crate big station.. not sure if to go back to my old bird station to feed the bigger, smaller birds and squirrels.

This is the bird station I am using right now.. but not getting many small birds coming to feed. (Click on the images to make them bigger)

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The picture below is my old bird station from 2 months ago.. reason why I changed was too many big birds was hogging the feeding station.

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Let me know what you think. 🐦
 
If you just made the change, it might take the birds a little while to get used to the new feeding station before they will feel safe to go there and eat. If you do not want to feed the large birds, then the cage seems like a good way to stop them from eating all of the food.
 
If you want to feed the small birds without going bankrupt buying tons of birdseed, the first one is what you need. I also used a wire grid around my feeder just large enough to allow bluebirds. It works well with the worst culprits---the mourning doves and bluejays. However, it also keeps away the mockingbirds and cardinals. {sigh} We have some red squirrels here that can squeeze through a 1x2 inch rectangle.

The only reason I can think of that they wouldn't like it, is they feel a bit confined. No clear escape route? But if it didn't bother them before they shouldn't mind now. Give it a little more time.
 
The woodpeckers here are the shyest of all. They take off even if they see me through a window. They would be too afraid to enter into a cage even if they could. Mine prefer the suet blocks. The squirrels dig the peanuts and sunflower seeds out of the suet blocks and leave a pile of greasy chunks below. Grrrr...

Maybe try leaving some seeds on top of the roof of the feeder for a while so they can see it from a distance. If the big birds come, the little ones will follow, I think.
 
Nancy Hart said:
The woodpeckers here are the shyest of all. They take off even if they see me through a window. They would be too afraid to enter into a cage even if they could. Mine prefer the suet blocks. The squirrels dig the peanuts and sunflower seeds out of the suet blocks and leave a pile of greasy chunks below. Grrrr...
Click to expand...

I am going to try the open bird station again tomorrow I think.
Just feed all the birds instead of the little ones that way then the bird station is busier and more fun to watch I guess.
 
Maybe try leaving some seeds on top of the roof of the feeder for a while so they can see it from a distance. If the big birds come, the little ones will follow, I think.
 
Nancy Hart said:
Maybe try leaving some seeds on top of the roof of the feeder for a while so they can see it from a distance. If the big birds come, the little ones will follow, I think.
Click to expand...

I want to get all the birds that visit the bird station in one shot on the CCTV 24/7 recording on the bird station.
It's probably best to feed all the birds especially with the colder months popping up now.
 
Joe Riley said:
@Smithy I think the dog crate allows the little guys not only to eat, but to eat in peace! Every one gets a "slice of the pie"!:)
Click to expand...

True. But I am still getting the grey squirrels getting into the cage.. I might as well just feed all the big birds, small birds as well as the grey squirrels.
If the grey squirrels get too greedy on the bird station I will make there own feeder.
 
@Smithy Hunger travels the length of the food chain! I'm not sure which is smarter, crows or squirrels? I am still looking for the chap from Britain, who let loose the first starlings (10 or 12 of them) in Central Park, NYC..:unsure: ...or is that a myth?

Do you have crows around? You have a lovely setup, I hope you can fine-tune it. Do you use ears of corn for the squirrels? (mounted upright on large nails)
 
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@Joe Riley We get a lot of starlings here but they don't stick around they come and go in flocks.
I have taking down the caged bird station tonight so I can put up the open bird station tomorrow. I will show pictures once it's done but it might be too cold to paint the wood.

I also have the crows hanging around in woods at the back of my house but never had them come down to my garden though.
 
@Smithy We have 9 or 10 that constitute a Murder of crows. Three of them hang around together, but I have seen up to 12. They get to be very hard to count at this point. They are also very intelligent, and collect shiny things for there nest. The Vikings carried caged crows in their boats as they traveled. Crows cannot swim, so they would release one when they thought they were near to land. If it did not return, they pushed on knowing land was near.
 
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Joe Riley said:
@Smithy We have 9 or 10 that constitute a Murder of crows. Three of them hang around together, but I have seen up to 12. They get to be very hard to count at this point. They are also very intelligent, and collect shiny things for there nest.
Click to expand...

We have magpies that do the same thing they love shiny items.
 
The first provides shelter from rain, but darker. The second one is more open and cheerful. I like the brighter colors.
 
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