Feeding the Hungry

 

I don't usually feed the birds in summer because the garden is full of good things to eat and by eating them, they are keeping the place free of pests. During the chilly days, though I have two feeders. One is for peanuts and the other has a seed mixture.  The seeds are preferred by the sparrows and liked by the tits.                                          

Sparrow feeding

 The peanuts are also liked by the tits and also by  some parakeets. Four fat wood pigeons, too big to use the feeders spend most of their day strutting about underneath them to pick up the debris. 

          

                                                                                       Sparrow on seed feeder                                         Cheeky parakeet fleeing away       

Ground feeding birds like robins and blackbirds, won't use the feeders so sometimes I overturn a bit of soil in the flower beds to uncover a worm or two for the robin and throw out an apple which the blackbirds love.

Expectant robin waiting for a worm

I guess I take out a collection of food peelings to the compost about twice a week and the robin is always quick to come and grab a worm or two while I have the carpet covering off the heap. 

I have no interest in feeding the squirrels but they will always find a way of getting at the feeders. In fact, the peanut feeder acts as quite a good decoy from the seed feeder so the birds can enjoy that unmolested. 

Squirrels will try anything to get at a feeder

Try as I may I cannot find a way of keeping them away from the peanuts. I've tried hanging the feeder in awkward places but they always find a way. Finally I  hung it on the clothes line. But in no time at all, they have found out how to scale the pole and go along the clothesline paw over paw until they reach the nuts.