Feeding the Birds

Four piece fat ball feeder

I don't put out bird feeders most of the year. But when the weather gets really cold, like last week, I do. I have one for fat balls, and two for a mixture of 'high energy no mess bird seed mix', which consists of maize (broken), chopped peanuts, pinhead and oatmeal, sunflower hearts and yellow millet. I'll keep these until the end of February probably, and then put them away until next winter.  

I used to have an easy-to-get-at feeder full of peanuts for the squirrels, who used to chase the little birds off, but now much better feeders are being produced that large birds and animals, such as jays and squirrels can't get into, so I don't need to do that any more. 

I started this year by buying a neat plastic fat ball feeder, but it had been broken into by the second day and all the food  had vanished, so I ordered a new metal one which is working perfectly. 

Plastic bird feeder that lasted for one day

I have had a few sparrows, 1 great tit, one blue tit  and four or five long-tailed tits on it together.             The fat ball feeder is where I can see it whenever I'm sitting in the kitchen. The other two are more hidden in the hedge, so I can't see what's happening to them. The smaller one is not being much used, but the larger one is slowly being eaten although I can't see by which birds. 

Large mixed feeder, nearly empty

Small mixed feeder, hidden by the box bush

The fox who roams my garden and sits on top of the shed has a partner. I suspect they are expecting a family. There are two empty gardens in the next street in one of which they will no doubt be born, although I do examine my garden every day to make sure there's no den. I really like having the foxes visit the garden, but I don't want it to be their home.