How do I get birds ...
 

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[Closed] How do I get birds to nibble my nuts?

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They seem to go mad for the seed that I throw out (into the bird feeder), and the fat cake is always popular. We've even got a niger seed feeder that's popular with the goldfinches & redpolls and a mealworm feeder for robins & great tits, but I recently stuck up a peanut feeder (like [url= http://www.ecocentric.co.uk/acatalog/Eco_Centric_Outdoor_Living_Bird_Ball_Feeders_-_White.html ]this[/url]) and there's been virtually no interest at all. I've had a go at re-organising what food's put where but there still seems to be no interest in the peanuts. Any top tips from the STW ornithologists?


 
Posted : 15/12/2009 12:16 pm
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We have plenty of tits and woodpeckers feeding off our peanut feeders. I have moved them well away from the seed feeders to a quieter spot leaving the sparrows, chaffinches etc to duke it out on their own. Having said that, the tits make occasional forays into the melee but never vice versa.


 
Posted : 15/12/2009 12:19 pm
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double-entendre heaven this one 😆


 
Posted : 15/12/2009 12:21 pm
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@psychle - dunno what you mean!

@slowjo - ah, could be the problem - my seed is quite close to my nuts at the mo. I'll try putting it a bit further away.


 
Posted : 15/12/2009 12:23 pm
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tighter lycra??

bribery?


 
Posted : 15/12/2009 1:32 pm
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my seed is quite close to my nuts at the mo

Get the Kleenex ready, any moment now...


 
Posted : 15/12/2009 2:16 pm
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Tits like coconuts.... 😆


 
Posted : 15/12/2009 2:38 pm
 jond
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We''ve had the same problem. Nut feeder next door - well used. Our seed feeders - likewise. Nuts - no chance.


 
Posted : 15/12/2009 2:48 pm
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Peanuts are like fast food to lesser spotted woodpeckers... we have loads in our garden almost queuing up to have a go!

It gets much busier in the winter but ours feed pretty much all year round.

Leave the feeders out long enough and someone will find them . Once they have worked out that your garden is a reliable source of food they (birds) will visit all the time.


 
Posted : 15/12/2009 3:24 pm
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We've had chaff all investigating ours, its quite overlooked, but I can't see why there is no interest at all. Its been there a year now.


 
Posted : 15/12/2009 3:28 pm
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I crush my nuts up and mix them up with some loose seeds on a stone table.


 
Posted : 15/12/2009 4:21 pm
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Bunnyhop - I do sometimes leave my nuts on the ground for the bigger clumsier birds, but for the more agile birds I've got such a funky new nut holder and I'd love to get them interested in using it.


 
Posted : 15/12/2009 4:25 pm
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At this time of year, the birds need fattening up a bit to get them through colder times.

I've tried rubbing my nuts with lard which seems to attract them quite nicely.


 
Posted : 15/12/2009 4:38 pm
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I've been soaking my seeds in fat from the mince that I cook - I get about half a cup of fat off the meat and I pour it into a foil-lined mug, then pour in seeds to the top of the mug, mix it all up, cool it in fridge and remove the foil, a nice cup-sized pile of fat and seeds that the birds seem to love.


 
Posted : 08/01/2010 12:03 pm