Wednesday, 5 March 2014

Feed the Birds

Every Tuesday and Thursday, here at FSF HQ, the gardener (after seeing to the chickens and ducks) turns his attention to making sure that the wild birds that also call Flyte so Fancy their home are looked after too. The seed and peanuts feeders get a good clean out and the bird bath gets a top up, as the birds dutifully sit by and watch.

There are all sorts of feeds available for our little feathered garden friends. There are seeds, peanuts and fat balls all crying out for the attention of wild birds stopping off for a snack and each one requires its own feeder. Throw in the question of anti-squirrel feeders to stop the russet tailed pest from nabbing all the goodies and you've got yourself a headache waiting to happen.

Wild Bird Feeders
Blue Tit on a Fat Ball Feeder
Firstly and most simply for us wild bird lovers, is ground feeding. From robins and blackbirds to thrushes, just throwing a handful of yummy garden bird feed (but not peanuts as smaller birds can choke on them) on the floor is enough to keep them happy. The Gardman Ground Feeder Cage is a great way to keep out squirrels and cats, while allowing ground feeding birds to eat safely.

Seed feeders attract many different birds to your garden and they are great for keeping a lot of bird seed fresh for as long as possible. Perfect for the smaller birds like tits or finches, bigger birds will clear up any mess from the floor that the smaller birds will inevitably make (the other huge advantage is that you can fill them with a variety of feeds, like nyger seeds and all round mixes).

Peanut Feeders are the only real way to safely feed whole peanuts to birds. If you spread peanuts out on a table then there is a large chance of smaller greedy birds or new fledglings "pecking" off a bit more than they can chew and choking on the whole nuts. As such peanut feeders tend to have a tight mesh that stops whole peanuts being pulled through but allows the garden birds to easily peck at them.

Fat Balls provide an energy rich and nutritious treat for the birds in your garden and can often just be hung from a bird table or bracket. However If you have a resident squirrel or specifically want to make sure that the smaller birds get to the fat balls, then a fat ball feeder is a great way to make that happen (but make sure that you remove the nets). Fat balls are especially good for providing a much needed energy boost and necessary fats during the winter months.

The Nuttery Range of seed feeders and peanut feeders are all specially designed and are guaranteed as squirrel proof feeders to help make sure that your feed gets to the birds. Sturdily built and of the highest quality, their vibrant colours and simple designer style looks good in any garden. While Gardman provide a comprehensive range of all manners of seed feeders and peanuts feeders in a full range of styles to add a hint of rural charm to any back garden.

Wild Bird Feeders from Flyte so Fancy
Anti Squirrel Peanut Feeder
Looking after wild birds can be a fairly passive but highly rewarding experience. Setting up a few feeders here and there in the garden (which only need looking after once or twice a week as we do here at FSF) can result in a garden that is filled with excitement and activity.


Thanks for Reading
James


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