Wildlife November 2011

[RichardW]

Richard why not feed the greenies sunflower hearts so stop the mess of husks?

they're just more expensive, I'm currently getting through about 5kg a week, plus fat, nuts and nyjer, and it's been mild to date, once the harder weather kicks in they get through a lot more. My garden at home is quite wild anyway so I don't worry about the mess 

[mark smyth]

Why feed Nyger? It's the most expensive seed. This time last year I decided no more Nyger and when it finished I started feeding sunflower hearts. The Goldfinches didn't go away and took to it straight away. My sunflower hearts cost £1 per kg. 25kg for £25

I'm stopping peanuts also because only starlings eat it. In its place there will be another seed feeder with a mix of sunflower hearts, always chopped in a blender, and white millet

[Anthony Darby]

Coal tits take peanuts and hide them all over the garden.

[RichardW]

Why feed Nyger? It's the most expensive seed.

if I didn't I wouldn't get the Goldfinches & Siskins 

I'm currently paying £24 for 30 Kg of B Sunflowers, haven't asked the seed merchant about hearts for a while but they were quite a lot more expensive, as I would expect, and as I said I don't mind the mess.

nice to see a Female Teal on the pond at work today.

[Anthony Darby]

I'm hearing more of these are we approach Christmas. Clapping cicadas (Amphipsalta cingulata). They start to appear round about Labour Day - 24/10 this year. The male chirps and then claps his wings quite loudly. The female responds with a wing clap.

[Anthony Darby]

Only one monarch caterpillar made it to fully grown on my swan plant. It changed into final larval instar around 23/11; was fully grown on 27/11; was still wandering around on 2/12 and was then removed to a cage where it spun a silken pad from which it now hangs.

[mark smyth]

Richard my Siskins also went straight to sunflower hearts when I stopped Nyger. Linnets also changed to sunflower hearts. There is no reason why your suppliers sunflower hearts would be more expensive than mine. It should be the other way round. If you use a lot of seed why not go staright to the seed merchant/manufacturer?

Like Anthony said about Coal tits hiding peanuts they also cant hide chopped sunflower seeds.

[Anthony Darby]

Coal tits hide sunflower seeds too. I have seen many sunflowers growing out of cracks in walls.

[Maggi Young]

The coal tits here will hide anything -  anywhere  If they ate as much as they hide they'd be the size of turkeys!

[Anthony Darby]

Ah, maybe turkeys are coal tits that haven't learned to hide things?

[TC]

Mark
Where do you get your sunflower hearts?  I am paying £2.50 a kilo for hearts and £2.00 for nyger seed.  Looking on line I cannot see them as cheap as this.  Yes, Goldfinches eat sunflower hearts but they still seem to prefer nyger.  I have also noticed that a lot of the sunflower hearts seem to be chucked out of the feeder as if the birds are going for the best looking seeds.
However, these are swept up by the Dunnocks or Robins.

[RichardW]

If you use a lot of seed why not go staright to the seed merchant/manufacturer?

I'm buying from the cheapest local source (feed merchant) as far as I know and in as much volume as I can store & keep the mice from getting to it, think the only cheaper option would be to buy by the tonne....

it is shocking how much the price has increased in the last few years.

one advantage of the mess  

[Olga Bondareva]

 Richard, what a pretty striped crafty muzzle! 

[RichardW]

he/she was great, got very used to the light and lots of friends kids had some lovely views, not been back yet but am hoping it'll reappear when the hard weather arrives.

[mark smyth]

I have also noticed that a lot of the sunflower hearts seem to be chucked out of the feeder as if the birds are goeing for the best looking seeds

That's why I chop mine in a mini food processor