'Bird friendly call to Gardeners'

All free living creatures around our Homes & Gardens - enjoying helping them helping us
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Richard
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'Bird friendly call to Gardeners'

Post by Richard »

Picked this up off the BBC site this morning. I expect some may have seen it elsewhere......

CLICK HERE

As an add on to this, does anyone feed birds in relative safety from Cat's' ?
My three cats aren't into birds, just the occasional one, ther are too many other things to catch round here and easier I think.
Last edited by Richard on 25 Oct 2007, 18:26, edited 1 time in total.
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melons
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Post by melons »

Yes we do, Daisy isn't too bad either, but will sit & watch them, we always feed them in the apple tree, then the sparrow hawk can't get to them either, we always use netting round the bottom of the tree to stop any cats from ambushing them while they eat the bits which are spilt, the netting is big enough for the birds to get through, & gives them a fighting chance of escape, we can't think of anything else to do really, we have a really healthy flock of garden birds, so try & keep them safe, we definately feed & save more with feeding them, than we loose to cats.
Cheers
mel x
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TassieDev
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Post by TassieDev »

I can't believe that web site has a quote saying that the "The number of house sparrows is in decline"
What in the world are you guys doing to achieve THAT :shock:
The house sparrow would have to be the commonest introduced bird we have here in Australia! (in those States where it was released)
Maybe we can post you some if they get scarce there )c(
I think it's a fantastic idea to plant things that will provide food for birds (and other animals). Here in Aus we do actually have some problems with people feeding a non-natural diet to birds. I saw some awful cases of deficiencies of different minerals and vitamins when I was a volunteer at the wildlife rehab centre :cry: It also can hasten the spread of diseases where birds that wouldn't normally congregate to feed do so because of artificial feeding stations.
I guess you guys are in a slightly different situation as I take it that food gets very scarce in the wild over winter months. In Australia there's really no justification for supplementary feeding.
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chucky egg
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Post by chucky egg »

My cat was practically feral and ate what she could catch or scrounge from the compost (we found out later). She still has that 'need' even though we give her all the food and attention she would ever need since she moved in.
I've therefore had to stop feeding in the back garden but have put a bird table in the front where there is a road. The local cats don't like the road so we have a compromise. I let the briars run around the hedges to deter her too (so the birds can hide) and make certain 'wild' areas more difficult for her to get to... not easy though...
She's brilliant with the chucks so I've been using the same "not Puddah's) for the birds as I did with the chucks initally!
Wendy
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morph
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Post by morph »

I feed my birds on a bird table, but generally only get wood pigeons - think the cats scare off the smaller ones.....get robins in the winter though and I always brush the snow off so they can get to the seeds and nuts.

The other day a sparrow was pottering around in the bark and Lucy (one of my cats) saw it - she didn't chase it, but she spooked it, and for some reason it panicked and flew into my greenhouse - Lucy then proceeded to run over and catch the bird!!! Luckily she isn't too evil and let me prise open her jaw (whilst I was shouting obscenties into thin air) and the sparrow promptly flew away.

I thank her for catching it for me, or else I would have had a nightmare getting it. Also, I was glad I was there to set it free. She's not a prolific hunter, but very much an opportunist!!
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wendy
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Post by wendy »

I have hanging feeder that hand over the chicken run. Helps clear up the dropped seeds. Whoa betide any cat that gets in their run. They can be quite nasty with my little dogs if I don't watch them.
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AnnaB
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'Bird friendly cal to Gardeners'

Post by AnnaB »

We have a bird table with a roof. The squirrel, pigeons and magpies kept pinching the food so OH put some 2" mesh around it.
The small birds can easily get in and out and are safer from predators.
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PetHeaven
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Post by PetHeaven »

Hi All
My last cat was a real hunter and birds, mice, shrews and voles were his favourite snacks. He once ate two Dunnocks in a row and was sick for about 20 hours-I can tell you cleaning it up was not nice. He could eat all of the bird too, wings, legs, scull. I never found a way to prevent this. Although putting the feeders up high in a tree helped-he would stalk them at ground level and jump up as they flew over. Feeders high up also gives the Sparrowhawks a good flight path. I use those feeders in a squirrel proof cage, which provides some protection. I have a Sloe berry shrub (size of a small tree now) and that prevents predators and is probably the most successful. I love feeding the birds and have a very natural chemical free garden, but I love having a cat too. My old cat was unable to kill every bird that used my garden-but did catch a few from time to time, which always broke my heart. Even though I had a cat that hunted I still think I helped a lot of birds and I think thats better than not feeding them at all.
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Richard
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Post by Richard »

It is a dilemnia isn't it !
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