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[CLKD]

My dog would chase them then come in with fleas 

[Taz2]

Different type of fleas though which can't live on dog or human blood so don't worry about being infested - you have made me itch now!!

Taz x

[CLKD]

I know all that, could write a book about fleas and how they cling to the water in the loo or in the basin  - but she came in with them non-the-less - it took hours to pick them out of her blonde coat whilst I watched TV 

[san]

  my first thought when the dog met Mr H was fleas 
Thanks Taz and CLKD I'll put some water out for him. Will probably try and check if he around too, although last night it was 12.45 am I went outside and saw him.

Taz I was so excited when I saw him but no one else was awake for me to tell. 

[CLKD]

I used to see a Mum with baby at 3.30 a.m. when my puppy wanted to pee, I would be feeding the hogs whilst she mooched around the garden 

[lady57]

I have just found this thread and wondered if anyone can tell me why we are not getting any wild birds on our new feeders? We spent quite a lot on good, squirrel proof feeders and put niger seed and sunflower hearts out as well as mixed premium seed.  After 10 days we have not had a single little bird. Our neighbour over the road has so many that she buys 25kg sacks of the seeds. Are we not getting them because she has so many? It is disappointing. 

[honeybun]

It could be where you have situated the feeders or simply because it can take the birds ages to get used to something new.

Give it a bit more time and if you still dont have any then move the feeders around the garden.

They can be fussy 

Honeyb
x

[Taz2]

Hi Lady - it can take up to three weeks for birds to accept a new feeder. There are still natural foods available in the wild at the minute so some of the finches have yet to begin to visit feeders. I have been feeding mine for thirty years so I have got a well-established flock of goldfinches and the mess which goes with it! Is it these which you are hoping to attract with the niger seed and sunflower hearts?  Be patient especially with the niger feeder. If you have a population in the area then I reckon once the weather becomes colder - or even this spell of wet weather - then they may begin to visit. Where have you sited the feeders and how high up are they?

Are all the feeders squirrel proof?

Taz x

[lady57]

Thank you for your suggestions. We got the niger and the hearts because that is what my neighbour who gets all the birds uses so i followed her example as we are total novices. When we stayed at a guest house earlier in the summer we loved watching their wild birds and want the same in our garden. The feeding station is at the end of the garden about four foot or so away from the bushes and trees there. It is about five foot high. Yes it is squirrell proof, much to the annoyance of our regular squirrel visitor 

[Greyhoundgal]

When we were on holiday one morning we saw a pair of what I think might have been Woodpeckers - they were quite small though and the crested bit on the back of their heads was almost the same size and shape as their beak - anybody have any idea of what they might have been?

[CLKD]

In the UK there are 3 types of woodpecker - green which feed on the ground and have a cackle, lesser and greater spotted ...... which are black/red

I was outside pruning the orange blossom, hard when a HUGE black cloud appeared - now inside  - but Himself is out cycling somewhere 

[Sleepless in London]

Greyhoundgal

Could it have been a waxwing, they have long crests and are about the size of a starling.

Sleepless


PS  Having seen a picture of a waxwing recently I remembered it had a long crest so that's why I thought of it now, but just read they only come here in the winter so forget that, sorry, daft suggestion!

[Taz2]

Here's a Waxwing http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/w/waxwing/index.aspx  Lucky you if it was a pair of these - I love them but we haven't had many round here lately. They are often found in supermarket carparks because of those low little bushes which they plant between the parking bays as the waxwings adore the berries.

Lady - it could be that at 5ft your feeders are too low. Cats especially can jump much higher than that and if they are 4ft from the bushes then they will not have much cover to retreat to from the feeder.  A friend has the same sounding type of feeding station and the birds came to his once he placed it right against the bushes.  My feeders are around 10 to 12ft up hanging from tree branches - I have got a pole with a hook on it to get them up and down (twice a day as they are greedy pigs).

Taz x

[lady57]

We will try your suggestion Taz and see if they start to come. I will report back. Thank you

PS won't the squirrels get them if they are in the trees?

[Taz2]

Do you mean will the squirrels get the birds or the seed?

Taz x