What birds (are you/have you been) watching? What birds have been watching you?

[amateur51]

This happened to us - immature squirrels (this time of year) are small enough to slip through. It's a matter of millimetres - I discussed the matter with the man at CJ! If the bars are any closer together they become too small for woodpeckers, who can barely get in as it is.

Ams, you're absolutely right.

I found it rather humbling at first and now it's rather re-assuring somehow

[Anna]

One solution offered by many websites is to provide squirrels with their own feeding station well away from the birdfeeder zone so they'll be happy and well fed and not attempt to get the birds' food ..... But I can see that it would attract even more squirrels to the garden? I suppose barbedwire would be a good option or an ultra-spikey bush at the bottom of the feeder.

[amateur51]

One solution offered by many websites is to provide squirrels with their own feeding station well away from the birdfeeder zone so they'll be happy and well fed and not attempt to get the birds' food ..... But I can see that it would attract even more squirrels to the garden? I suppose barbedwire would be a good option or an ultra-spikey bush at the bottom of the feeder.

... on which you'll scour your legs, snag your clothes, catch litter etc etc.

[Richard Tarleton]

But I can see that it would attract even more squirrels to the garden?

With up to 9 squirrels as it is, hanging around under the feeder waiting for crumbs to fall to the ground, giving them their own food supply would be a disaster. And they have no sense of common decency - they would not accept your gesture in the spirit in which it was intended, they would still try to take the birds' food as well. I'm afraid it's a variant of Parkinson's Law - squirrels increase in response to the available food supply.

[amateur51]

With up to 9 squirrels as it is, hanging around under the feeder waiting for crumbs to fall to the ground, giving them their own food supply would be a disaster. And they have no sense of common decency - they would not accept your gesture in the spirit in which it was intended, they would still try to take the birds' food as well. I'm afraid it's a variant of Parkinson's Law - squirrels increase in response to the available food supply.

I used to swear that I could detect squirrels giving me the finger after they'd foiled another of my carefully calculated stratagems.

[Dave2002]

With up to 9 squirrels as it is, hanging around under the feeder waiting for crumbs to fall to the ground, giving them their own food supply would be a disaster. And they have no sense of common decency - they would not accept your gesture in the spirit in which it was intended, they would still try to take the birds' food as well. I'm afraid it's a variant of Parkinson's Law - squirrels increase in response to the available food supply.

9 crikey!

We only have 3 or 4 and mostly are only under "attack" from one or two at a time.

We have also tried sonic cat defenders - I got several very cheaply from B&Q years ago. Can't say whether they do reduce the squirrel activity or not, but we haven't seen any sonic cats. http://www.diy.com/nav/garden/garden...140701113905:s

[Lento]

Squirrels - yes if they can jump they will.

Caged feeders, vaseline on the feeder poles plus chasing off got rid of mine, touch wood.

[amateur51]

Caged feeders, vaseline on the feeder poles plus chasing off got rid of mine, touch wood.

Vaseline covered in salt too perhaps, so when they come to lick their paws clean they feel a bit queasy after a while ...?

Thank you Prof. Pavlov

[Padraig]

I haven't seen my single squirrel for a number of days. Hopefully he's gone, though I did enjoy his short stay - so cute.

I have mice instead. One trapped itself, gorged, in a feeder - head out one door, tail out the other. Dead, luckily (for me).

On the goldfinch front - I have installed a new feeding station -Nyjer only. That was Saturday. So far few takers - I saw two goldfinches have a short visit, and then move on to the sunflower hearts. I have filled the sunflower feeders twice since saturday, while the Nyjer feeder is still almost full. Early days yet and I am fully confident jlw.

[amateur51]

I haven't seen my single squirrel for a number of days. Hopefully he's gone, though I did enjoy his short stay - so cute.

I have mice instead. One trapped itself, gorged, in a feeder - head out one door, tail out the other. Dead, luckily (for me).

On the goldfinch front - I have installed a new feeding station -Nyjer only. That was Saturday. So far few takers - I saw two goldfinches have a short visit, and then move on to the sunflower hearts. I have filled the sunflower feeders twice since saturday, while the Nyjer feeder is still almost full. Early days yet and I am fully confident jlw.

I sometimes open my patio door to find a large snail sitting on my seed feeder, gorging away & leaving slime everywhere.

How it gets there I don't know

[Padraig]

I sometimes open my patio door to find a large snail sitting on my seed feeder, gorging away & leaving slime everywhere.

How it gets there I don't know

You could shell out for an automatic salt cellar, and you might get that squirrel as well. Or you could just slug it out.

To a Squirrel at Kyle-na -no

Come play with me;
Why should you run
Through the shaking tree
As though I'd a gun
To strike you dead?
When all I would do
Is to scratch your head
And let you go.

WB Yeats

[Richard Tarleton]

You could shell out for an automatic salt cellar, and you might get that squirrel as well. Or you could just slug it out.

To a Squirrel at Kyle-na -no

Come play with me;
Why should you run
Through the shaking tree
As though I'd a gun
To strike you dead?
When all I would do
Is to scratch your head
And let you go.

WB Yeats

A pedant writes, Padraig - Yeats's squirrel would have been a red squirrel - much cuter

[jayne lee wilson]

I sometimes open my patio door to find a large snail sitting on my seed feeder, gorging away & leaving slime everywhere.

How it gets there I don't know

But, weirdly, the slime always dries off if you leave it... sometimes I leave a teaplate of catfood out for a fox, or for Mizzy to eat in the yard, then put the leftovers on the yardwall for the morning birds... but 0200 it's covered in slugs... check it again in around midday - smooth and clean! Usually wash it before eating-off though...

The feeding-frenzy of the breeding season is slowing down now, the mad cacophony of Jackdaw young much quieter. I almost miss it... and yes, those Goldies do get a bit lazy in the heat of the day. That Nyger lasts ages now, but wait till November..

[Dave2002]

I'm pleased to report that I now get three goldfinches visiting the seedmixed with nyger seeds in my standard seed-feeders - they're so colourful and have a very confidential chattering song which amuses me no end

I'm now trying for this, though not sure that I'll have any success. I ordered a bag of the nyjer seeds from amazon, but today I found a 1 kg bag in B & Q which was cheaper - and being Wednesday I was able to get a discount. I'm not really expecting anything to happen, but who knows?

Re the great spotted woodpeckers and peanut feeders, the one or more round here have no problem with them - not even the ones with the squirrel guards around. Indeed even large birds can, if pushed, take food from the feeders which are really intended for small birds, I've noticed.

[Padraig]

That Nyger lasts ages now, but wait till November..

1 Twelve days ago I had 2 stations of sunflower hearts and one of nyjer seeds. The sunflowers have been refilled almost daily; the nyjer remains more than half full. I have varied the positions of the feeders; left the sunflowers unfilled for a day; watched behaviour when I could and saw the goldfinches choose the sunflowers and virtually ignore the nyjers. Just reporting jlw; those nyjers look good enough to eat to my eye - little black nothings similar to the little black flies I used to tie to catch enormous trout at night.

2 Another neat spread of feathers on the lawn in the same place as before - from a goldfinch, sad to say. But strangely, when I went out to lift them next morning there was no trace of them. None.

3 Change of location today to another county where, though no movement on the nyjer front as suggested, I enjoyed the company of a regular visitor - a large gull which paraded the lawn expectantly, watched closely by a crow to see what the gull might get; and then two cock pheasants which came for their afternoon snack of nuts and seeds - right up to the patio doors. A small black cat watched proceedings but I don't think had evil intentions.