The Dangers Of Bird Feeders

Discussion in 'Wildlife Corner' started by Louise D, Jun 25, 2011.

  1. Louise D

    Louise D Head Gardener

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    I'm not very well known on this forum (yet!) but anyone that does know me knows i'm a mad keen nature lover and this experience has left me feeling absolutely wretched and i've posted this as a reminder to all of us :cry3:

    Here's an account of what happened this afternoon .....

    A young Goldfinch was trapped inside one of my seed feeders and was 'hanging' from it [​IMG]
    Luckily i was able to get a neighbour to vandalise the feeder without killing the young one and it flew away, seemingly okay [​IMG]


    I'd been looking through the binoculars across at the Rowan and the feeders and thinking that now i really should go and refill them, i'd been lazy last evening and again this morning and the level of food was way below the 'hole'/aperture opening for their beaks to dip into - and at that point they have to stretch down into the main body/barrel/cylinder of the feeder to reach the food - so there i stood watching.
    I then saw, between the windblown foliage, that one bird didn't look 'right', it was a young Goldfinch and looking again i could see that its legs/feet were dangling and i knew it was in trouble so i just ran [​IMG]

    This little mite had wedged its neck between the barrel and the 'internal' fixture of the perch and not only had it got stuck but in its struggle its little legs and feet had come off its perch and it was just hanging there by the neck [​IMG] [​IMG]
    I took down the feeder and as i touched its little body its wings did a very small flutter and i thought/wondered if it had just died, as it was still warm i hoped that if i could get one of the strong male neighbours to rip the feeder apart it might just have a chance of getting free and living ..... and the rest is history [​IMG]

    Most certainly a lesson learnt for me and perhaps others out there who are too lazy to refill their feeders in good time [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG] [​IMG]


    I'm editing to show the feeder in question, it's made by Gardman.
    [​IMG]
     
  2. ARMANDII

    ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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    Hi Louise, What brand of seed feeder are you using? I've got 5 large seed feeders in my Lilac plus two nut feeders, in another tree I've got two large seed feeders and one nut feeder, and lastly on a metal feeder station I've got another seed feeder, a nut feeder, and an open wire mesh feeder. I use around 20 kilo's of seed in 5 weeks as the birds empty the seed feeders in a day, or less. I've never had any bird, young or old, get trapped in any of the feeders. I would have thought that the feeder that would have given trouble would have been the nut feeder as it's wire mesh.

    Well, at least you managed to rescue the birds in trouble and now you're aware of the problem you're keeping an eye out:thumbsup::D
     
  3. Alice

    Alice Gardener

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    Hi Louise. Quite a traumatic experience for everybody.
    I'm trying to picture the whole scenario. Can you post a pic of the bird feeder involved so that we all know what to look out for.
    I'm glad your little goldfinch got rescued. Well done you.
     
  4. raebhoop

    raebhoop Gardener

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    Young birds in particular can be prone to getting stuck in a tight corner....they seem unable to back out.
    I lost one youngster that got stuck beak first in the fork of a branch.It seemed ridiculous that it couldn't just back out...but it died...:mad:
     
  5. gcc3663

    gcc3663 Knackered Grandad trying to keep up with a 4yr old

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    I'd a dangerous Bird Feeder, but the birds in my garden are a Savvy bunch.
    They waited until the Cat went in for lunch before attacking the bait.:D
     
  6. Louise D

    Louise D Head Gardener

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    This is the type of seed feeder i was talking about, they're 'Gardman' feeders, a nice rigid, sturdy type.
    [​IMG]
    The seed level was below the round opening, halfway between the hole and the base. Between those two holes (internally) is a piece that goes across the centre of the cylinder and the birds neck was trapped between the piece and the cylinders edge.
    By removing the base and ripping the rest apart the bird was able to fly out and before we even knew it, it had flown into a nearby tree and then away to proper safety :wub2:
     
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    • Louise D

      Louise D Head Gardener

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      We are very similar then, Armandii :)
      I have 25 feeders in my front and back gardens, and use 25kilos of sunflower hearts in 6 weeks !
      I do not feed peanuts at all and don't use any mesh feeders.
      I buy the sunflower hearts from a place called Kennedy Wild Bird Foods.

      Those green mesh things that cover fat balls are LETHAL and should be outlawed because those can trap birds feet and legs in a second as they get tangled in them, 2 winters ago i saw a goldfinch whose leg had clearly been trapped - it broke my heart :cry3:
      I saw it around another couple of occasions but never again :cry3:

      I also have feeders with dried mealworms in and some ground feeders too - those contain mealworms, sunflower hearts and Bill Oddies Muesli.
      Some might say the birds eat better than me :WINK1:


      Any feeder can be a dangerous thing to the young birds that are visiting them for the first times as they are still getting used to them, this was a young goldfinch and very often you see the younger birds still struggling with perfecting the art of landing on the feeders, feeding from these needs a bit of learning.
       
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      • shiney

        shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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        Wow! Louise. That was very traumatic. Unfortunately, as the others have said, young birds sometimes get themselves into very awkward situations and can't get out again. With a bit of experience they become very agile and inventive.

        For goldfinches it is good to have a niger seed feeder. These should have tiny holes for the seeds with no funnel access.

        Like the others, my birds get through 20kg of seed in about six weeks.

        An example of birds becoming agile and inventive - I have a feeding station that has a small crossbar at a height of six feet. From that I have a 3ft seed feeder that goes straight up. The pheasants have learnt how to balance precariously on the small crossbar but this wasn't good enough for one female. She has learnt to balance on one foot on the tiny bar (for small birds) and eat from the feeder!!!


        This photo was taken when the feeder was blowing around a bit in a strong wind

        [​IMG]
         
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        • Louise D

          Louise D Head Gardener

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          All the birds get sunflower hearts here as they are the preferred choice, i used to offer Niger seeds but they were passed over time and again for the sunflower kernals.


          On re-reading my original post it sounds like i'm blaming the feeder and i am SOOOOO not. I am blaming myself.
          The feeders are ingenious, it's the 'caretakers' who sometimes lack some grey matter :WINK1:
           
        • shiney

          shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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          I don't use sunflower hearts in the winter as they can clog together and get fungus on them. I then use black sunflowers - in their shells.
           
        • Alice

          Alice Gardener

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          Thank you for posting the pic Louise and for flagging up the problem if the feeders are not kept topped up. The warning will certainly make me be sure the feeders are kept topped up.
           
        • ARMANDII

          ARMANDII Low Flying Administrator Staff Member

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          I understand the problem now, Louise. My problem in trying to keep up with the birds is that I can fill the feeders at around 8 pm and when I check the feeders at 7 am they're empty!! I've also had to put large trays underneath the feeders as the birds sort out the size of seed they want and chuck out the rest onto the lawn and borders:D I recycle the larger seeds by putting them in the open wire mesh feeder dish. I will keep a sharp look out now thanks to your warning.:thumbsup::thankyou:

          My cats ignore the birds and the birds ignore the cats. But every now and then one of the cats lies under one of the feeders and gets showered with rejected seeds. There's a Blackbird and a Robin who when on the ground scold my cats for getting too close or in the way and my cats get out of their way:heehee::D
           
        • Louise D

          Louise D Head Gardener

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          I tried to rename this thread to 'The Dangers Of Bird Feeders' but it hasn't appeared that way in the listing ..... i vaguely remember one of the Mods saying something about headings .... was it that members can't alter their own thread details, if so why not, seeing as we wrote it ourself :scratch:
           
        • shiney

          shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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          All the seed that is dropped from our birds feeding is scavenged by the pheasants, squirrels and pigeons. The magpies can eat from the feeder but the collared doves chase them away and none of the bigger birds let them scavenge.

          ARMANDII, Oscar and the birds are the same in our garden. He leaves them alone and they feel safe with him. The only difference is that he doesn't sit under the feeder because he leaves that area for the birds. The only time he goes there is if they are squabbling when he walks slowly towards them and the stop fighting. Except, of course, when they are chasing the magpies which he allows - no one likes the magpies!! If the magpies get near a nesting box Oscar will sit near it to frighten them away.
           
        • Louise D

          Louise D Head Gardener

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          The dunnocks and the wood pidgeons mostly, eat the dropped bits, but the finches will go down too.
           
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