Hobbies and Crafts

Birds don't get my uncooked pastry!

If I have any bits big enough they get turned into a jam tart or a little cheesy pastie.

Tiny bits I bake as blobs and when just cooked they are delicious split and buttered. In our family we fight over the scrap bits......but i reckon they are the cook's perks.

If I grate too many bread crumbs I freeze them. Crusts are turned into melba toast or croutons to have with soup.

Poor old birds don't get many food scraps here. But we do feed them various wild bird foods.

Sue

hi
just read through wonderful stories nobody has said to thow their apple cores to the birds am i doing wrong
sally

Glenys................ I have to admit that it was my oh that started saving the bread crusts for the Ducks . When the warmer weather is here we have to bin it as then the Ducks / Gulls just lose interest in it .

Amanda x

No Sally, anything like that, I leave all my plums on the tree now for the birds, when they drop the Blackbirds love them, well whatever the wasps have left.

Caz x

I saw a Red Kite hovering over a Crow eating a dead rabbit.It swooped down and pecked the crow but it stood its ground ,so in the end the Kite went elsewhere!!

Hi Folks just been reading through, Santa brought me a large bag of Bird seed, so now I have fat balls, shredded suet, dried friut, cheese and mealy worms and peanuts. and if I have not got the food out by 8.30 I get a knock at the back door from 4 Phesent hen birds looking for thier brekkie followed very quickly by 3 Robins all fighting for 1st sitting, followed by 4 pairs of blaick birds a pair of collard doves and some many other birds like yellowhammers gold finches, bull finches great tits, blue tits coal tits starlings and a wee jenny wren.
It takes us about 3/4 hour to eat our brekkie just watching through the patio doors.
Wishing you all good Bird watching

Aww Bellblair.....lovely to see you, l can just imagine your back garden:o))

Fancy having pheasants knocking on the backdoor!! how close do they really get??

Good to see you:o)

jude xxxx

so many good ideas on here I hope our feathered friends appreciate the help they have received from GR..(Not actually the reason the site was conceived but very useful.). I now have a bowl waiting for more fat from the roast chicken tomorrow so i can make another fat ball for the ever hungry starlings.
SueM you are very dilligent with your scraps.
Ann
glos

Wow, I love this thread (I was going to say "Crumbs, I love this thread" but thought better of it, lol). Awww, Jude, thank you! :-))

Seriously, it's so informative, but entertaining at the same time. It's great to know so many members on here are looking after wild birds.

Our shyest birds are the collared doves. We have two couples, but they're very bashful. We also have two wood pigeons, who (contrary to what the bird book says) are not greedy at all; in fact, I've seen them perched on top of our trellis, waiting for the smaller birds to eat, then they've flown over to the feeding station.

I caught one of our cats, Chloe, out in the back garden earlier, looking interested. However, as soon as she moved, the bells on her collar made a sound and luckily the bird flew off. Phew!
x

Really heavy frost here overnight. Actually my husband thought it was snow.
He called me to the window to show TWO greater spotted woodpeckers running up and down a tree in our garden. Only ever seen one in the garden before and then quite rarely.
Must leave and feed the critters or they might all go eleswhere.

Linda :o)

Morning:o)

Its so much warmer here this morning and windy!!
Hubby was walking dog yesterday and saw 2 unusual birds, birds of prey he thinks.They were darkish in colour and quite large.Not the buzzard, we see them all the time being harrassed by the crows!! These were larger than that. He thought some kind of eagle. They were'nt there this morning :o((

Blackbirds out in force just now, one found a piece of potato from yesterday and was eating away when another came to investigate, he tried shooing him off and turned away from the potato when another one pinched it....lol

We think we had a visit from a fox the other day, as there are skid marks on the lawn, as if something had been frightened. Spose it could have been a cat!

jude :o) x

Hello everyone. I don't know if I'm allowed to put this, but I'll try. I've just found this link, re feeding birds in the garden. It's not commercial advertising, so presume it's OK. Take a look at:-

http://www(.)gardenadvice(.)co(.)uk/howto/wildflowers/wildbirdfood/index(.)html

If it turns out that I'm not allowed to put it on here, I'll delete if I'm told.

Also, I've been offered some unopened "cooked beetroot in vinegar". We don't eat beetroot, but thought that either the birds could have it (though I want to check it's OK for them first) or we could compost it .....?

Any advice on this would be welcome, otherwise it'll be binned!
x

x

Glenys.........I doubt that the birds would eat beetroot and I wouldn't put it in the compost bin either as cooked food doesn't really compost .

Probably best to bin it .

I stopped feeding seed to the birds as my family blamed me forattracting squirrels who nested in our loft. The birds still get all the scraps tho' as I don't like waste. Everything goes. I would love to set up a camera to watch who eats what as I think a cat and a fox tuck in too!

Why do your family think the fact that the squirrels nested in your loft is because you feed the birds? I assume you were not feeding them in your loft. So isn't the reason really that they were able to get into your loft and how they did?

ann
Glos

Thanks, Amanda. :-))

I suspected as much, but wanted to check anyway.
"See" you later!
x

Ann, they thought I was attracting them and then they found a way in. It is blocked now so we no longer have them scampering around! If not for the chance of them eating the wires etc I would have left the poor things alone.

I'm not sure Hazel, I think it would attract cats, also if the bacon was salty the birds would get thirsty and if water is frozen.......
Saying that I crisp my bacon fat up and cut it into small pieces for them, they can't manage long peices as they try to swallow it whole.

Caz x

Caz ,
thank you for that i hadn't even thought of cats lol
or the bacon being salty will do as you do
shame to waste it , dont eat bacon myself ....
Hazelx

We had a Woodpecker on nuts this morning, but l frightened it off by going to near the patio doors.....l did'nt see it til it was too late:o((
7 woodpigeons were all perched on our low wall and a squirrel on the big b/table....he had too cause the woodpecker was on his usual perch!!
a few sparrow and blacbirds flitting around.
So much warmer here, no need to sort the bird bath out. We have some fat balls up now and put some niger seed down, l think we need and feeder for that, but hubby does'nt, l wonder who'll win!! :o)

take care

jude :o) xx