Bird table

[Merlin5]

I decided to buy a bird table today to go into my otherwise barren garden. I find it very relaxing watching birds looking for worms from my kitchen window, so I thought I'd make it a bit more interesting. I got a fairly heavy duty one with slate roof for £50 from a store called The Range. I also bought a few hanging feeders filled with various nuts and grain and have some hooks to screw in around the table. Apparently the smaller more colourful birds like niger seeds. I'm looking forward to attracting some ti.ts.

It stands about 5 foot high. Just wondering if anyone here thinks that squirrels, rodents, foxes are likely to climb it and poach the food from the birds?

I'm also thinking of buying a bird bath. There's this blue painted clay one for £12.50. Quite heavy and sturdy.
https://www.homebase.co.uk/39cm-glazed-birdbath-blue_p498242
Blue looks very nice. What does Home & Garden think? I'm undecided if blue is good or if I want something more white or grey.

 

[NoobCannon]

Squirells will, also pidgeons

Oh how i hate squirrels.

 

[Tony Edwards]

It stands about 5 foot high. Just wondering if anyone here thinks that squirrels, rodents, foxes are likely to climb it and poach the food from the birds?

I'm also thinking of buying a bird bath. There's this blue painted clay one for £12.50. Quite heavy and sturdy.
https://www.homebase.co.uk/39cm-glazed-birdbath-blue_p498242
Blue looks very nice. What does Home & Garden think? I'm undecided if blue is good or if I want something more white or grey.

Yes to squirrels and rodents. The bigger issue will be pigeons as they clear food like a hoover.

Bird baths are great. Id say that one is maybe a bit too deep though as the birds like to stand in it to bath, splash about. You want it deep enough to have enough water but not too deep that a sparrow cant stand in it.

It might take a while but most of my birds, mainly the sparrows use it like a turkish bath and just splash about and natter together which means you have to clean it out more as they just **** in it as well.

Blackbirds are nice as well a bit more reserved than sparrows. I found that the **** like it to be shallow before they bath in it but certainly drink from it as do the squirrels, pigeons and foxes that turn the bath over occassionaly.

If your garden is anything like mine as far as bird population goes you will grow to hate the pigeons and starlings.

I used to use the hanging feeders but the pigeons would land on them and flap their wings to rattle them and spill the food out. I have a raging battle with them. The squirrels take a lot but look nice but the feral pigeons god I hate them. Wood pigeons are okay though.

 

[pinkpound]

Pigeons grrr neighbor feeds them then they crap all over my garden o+ car + clothes on the washing line and me several times . Wood pigeons I don't mind

 

[Tony Edwards]

Pigeons grrr neighbor feeds them then they crap all over my garden o+ car + clothes on the washing line and me several times .

And noisy as ****. I hate them!

 

[Merlin5]

Good point about the depth of the bird bath, and if it gets turned over, it's probably going to smash into pieces.

I quite like this one. Looks shallower, although may still not be shallow enough? It's plastic that can be filled with sand to weigh it down.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Happy-Beaks-Ornamental-Resistant-Anchoring/dp/B07F6BKKRN/ref=sr_1_45?crid=CZMI3K7KZVLU&keywords=bird+bath&qid=1568409410&s=outdoors&sprefix=bird+bath,outdoor,148&sr=1-45

I often see blackbirds, robins, the occasional magpie, occasional squirrels, and pigeons in my garden. I agree that pigeons might well be an issue. I just watched this video about pigeon proofing a bird table. Looks a bit ghetto but might be worth me trying if I find they're hogging it.

And of the four hanging feeders I bought, two are metal and two are mostly plastic. Apparently squirrels and the like will rip open the plastic ones, so I'm probably going to have to consider getting all metal feeders or even squirrel proof cages.

 

[Tony Edwards]

Good point about the depth of the bird bath, and if it gets turned over, it's probably going to smash into pieces.

Not if its onto grass or something soft as they arent that high. On a patio maybe. Also I like mine because the bowl isnt attached which makes it easier to rinse out with a hose and sometimes you have to clean/scrub the algae off. And it makes getting the ice off easier. At least i think it does.

Regular cleaning of both bath and feeders is important for hygiene as diseases can spread rapidly through the birds Ive read.

I might rinse out the bath and replenish with clean water a few times a day in summer if i have loads of young sparrows like I did this year and I can be bothered as well. once or twice a day at most other times. But Im a bit germaphobe so I dont feel comfortable thinking the water could be dirty.

I quite like this one. Looks shallower and is plastic that can be filled with sand to weigh it down.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Happy-Beaks-Ornamental-Resistant-Anchoring/dp/B07F6BKKRN/ref=sr_1_45?crid=CZMI3K7KZVLU&keywords=bird+bath&qid=1568409410&s=outdoors&sprefix=bird+bath,outdoor,148&sr=1-45

I often see blackbirds, robins, the occasional magpie, occasional squirrels, and pigeons in my garden. I agree that pigeons might well be an issue. I just watched this video about pigeon proofing a bird table. Looks a bit ghetto but might be worth me trying if I find they're hogging it.

And of the four hanging feeders I bought, two are metal and two are mostly plastic. Apparently squirrels and the like will rip open the plastic ones, so I'm probably going to have to consider getting all metal feeders or even squirrel proof cages.

No dont bother trying to squirrel proof anything they will just destroy it.

Make sure they can get food otherwise they will chew everything to try to get to it. If they have enough food they wont try to get at the rest. What I have found is if I forget to put food out late at night or in the morning the squirrels will start to attack the enclosed pigeon proof feeders.

I thought about getting a squirrel feeder just to keep them happy and make the bird feeders more pigeon proof. Just havent got round to it. Actualy I might get one tomorrow. Im a bit drunk at the moment and am not allowed to drunk buy anymore.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=squirrel+feeders&i=outdoor&crid=28IC0Y8UDPK58&sprefix=squirrel+feeder,outdoor,148&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_15

I can not over emphasise PIGEONS! You need to keep spillage down because if they cant get to the food they will move off.

That video reminded me about my sparrow hawk. Not nice seeing one of the birds you have been fattening up being eaten, sometimes still alive by them.

By the way WTF has Happened to your lawn?

 

[tom_nieto]

The squirrels are an absolute menace! A squirrel baffle and a supposedly squirrel proof feeder haven’t completely worked! They’re nice to look at, but they don’t half hoover up bird food and frighten off the smaller birds.

We’re quite lucky that we’ve only got wood pigeons rather than city pigeons, so I don’t mind them as much, but they again hoover up the feed.

Very relaxing to watch the birds come and go. We’re extremely lucky with the visitors to our garden considering we live so close to the centre of Birmingham.

 

[Tony Edwards]

The squirrels are an absolute menace! A squirrel baffle and a supposedly squirrel proof feeder haven’t completely worked! They’re nice to look at, but they don’t half hoover up bird food and frighten off the smaller birds.

We’re quite lucky that we’ve only got wood pigeons rather than city pigeons, so I don’t mind them as much, but they again hoover up the feed.

Very relaxing to watch the birds come and go. We’re extremely lucky with the visitors to our garden considering we live so close to the centre of Birmingham.

Oh yeah I spend a fortune on feed.

I tried to stop the squirrels but just gave up after a while and to be honest just felt a bit mean. I had a cage like thing on the ground for a ground feeder that only let in small birds but the squirrels dug under it which allowed pigeons to get in and out so I got one with holes big enough for a blackbird and the squirrels can get in fine now.

 

[_tucker_]

Squirrels will easily be able to get on the table and eat the food and scare the birds away as it’s quite close to the fence. You can get like upside down bowls you put around the shaft to stop them climbing up.
Personally I like squirrels so it doesn’t bother me but they do pester the birds

 

[Tony Edwards]

Squirrels will easily be able to get on the table and eat the food and scare the birds away as it’s quite close to the fence. You can get like upside down bowls you put around the shaft to stop them climbing up.
Personally I like squirrels so it doesn’t bother me but they do pester the birds

I think the key is to have a few different feeding areas. My squirrels dont hang about too long and cats slaunter through some times. Also I have about 3 squirrels that hate each other so they just come eat and go.

 

[_tucker_]

I think the key is to have a few different feeding areas. My squirrels dont hang about too long and cats slaunter through some times. Also I have about 3 squirrels that hate each other so they just come eat and go.

There’s nothing more entertaining that when a few squirrels are trying to get to the feeder at the same time haha cute little buggers but so vicious to one another

 

[Merlin5]

By the way WTF has Happened to your lawn?

Lol, I know. I used to have a lovely lawn years ago. Then I was out of the country a lot and rented my flat out. The lawn never got looked after properly and has all but disappeared, so yeah, needs a new lawn. I just never got around to it. There's so many weed roots, the whole lot needs rotivating and de weeding. You should've seen it on Monday, it was so overgrown with every type of weed and stinging nettle, a complete mess. I spent all Tuesday from 11.30am to about 7pm taking it all down and got it all tidy again. Kept getting thorns piercing my gloves.

Squirrels will easily be able to get on the table and eat the food and scare the birds away as it’s quite close to the fence. You can get like upside down bowls you put around the shaft to stop them climbing up.
Personally I like squirrels so it doesn’t bother me but they do pester the birds

I saw a mention on a youtube comment about a similar thing to the upside down bowl. Any idea where I can get one and is it one size fits all considering bird table shafts come in different widths and shapes?

 

[_tucker_]

I don’t know to be honest I haven’t bought one myself but if you can’t find one it’s basically just a mixing bowel so you could always buy one and cut the correct size hole and a lot it In and hold it up on a couple of screws the fact that it will move about will actually aids in keeping the squirrel from climbing up

 

[Merlin5]

I found the baffles on amazon. They're clear domes. But the hole in them looks to be designed for rounded and narrower diameter metal poles like on feeding stations rather than the thicker square sided wooden pole on my bird table.

Slinky is another solution with hilarious results.
https://binged.it/32FrQpT
But it seems the squirrels get wise to those and usually figure out how to bypass it.

Another solution that apparently works well is to coat the post in grease, Vaseline or Crisco vegetable shortening. I've got some stuff in my fridge called Trex which is the same as Crisco so I might try greasing the post with that. In the US, they sell a product called squirrel slip which is a small tub of non toxic grease that does the same thing.

I just thought, I'd better move it to the centre of the garden. A squirrel only needs to leap from the fence straight on to the roof of the table.

 

[Tony Edwards]

https://shopping.rspb.org.uk/squirrel-deterrent/bird-table-squirrel-baffle.html

https://www.reallywildbirdfood.co.uk/feeder-accessories/bird-table-squirrel-baffle/mbtb

http://birdtablenews.com/

 

[Mark A]

I put a hook in the middle of the table inside and then hang a fat ball in a net and they all dance around the outside of the table, nibbling away at it. I made the mistake of putting a big £1 block of food on there once and a massive blackbird just grabbed the entire thing and flew off lol.

This reminds me I really need to get on with finishing my hexagonal bird table I have had on the go for the last few years.

 

[kinetic747]

Before I got a baffle for my feeding station I used a chilli powder/cooking oil coating on the pole. It was hilarious watching them wipe their paws on the grass to get it off. They're very resourceful and I find where there's a will there's a way.

 

[Tony Edwards]

I put a hook in the middle of the table inside and then hang a fat ball in a net and they all dance around the outside of the table, nibbling away at it. I made the mistake of putting a big £1 block of food on there once and a massive blackbird just grabbed the entire thing and flew off lol.

This reminds me I really need to get on with finishing my hexagonal bird table I have had on the go for the last few years.

When you say net. You dont mean the plastic ones the balls coming in do you, as they can be quite dangerous for the birds. Im not even sure why they sell them in them still.

Yeah them £1 fat blocks are, well expensive. Sometimes if the seed has run out my birds can clear one in a few hours. There are some made by Peckish Complete that are harder and have small seeds mixed in. They take days to be eaten.

They're very resourceful and I find where there's a will there's a way.

Yes I gave up. They just tried to destroy everthing else.

 

[Mark A]

I'd actually love to attract squirrels. I'd have a separate bird table just for them if we ever got any around here. Sadly in the 20 or so years I have been here we have seen 2.. It's quite a rural area as well, so i'm not sure why there are so few of them.

When you say net. You dont mean the plastic ones the balls coming in do you, as they can be quite dangerous for the birds. Im not even sure why they sell them in them still.

Ahh, I didn't know they could be dangerous . I'll stop using them, or maybe look for small metal cage or something.