On the Wildside: Birds flocking back to the garden feeders

However, the main pattern of recent weeks, following a bit of a lull in numbers, though this year short-lived, has been a steady rise in small birds coming to the feeders. The sunflower hearts draw in goldfinches, greenfinches, blue tits, great tits, and coal tits, and sometimes in very good numbers. I counted in nearly thirty mixed titmice flighting into the garden in a five-minute period. The sunflower hearts are the key attraction although peanuts are also being taken.

The other feeders proving almost irresistible are hanging, spherical containers of mixed calci worms and dried mealworms. The starlings are especially fond of these and descend in mixed, squabbling flocks of adults and juveniles with their distinctive pale grey heads. Other small birds also chip in, and the robin loves the mealworms but still struggles to manage the hanging feeders. However, the robin (I always assume it is a ‘he’, but it could of course be a ‘she’), is learning to come when called for a treat put down before the other birds arrive and take over!

Something new this year is that in the early morning the local magpies have now discovered the mealworm feeders, and they have been arriving with up to twenty at a time and causing absolute mayhem. These are big birds and can easily tip over feeders and even plant-pots as they scrabble for the easy pickings. In some cases, it appears that they are clever enough to pull the feeder over its shepherd’s crook holder, to manipulate the wire fastening it, and cause it to spill it on the ground. They even did the same with the top of a sunflower heart dispenser which was fastened with wire, and the result was access to the open top of the feeder.

Professor Ian D. Rotherham, researcher, writer & broadcaster on wildlife & environmental issues, is contactable on [email protected]; follow Ian’s blog (https://ianswalkonthewildside.wordpress.com/) and Twitter @IanThewildside