Feeding the Birds - Advice from Bill

Wiggly but Delicious

Mealworms. Yes, I know they look like shiny maggots, but they are not so squishy, and handling them is rather like grabbing a fistful of animated rice! More to the point, the birds love them. I have been putting out mealworms for years now. I usually put them in a little doggy bowl. They can't climb the smooth sides; at least not before they have been gobbled up by Robins or Blackbirds. The only "problem" is that a pair of Jays has recently discovered the fast food supply, and if they get there first they tend to wolf the lot, before any of the smaller birds can have a share. I have just hung up a Droll Yankee feeder with a plastic "roof", which may keep out the bigger bullies. Not sure if it works yet. So far the mealworms are still there, enjoying their elevated view of the garden, as no birds seem to have found them yet!

They will.

Bluebirds in your Garden - I think not!

If you have recently purchased - or are about to purchase - one of the Droll Yankee range of feeders, then please don't hold them to the promises made in the instruction leaflet! They are excellent feeders, BUT they will not attract the species promised. You are not about to be invaded by Bluebirds, Cardinals and Chickadees. In case you have never even heard of these birds, allow me to explain. Droll Yankees are made in America (there's a surprise), and the garden birds they are designed to attract are American species, none of which occur this side of the Atlantic.

Chickadees are about the nearest we get, in that they are the American equivalent of Marsh or Willow Tits. (Neither of which, by the way, are frequent garden feeders in Britain.) However, the good news is that British birds are not in the least prejudiced against American products and Blue Tits, Greenfinches and the rest will happily come to Droll Yankee feeders. But if you start seeing Bluebirds... you've been watching too many Walt Disney films.

Summer Peanuts

I am often asked "should I stop feeding peanuts in summer?". This is no doubt because it is common knowledge that baby birds could choke on them. I say "could", but I have to admit I wonder if there are any reported cases where they actually did! By and large, birds are pretty sensible creatures, and I doubt that any responsible mother Blue Tit would feed a whole peanut to a tiny nestling. Apart from anything else, the chicks have to be fed on soft insect and grub food for the first weeks of their lives, and the adults no doubt know this. But I suppose it could happen. Therefore the rule is that summer peanuts should always be fed in a grill type feeder, so that only fragments can be taken away. In winter, it's fine to scatter them more freely, but don't be surprised if the squirrels get there first.