Last summer
my husband and I visited Scotland. We took a long walk in the pouring rain. (We
ignored the rain) At some point we passed by a house with a bird feeding
station on the drive. More than 25 birds flew back and forth and another 25
birds were scurrying on the ground underneath. I wanted to know more about that!
The owner
of this bird feeding station arrived just at the moment we were watching the
birds. Proudly he told us about the large numbers of birds in his garden. I
asked him what he was feeding his birds. It turned out to be niger seed, from
Africa.
Niger seed.
That was new to me. But the next day I found a store where those seeds were for
sale. So I bought myself a bag of 2 kg of those niger seeds and put it in the
backpack of my husband who, without a murmur, carried it the whole day. Also I
purchased a bird feeding station. As I tell the saleswoman that I will feed
niger seed to the birds, she replies: "Niger seed? That's what the birds
love best. If you do so, your birds will become so thick that they will not be
able to fly anymore ". So as you all will understand, my expectations were
sky-high.
Back home I
place the bird feeding station in front of the kitchen window. I put the niger
seed in the specially purchased holder. And wait.
I wait one week,
two weeks, three weeks, four weeks, five weeks ..... Nothing happens!
Then I buy
some sunflower seeds and hang these in the bird feeding station. Immediately it
gets busy. Great tits fly off and on. This bustle around the bird feeding
station has drawn the attention of my neighbours’ cat too. Every day he sneaks
under the yew and lurks ... I am witnessing an almost accident. Fortunately,
the bird is quicker.
Sporadically,
a great tit looks at the niger seed. I hear him think: "Niger seeds? Nèh
". And without tasting, it flies
back to the sunflower seeds.
Beside the
fact that a lot is happening around my bird feeding station, after three months
of observation my conclusion is:
I probably will
be stuck with two kilos of niger seed. Because for the conservative birds that
visit my garden it is: unknown, unloved, unwanted!
My feeding station
Blue tit
Blue tit likes mixed seeds
Finch
Black bird, looks a bit tatty
Dunnock, Hedge sparrow
The cat of our neighbors
And another even more dangerous cat!
Niger seed
My recent blog post is on the birds at my feeder. I use black sunflower seeds and corn. I also use suet for the cold winter months. Niger seed is available in my region but it is quite pricey and like you my birds don't seem to like it. I am sending a link to my blog if you wish to view it. This is Eastern Canada. Take care..Thelma..
ReplyDeletehttps://thelma-day.blogspot.com/2018/12/birds-at-feeder.html
Hetty, that is just so funny! Who knew that birds could be so persnickety? And that feeding station is very attractive, I must say. I have never tried putting out a bird feeder here because I have a problem with pigeons. Last year, they completely destroyed one of my new porch sofa seat cushions. Instead of a bird feeder, we have been joking about getting a shotgun!
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