For anyone looking for the best seed mix for feeders and ground feeding, check out the unique mix we have on the Wild Your Garden website. It caters for all the birds visiting your garden. Link here: 👇 wildyourgarden.com/product/wild-your-garden-bird-seed-mix/
@@MrDaiseymay cats kill millions of birds every year and mostly in areas where food is set out. Birds hang around these areas, they don’t just fly in to feeders then fly out again. I think a lot of people put the food out with the deliberate intention of attracting prey for their precious little darlings
Love your videos & keep up the great work. I have some feeders on an apple tree in the back garden & I’m attracting a number of different bird species. I’ve got a couple of bird boxes up but I’d like to get a half barrel so they can drink. Can you give me any advice on this?
Judith Moore I love the fact that you care about every species. Every bird and other mammals, as squirrels, all need food, and I love them all, I hate it when people discriminate against certain visitors. So Thank you for helping them all.
The one thing that needs to be said is the birds need water too, especially when it’s all iced over! so a fresh water source is always a good idea too when feeding them. 😊 Thanks for the feed information too 👍🏼💙🐾❤
Really good, thank you. Enjoyed that. I have just one point; I think birds should be fed all year round, not just winter. Our variable weather can make it hard for birds any time of the year, especially spring. This is when an abundant supply of food is essential for breeding. If we have a wet or cold Spring, caterpillars become hard to find and huge numbers of nestlings will starve. Every Spring I actually supplement with live mealworms and have had Robins land on my hand to get them. It's wonderful.
Random scattering of food is fine but any form of bird feeder is not good at this present time as feeders will encourage the spread of avian flu, communal feeding is a big no no.
@@georgebarnes8163You need to watch the news in your area. You should not put out feeders if you also raise poultry. The Avian flu can be a big deal in domestic birds like chickens. The fear is that the flu will then spread to wild birds. There has been some spread, I know. In my area, it has not been documented. Avian flu is not present in all areas. Your agriculture and wildlife agencies should be monitoring this. There is also another infectious disease that birds can spread at feeders, so if you see a sick bird, you need to take the feeders down and cease feeding for several weeks. That bird will die within that time and will have moved elsewhere. This is a different disease than Avian flu. In 20 years of feeding birds, I have seen 2 of these birds, at two different times. I took down the feeders, cleaned them well, and did not put them back up for several weeks. I did not see any disease spread to other birds at either times.
I try to reduce rats and mice by seasonal feeding. Plus the starlings soon out flock the other birds in time. Niger, sunflower heart mix, fat slabs, bird table and I love robins mix.
I feed hulled sunflower seeds. Everybody loves them, and there's no mess. Millet is waste and so is another small round seed in the usual mixes. (Feeding doves on the ground draws all the neighborhood bad cats, though.
Yes Kathryn! Blackbirds, Robins and Starlings can't resist oatmeal :) Thanks for thinking of the birds, particularly at this time of year. Best wishes, Joel
We put a mix of different type seeds on our porch railings year round. There is always a myriad of different birds feeding. I also put 2 hummingbird feeders out for the little guys and girls.
Sunflower hearts seem to be the best here in Indiana but are very expensive. Around 17 dollars for a 8 lb. Bag. Right now I'm feeding two bags a week and continually have 50 to 100 gold finches at the feeders all day long.
How wonderful Ron - not the prices, but the visitors! They're expensive here too so I really appreciate you considering these desperate birds - no need to say whether you're rewarded for your efforts :) Hope you enjoy the rest of the channel too - best wishes - Joel
hi Joel, I discovered your channel a couple of weeks ago and I’m watching all your videos. I’ve bought lots of plants you’ve suggested and can’t wait to add them to my garden this year. I have a small front and back garden. Among the plants and shrubs, I have 7 buddleija in my front garden and 6 in the back garden. I planted them all during the first lockdown. I’m planning on making a container wildlife pond after watching your videos. Last year in the back garden we watched a magpie taking bread from our lawn and taking it to the bird bath to dip it in and get it wet, then fly off to eat it on top of our shed. It was great to watch. Thanks for your fantastic channel, it’s very inspiring.
Hi Liz - thank you so much, your words and support mean a lot and it ensures that making these videos is worthwhile - I am so pleased that they're helping people to improve where they're already helping wildlife and encourage those that are just starting out. Your garden sounds absolutely wonderful, and you are being rewarded for your efforts :) Best wishes, and thanks again, Joel
I started getting various foods for the birds , and my garden became quite busy in the summer , I had the same family roll up every day , fascinating, the misses wasn’t keen , she doesn’t like rats ,, l o l cheers shane uk 🇬🇧
Live in USA Rhode Island. Used sunflower hearts for decades until the last year or so. Why..it was fun for me but now that fungus has been released into the air the feeders ( no matter how clean they were ) were growing fungus. Had MANY finches die over time and develop diseases. I switched to sunflowers with hulls. It took about 6 months for the birds to get used them and recover. The birds take away the whole seed.. it is the squirrels that sit in one place and make a mess. I do need to rake the areas periodically to compost. Have incorporated more SEEDS mixes like milo etc. Lots of good advice in your video.
Hi there, my empathies re the finches, our chaffinches and greenfinches suffered this same fungal disease here in the UK - great idea re leaving the sunflower hearts in the husks when faced with this. Squirrels the same here, one local one destroys the feeders where the openings are to try to get to the seed etc inside :/ Thanks for your comment, it's interesting to hear what is going on in other countries too - best wishes, Joel
That's a handful Freda! They certainly are wonderful though, Sirius is nearly 15 now, getting about slowly but he's still enjoying life :) Best wishes, and thank you for subscribing, it really helps - Joel
Great information Joel love the suet feeders. I didn't have good luck with the commercial made suet you buy pre made so I ventured out and came up with my own recipe. 2 cups cornmeal, 2 cups oats, 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar. Melt 1 cup peanut butter and 1 cup suet ( meat fat) in a pan pour dry ingredients in a little at time time. Fill up you suet cage and set in the freezer til harden and serve. And your right lots of species of birds love suet. Great video love my Goldfinch,Jay's, Starlings, Sparrow,and many other bird species in my neck of the woods here in California.
Hi there :) This is great, thanks so much - you're obviously doing the right thing with all those grateful visitors - really appreciate your support - best wishes to you and yours in California - Joel
80 to 90% of the Corn crops in the USA are toxic genetically modified Corn, In other words TOXIC. & much of It is sprayed with cancer causing Glyphosate herbicide. Chances are you are feeding the birds poison. Good luck finding NON GMO corn meal.
I make my own suet bars. I buy chunks of suet from the grocery store and render them down in my iron skillet or pot. This serves two purposes. It makes a medium for me to include fruit, nuts, seeds, and grain for the birds AND it re-seasons my iron cookware. The woodpeckers devour suet cakes. We get just about every variety of woodpecker visiting, as well as the typical visitors native to south central Michigan, including cardinals, blue jays, nuthatches, chickadees, titmouses, juncos, etc. We also get plenty of those wingless birds more commonly known as squirrels. LOL.
So many people don't want the mess of feeding birds which is so sad because they would miss them if we did not take care of them, after our lovely cat passed i started to feed the birds in our garden ,i seen blue tits ,robins ,magpie ,parrots, pigeons ,wrens, sparrows and a few i have no idea what they are called yet / also bought binoculars to identify what's coming to feed , its taken away alot of the sadness of missing the cat ,so now have a café of a tree with different food for our feathered brethren /Thanks for vid very informative x ps and have a gang of squirrels that fight to get at the feeders but i put out food for them also xx
Thank you Md - snow is always good at making everything peaceful and beautiful, it is just when it thaws that it makes things look worse! ;) It's a harsh time for birds and animals so I hope people try to help them through - we don't get much snow here in England thankfully. Hope you are well and safe, take good care - Joel
Got 2 mesh feeders and a bird house, I just got a property with a beautiful landscaped garden, thanks for the video. I needed some advice to bring the birds back into it again. The property hasn't had a feeder for a year or so. I have to be careful with seagulls, its summer west of Scotland. I have Berry trees, apple tree, pear tree and plum trees.. Lovely legacy garden.
Hi Sandra - apologies for the delay in acknowledging your comment, just catching up with everyone now - I am so glad this video was helpful to you and I expect you have many bird visitors in the autumn/winter with all those wonderful trees :) Best wishes, Joel
I have three hanging feeders tucked into trees as we have sparrow hawks visiting every now and again, also a tray feeder and also just as important fresh water. ❤🇬🇧
I also boil sugar and water and put it in a shallow dish for the bees. It's a big hit. I'll do it all winter, and if they like I'll do it year around. They also like honey 🍯, no surprise.
Sirius is absolutely beautiful 💜😍 thanks for putting me onto this video Joel, we recently ‘acquired ‘ a flock / charm of goldfinch I got so excited lol 😂🙈 the Nyger seed brought them in here ( probably spelt that wrong) haha! Good on you for rescuing your lovely boy!
Thank you Lynn, he's a very handsome chap and has come on leaps and bounds (literally!) since his rescue 8 years ago now, I try to spend as much time as I can with him :) Yes, Nyger seed - mine will use the Nyger when the other sunflower heart feeder is already occupied and if it runs out, but I think they have adapted to prefer the sunflower hearts, although boy are they messy eaters! The Robins and Blackbirds, Pigeons etc don't mind as they soon hoover them up. The Goldfinches are such beautiful birds and have definitely adapted and succeeded in making the use of garden feeders - best wishes, Joel
I've been feeding the birds in my garden for years and never even thought of Sunflower hearts,, looks like another feeder is going up very shortly,, cracking vid Joel 👍👍
Sunflower hearts are absolutely devoured by all birds. I only have one feeder and that’s the only food I provide. They discard a lot of seed from mixed seeds and nyjer is never touched by any bird when I tried not even gold finches.
I raised a Raven, she chose to stay around. I've never caged, clipped or tethered her. Because she is a scavenger anything is food for her. What I have found is meat cooked or raw. Hard boiled eggs seem to be a favorite. Posted some of our interactions on RUclips channel if interested!
@stuartclark8910 it this channel I commented with. Push the dog to see . All I post are shorts, mostly with a song! Thanks ! Please let me know if you like it? We Clarks have to stick together. LoL!
HELLO 👋 JOEL . . HOW ARE YOU TODAY ??? LISTEN , MY NAME IS SILVIO , I ‘M FROM ARGENTINA , AND I ‘D LIKE TO SAY , FIRST OF ALL , THAT I JUST LOVE YOUR MARVELOUS PROGRAM ; THERE AREN ‘T TOO MANY AROUND LIKE YOURS !!!! ALL I CAN ADD IS THAT , SINCE SOME OF THIS FOOD FOR BIRDS 🦅 ARE QUITE EXPENSIVE, I DID SOME RESEARCH AND I DECIDE NOT USE ANY FEEDER NO MORE BUT , TO STREW IT BY HAND AS IF I WERE FEEDING THE CHICKENS AND I WOULD USE JUST FOOD LEFTOVERS SUCH , FOR INSTANCE , CHOPPED BREAD CRUMBS, SOME GROUND CEREALS OR G R A N O L A WHICH I FOUND TO BE VERY EFFECTIVE FOR THE PURPOSE , CANOLA SEEDS , WHEET , MILLET AND CRANBERRIES, AS WELL ! THANKS 🙏 SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO FOR PEOPLE WHO LOVE BIRDS 🦅 OR MOTHER NATURE , ALRIGHT ? B E W E L L !
I feed sunflower and peanuts too. $$. I’ve noticed cardinals are ground feeders. They will get on feeder when desperate. I have to try to remember to bring in fat balls and peanut butter or raccoons eat it all. I throw out some dry pet for the when it’s cold but not near bird feeders. Thanks for your videos. Love them.
Hi there, so sorry for the delay in acknowledging you but I'm just trying to catch up with 2 weeks of comments after the Christmas break - however I really enjoyed your comment, it's so nice to know what happens in other countries, particularly those that have Cardinals, such beautiful birds. Best wishes to you and yours for 2023 - Joel
I feed all those things but one thing all the birds seem to like is porridge oats. We live in the country but now have hardly any sparrows or starlings compared to 20 years ago when there were 100s. Wonder if their numbers are less everywhere? ☹️ After putting a trail camera by the feeders & noticing the magpies wouldn’t come close & scoff everything, I’m experimenting with different objects. They’re very wary of new things so if you want to deter them a bit & give the smaller ground feeders a chance, that works well. I even glued a couple of googley eyes on a plastic milk bottle & stood it near the food. They really distrusted that 😆 It doesn’t stop them having a little but by the time they convince themselves it’s actually safe, everything else has had a chance to eat. We have 3 gorgeous Jays which are very shy, but it doesn’t bother them at all. Fascinating!
The googley eyes! That made me laugh out loud, I can imagine it! Great recommendation re the oats Colin - sounds like you're determined and I'm sure the effort will pay off :) Best wishes, stay warm and safe - Joel
Here in the UK, I use those specific nyja seed feeders where only the Finches can access it. I find that the feeders with a certain diameter hole will attract unwanted birds such as Starlings which hover to feed , and which scare off the smaller ones. The other issue is that birds tend to empty the feeder contents onto the ground which then attract Magpies. I then spend time sweeping this up and reusing it.
Thank you Robyn ❤ He's 15 in March and although going a little slower than before, he's hanging in and I'm making the most of my time with him. Best wishes, Joel
@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton - thanks Joel. A personal reply means a lot to me. During the lockdowns watching the wild garden birds was amazing entertainment. I have carried on feeding them since. I even have Great Spotted Woodpeckers and they have babies every year; the adults teach their children on the nut feeder. Your amazing too.
@@rogerhargreaves2272 You're very welcome Roger, I do try to acknowledge people's comments when I am notified of them, and it's sometimes difficult to catch up with everyone but I do love to hear what people have to say and especially when they relay about the wildlife in their own gardens - quite envious of your woodpecker chicks, but well-deserved no doubt. I do hope you're enjoying the rest of the channel and that it's helpful - best wishes to you and yours -Joel
Javanese culture in Indonesia understands that if we are friends with nature then nature will give us a lot of goodness, success for "Wild .............." ....Java Central, Indonesia, watch this video
I really enjoy feeding the birds. My biggest problem is providing ground cover. The trees and bushes in our newly built garden are still very small. Since we have have at least half a meter of snow, the bushes are at best barely visible. But I guess it will sort itself out in time! :D
Hi Anders :) I expect you have Redwings in abundance where you are - it is possible to put apples cut in half on the ground or maybe a table, any flat surface above the snow of course. They are attracted to red apples and I have one eye on my kitchen window as I type - there are 4 Redwings and 2 Fieldfares enjoying the Holly, they are looking at the apples but they are not so brave as the Blackbirds yet. It won't be too long before you have lots of visitors - hope you are well, best wishes - Joel
@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton I'm afraid all the Fieldfares and it's relatives have migrated to warmer places (UK?). They usually arrive in droves as the snow is melting. I haven't seen any Redwings at all. Our classic apple eating bird would be the Bohemian waxwing.
@@andershilden5577 Yes, they are here! I have never had so many in the garden and am thrilled to see them - they will be leaving soon and making their way back to you. I have seen Cedar Waxwing before but never the Bohemian, I would love to see one as they are such beautiful birds. Next winter I hope the story will be different for you and your ground cover encourages many more birds :) Best wishes, as always - Joel
He cannot resist helping! I am so thrilled that the channel is being of help to you and that you are enjoying it. I do this work to share with others so that there are more and more precious habitats created for all those creatures that need our help now, they cannot survive without food that is found in habitats so we can all do our little bit to make a bigger habitat together :) Stay safe Sneha and thank you so much for your support - he is a good boy when he is kept busy! ;) Best wishes, Joel
Grow holly and pyracantha, birds love the berries. My greenfinch, goldfinches just love sunflower hearts, they won’t touch anything else. Starlings and Jays love fat balls. The woodpecker visits occasionally as does the Sparrow Hawk. Chaffinches occasionally visit. Peanuts are taken by the squirrels. Lol. Good work pal.
Thank you James, you're very welcome :) Hope you find the channel helpful, there's lots here to help widlife in your own green space - best wishes and thanks for taking the time to leave a positive comment :) Joel
Thank you so much for this information, and for not forgetting about the squirrels, I have a bit of s problem tho, I’ve become attached to feeding the squirrels and I think they depend on me for food on the winter and also in the spring summer here in NY, I think I’m annoying my neighbors, I have approx. 15 or so that enjoy the nuts and sun flower seeds, should I stop this addicting habit/addiction? Also another question the nuts need to be unsalted?? Thank you for what you do🙏 your dog is absolutely beautiful!!!!
Hi there Beth, so sorry for the delay. The UK has a very different attitude to the Grey Squirrel, however they didn't just arrive all those years ago without human help and I love reading about people that care about ALL the living things, not just the pretty ones, not just the ones with beautiful song etc. Squirrels will of course eat both eggs and young chicks in nests but any nest boxes can be "proofed" with what we refer to as "chicken wire", it allows birds in and out and squirrels thwarted :) I would always recommend unsalted nuts, just in case. Thank you re Siri, he is 15 soon and the difference in these two/three short years is highlighted by the difference in him in this video. He's enjoying a slow retirement and everything at his own pace now :) Thank you for the encouragement and support too, it makes a huge difference. I hope you find the other videos on the channel helpful. Best wishes, Joel
What a great video, very interesting and informative. I am new to feeding birds and I find it fascinating to watch them. Well done. I shall look forward to the next video. 🙂👍
Hi Martin, thanks so much, I really appreciate your kind words and support, it makes a difference. It can certainly become addictive when they start to visit and you can watch their behaviour and habits, it also gives a good feeling knowing you are helping them through difficult times due to loss of habitat but also natural food sources too in turn. If you go to the "videos" section on the channel there are lots of helpful videos there but I hope to update the channel regularly, particularly now the days are shorter and I am home sooner :) Enjoy the festivities, best wishes - Joel
Thank you Joel for your kind words. I am 67 and my son is 33 and Christmas is not a good time for me due to a loss in the family but we keep smiling and we find watching birds gives a sense of calm as well as learning about what birds eat and how they live their life's generally .I need to buy feeders ect so I've got a lot to do. Hope you have a great Christmas and a good and safe new year.l look forward to future videos. Martin. 👍
@@martinhall60 Sincerely sorry to hear about your loss Martin, I really am. If you ever need any advice at all, or even want to send a few photos of your grateful visitors then always feel free to drop me a line at hazelwoodlandscapes@hotmail.com, I'd love to hear from you. I'm more than happy to help. Thanks for thinking of those birds and helping them through tough times. Best wishes to you and your son - Joel
Thanks Joel, another video full of great information. I am not having much success this year, the suet balls aren't even touched, go mouldy and I have to throw them away. I have given up on peanuts completely. The seed mix mostly sits there and even the sunflower seeds go down very slowly, although a wood pigeon sits at the feeder for ages getting the seeds out. My real success is a mealworm feeder that is emptied by the starlings in minutes (I notice you don't mention mealworms). I have not moved any of my feeders but I had to cut back a nearby mature trachelospermum at the end of last summer to replace the fence behind it. Before that I was inundated with house sparrows and starlings. Rarely see a house sparrow now, although a male blackbird and magpie visit regularly, and of course the wood pigeons! Do you think the birds will re appear when the trachelospermum regrows? I have a small garden with a silver birch so the garden is cosy. Feeling disappointed and despondent!!! Your garden is beautiful, as is your dog. You are also a natural in front of the camera, you explain things well and in such an easy going way - you need your own TV show. Apologies for the loooong comment! Take care
Hi Suzanne! No need to apologise at all :) Mealworms are absolutely great and, although more expensive of course, the live mealworms are a real help to parent birds in Spring when they need insects to give protein and moisture to their young. Yes, if not taken rather soon then fatballs can become "mouldy" but I'm fortunate that they don't last long in my garden - if you have any cover then do put them as close as possible so that they're not rained on and I'm sure you already know to discard any food that has become mouldy. I'm afraid that the removal of the Jasmine may have affected your visitor numbers but they will return as soon as the cover is back. They're pretty fast growers so don't be despondent yet :) Forgive me if I'm repeating what's said in the video but cover always attracts more birds - see the Coppice Belt video, although I appreciate that space may not allow. For now, appreciate the pigeons and blackbirds - the more birds in Spring the more others will be encouraged too :) Thank you so much for your wonderful comments - I'm trying my best, in between work of course, to upload a couple of videos a week, but don't want people to get "Joel Fatigue" either! ;) I'm always here if you have any questions - do take good care, don't be disappointed yet, Spring is on it's way - Best wishes, and thank you so much again - Joel
@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton Hi Joel, thanks so much for your reply. I am feeling more positive about the lack of birds now. I am going to try moving my feeders later. Unfortunately, I have a narrow (terraced house) garden so the use of trees, shrubs etc is limited . I am in the process of changing my bird feeders to easy to clean ones as I could never get tem clean enough and had to keep throwing them away!! I don't think you need to worry about 'Joel Fatigue', so long as you have something interesting to say (and you do) but obviously you have your work and your family so your time is limited. Off to watch your video on climbers for inspiration, and I really feel I need to re read your book, and maybe take notes this time as I have a mind like a sieve! Thanks again Joel, your help and advice really is much appreciated. All the best to you and your family.
Hi Suzanne, I am so sorry I missed your reply! What wonderful words, I'm always here if you need any additional advice to the book - thanks so much again for your kind words - it makes all the difference :)
@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton No problem Joel, you are so good at connecting with us but there are bound to be times when you miss things or are even too busy to reply, and that's fine! Take care
@@suzannebramble6564 Thanks Suzanne, it seems RUclips's notifications are intermittent, I certainly saw this one! Look forward to seeing you Sunday hopefully - best wishes to you - Joel
Thanks for the great video. Don't forget oats. Loved by the blackbird and the woodpecker. And if you are in a country that like christmas ham on the table at, well, on christmas eve, take all the fat and give them to the birds. Of course in small pieces. Cheers
Due to the very cold weather the meatballs become hard so: I smash them up and mix them up with suet pellets. The birds love them. Needless to say,they have seeds and peanuts,too. The squirrels have peanuts in shells and hazelnuts....the magpies are catered for with shell peanuts scattered all over 😊 I melt their frozen bath and they enjoy drinking until frozen again! Love them all.
Nice video👍🏼 - one thing I did learn through research this year is that shelled nuts and seeds are too difficult for birds to open once they get wet.. however I guess the squirrels could always eat them if the birds can’t 😂
It takes a while for the birds to get used to new feeders - I envy the scenery in the driving you do! ;) Stay safe where you are, and thank you for the support - best wishes, Joel
First belly-laugh of 2023! Sorry for the delay in acknowledging you, just trying to get through 2 weeks of comments :) Someone else suggested that I was in fact Canello Alvarez, who I'd not heard of until about a year ago! Best wishes to you and yours for 2023 - Joel
I use a base of 1 part high protein white flour to 2 parts of lard , after which I blend 3 part seed to one part base mix. From this I can make my own fat balls / blocks ( winter only ) , which helps to off sett cost at this time. Thank you , for your help & advice Joel .
Had loads of tube feeders that just got demolished by squirrels but now have one with stainless steel hole surrounds and perching pegs also bought one to hold sunflower hearts that has tiny feed holes ( approx 4 mm across) which squirrels can't get their teeth into. Both can be found on Amazon. Year before last year 2 goldfinches last year at least 2 dozen also get a woodpecker loves fat balls. Chap is right about putting your feeder near cover, robins in particular will pop out grab one seed and go back in cover to eat it.
Sunflower hearts are easily the most popular feed in my yard. Bluebirds come around for the mealy worms, cardinals for the safflower, and 4th feeder is a mix of nuts, etc. could be anything there. Nyjer...I can't even give it away...got a bag of it, but no birds are eating.
Same here Karl, although I don't have the wonderful Bluebirds in the UK sadly - but although you can see the goldfinch enjoying the Nyjer in this video, it's only because the sunflower ports are already occupied, if they have the choice they'll all go for those :) Best wishes, Joel
@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton Thanks for the reply. Bluebirds tend not to come to urban areas, but one day two showed up for the sunflower and I immediately got a meal worm feeder just for them. Two years later and they're still here. They are fearless it seems. They will land a couple feet (.61 m) from me if they see a grub. Maybe my Nyjer is bad. Even when other feeders are empty, the finches won't eat the Nyjer. Thanks for your channel. It's appreciated.
@@karl662 That's brilliant Karl, what a reward for your efforts :) Years ago it was recommended to feed Nyjer Nyjer and more Nyjer for finches... they've clearly changed their preferences it seems :) Thank you for your support, I'm really grateful. Best wishes, Joel
What’s up with finches not eating thistle/nyjer seed? A couple of years ago, I had a flock devouring it. Now, although it’s a clean feeder with FRESH nyjer seed, I’ve yet to see any goldfinches. Hmm. I don’t want to attract house sparrows at all, but I might try the sunflower hearts until they come back, then try to quickly switch over to nyjer again to avoid house sparrows.
Hi Mark, luckily no problems for me - but that's not to say that they won't be encouraged by this extra food. The best way is to keep the ground under the feeders clear if it is dropped by the birds. Goldfinches as seen in the video are pretty messy eaters, not that the Blackbirds, Robins and Collared Doves mind as they soon clear it up :) The wood pigeons, jays and magpies get through the food on the table as they're now used to the food being there. But, as "UK Amphibians" say above, if a problem occurs then the food can be brought in at night. Hope you're doing ok - best wishes, Joel
Since I live in an apartment with a balcony garden that already has plenty of water sources since I live in a climate that gets extremely hot and dry and my neighbor that is now leaving had a bird feeder, is a mixture of nuts, seeds, fruits and mill worms a good idea? I live in central Texas if that helps
Hello over there! Thank you so much, I used the go-pro tied to the shrub here - they were pretty cautious for a few hours as they're not used to seeing it there and I know birds can be cautious of cameras, as the lens can appear like a predator eye to them. This sure allowed me to see what messy eaters they are though - but the ground feeding birds appreciated it :) Take good care, Joel
Thanks for this George, it's so good when people interact and give advice, it's what the channel is all about and I really appreciate it. Best wishes to you and yours for 2023 - Joel
I like the variety of birds you get! Along the eastern seaboard of the US, 20 miles inland ...we have found ordering wholesale peanut 'splits (no shells) from North Carolina ~200lbs at a time as the best bang for the buck ...with Black Oil sunflower seeds as co-equal in desirability, but a good deal more expensive. Perhaps the worst expenditure is those multi-mixes. The biggest problem living in the woods are the tree-rats. They drive off birds and hog the feeder. You need to feed on a pole with a predator collar to keep them off; birds naturally share by chucking bits over the side of the platform. Cheers. Jim
Thank you so much, I really appreciate you taking the time to leave a positive comment, it makes all the difference :) Hope all is good for you in India and you are encouraging people to provide for nature in your beautiful gardens. Best wishes, Joel
Thank you for all your information. I love watching it. Since 2 years I have been changing my garden into a wildlife garden. I’ve just bought a small pond that we will dig in. I was wondering don’t you have any trouble with chew birds? I even have a cage around my feeding tubes, but they keep trying. They always come as soon as the small birds are eating. The tube where the fatballs go in, also with a cage around it, well they still empty it within a few days. How do you deal with this? We live in the Netherlands.
Hallo just butting in for a moment: we had a pond to attract wildlife, and on the summer evenings a whole family of hedgehogs came over a busy road to drink! Sadly the very large adult drowned in our smallish pond because of not having any steps/rocks/ stones to climb over😢! I was so upset as we thought we had done our best to encourage all sorts of wildlife and to provide the beast for them: and so the point being is to think how to keep these animals and birds safe!! 💯
Similar outlook to the Garden @ rear of this property. As a very enthusiastic nature lover - I've used Fruit Cake ( on its own &/or mixed with Shredded Suet ) also Various fruits especially Overripe Bananas - Robins Seem to be Forever on the want - when There's any Banana available. Occasionally there's been some Currants, Raisins , Sultanas, Almonds left over from baking - that are mixed together ready for when there's a Carpet of SNOW. Other seeds I found attractive to certain birds Mixed Budget Seed, Millet mixed millets &/or Sprays, Fennel Seeds
Fantastic ❤️ I put out a Niger feeder with seed and nothing has gone near it, so I will scatter the seed in the Park so as not to waste it. I removed the snow 3x today to expose the seed so the birds can keep feeding. So funny to watch the yellowhammers belly flopping across the snow, bless them ❤️ I think I'll put out a small table to keep food off the ground as noticed a rat on the camera and as you say, ground feeders need their right environment, so hopefully a win-win (especially if I lure in a hedgehog or 2, they can't eat the seed dregs or peanuts and get ill)
You. Have. YELLOWHAMMERS?! Wow, I'm yet to lure those to the garden, think I might pass out if I see one! Yep, same here, constant snow so regular outdoor visits to ensure the food on the table remained exposed and visible. One or two goldfinch use the Nyger but I do wonder if they would use it more if the sunflower hearts weren't there - they're such messy eaters though but they in turn provide extra food for the ground feeding birds underneath :) Hope you get some hedgehogs in Spring - take care out there, stay warm - Joel
Donna George-Henderson hi Donna I’ve bought Niger seeds a couple of times. We live near woods & fields & have many bird species but nothing has EVER touched the Niger seeds...on or off the ground. Haven’t got a clue what birds actually like them.....
@@colinmoyes8432 hey Colin, it's strange huh, I guess somewhere something will eat them... I will scatter some along the riverbank next time I'm passing 😊
I think you need shells just so they can store something in the tree to eat later. Shell preserves/protects...like acorns & no peanuts, try walnuts, almost as cheap but more fats for birds.
Lovely video again. Did you do the big garden bird watch last weekend? I got quite a variety but low numbers. I don’t get any starlings in my garden tho for some reason. And no finches either. Tits, Robins, dunnocks and blackbirds mainly
Thank you so much :) I did indeed do the bird watch. Typically the 4 greenfinches I have seen lately didn't show during the count, and no chaffinches for a good while - but good regular numbers of the others and I was chuffed to see the RedWing in the holly yesterday morning. I have a large colony of House Sparrows (circa 30) that are in the old buddleja every day, they go between the neighbour's Wild Privet and the buddleja, around 3-4 Dunnocks always underneath. The starlings showed in good numbers in the tree yesterday, as per the video but that was a rare sighting, I usually get 3-4 down to the feeders now. The goldfinches have certainly increased in numbers but finches in general are still struggling unfortunately. You got a nice count though, by the sound of it :) Hope all is good where you are - take good care, Joel
@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton yes I got a good count. Sod’s law 5 minutes after I posted my results I got a pair of robins and only ever had 1 before haha. I also took a picture of my garden on the day to show what it looks like and to compare that against future years when hopefully, with advice from your good self, I should see number increase as I plant better wildlife plants, shrubs and trees.
@@MrC-ov1ht Absolutely chuffed about that! Do send an email when you're ready with the photos etc - I'm happy to help remotely when I can - isn't it typical re the pair of Robins, every time I got the camera out yesterday everything seemed to disappear and I ended up in the kitchen, filming from the window with the window wide open - didn't go down too well with the other residents of this house ;) Take good care - speak soon
Thank you SO much and welcome to the channel - I hope it helps people worldwide to ensure they can make space for nature within their gardens, balconies, greenspaces - take good care and best wishes to you! :) Joel
Hi there Kevin - if you could drop me a line at enquiries@wildyourgarden.com then we will be able to help, I am out and about at the moment and trying to catch up with everyone, but do send a message and I will be able to give advice :) Best wishes - Joel
Greeting from the USA!! Thanks for all the info!! Your dog is beautiful!! My black lab is such a "bird brain" he loves to eat bird seed (especially sunflower seeds) and peanuts!
Thank you. He certainly is a character - he was rescued from Romania along with another one who's not so keen on the snow, but keen on ANY type of food! I have a rescue from Spain too and he has some Black Lab in him, along with Galgo. Luckily Sirius has the goofiness of a Malamute but the discipline of a GSD when it suits him ;) Hope all is good where you are, take good care - Joel
I stopped feeding birds after being overrun with rats, my neighbours garden is very overgrown plus I have the canal at the bottom of the garden, I have started to feed the birds again as the weather is too cold for them to cope I am amazed how many birds are coming in to feed
I have a problem with rats, who can’t get to actual feeders, but are always around the bottom of the pole searching for bits knocked out by the greedy starlings. Luckily it is just two or three rats that still turn up each day hoping to find something edible on the floor. I feed sunflower hearts, dried mealworms, and soft fat that I buy in a large block and fill tubs with. I have an army of doves that visit every day, and three squirrels that have discovered the feeders. They manage to jump onto the feeding station from a nearby bush. I don’t mind the squirrels, but they are starting to chew around the openings of the feeders.
I have had problems with rats and mice in my attic, but I still like feeding birds. I find it helpful to bring in my feeders--all 8 of them--at night. I have a shelf in my storage room with sterilite containers (those clear plastic tubs) that hold the feeders. I also buy seed in bulk and then put it into smaller ziplock bags. These are also put into sterilite tubs so as not to attract rats. I have also found, if you have a real rodent problem, that most rodents don't like the hot-pepper seeds. These are very expensive, but at least your neighbors won't complain as much. My local feed store has these in bulk size. I have two feeder poles placed on opposite sides of the house. One pole has a baffle and no nearby trees, so any kind of seed can go there. (I don't have a huge hawk population.) The other pole is close to my window and house, so that is where I use the hot-pepper seed. Otherwise the squirrels and chipmunks would eat up my bird feed budget in one week.
No matter what I put out they will go for sunflower hearts first. I have 7 feeders with hearts in them, two peanut feeders and I scatter robin/finch mixed seeds under an 8ft artificial christmas tree, with rebar up the centre for strength, I put in the garden to provide cover during winter. The most Goldfinches I have had at one time was 15 and it is not unusual to have flocks of 50 birds circling awaiting their turn.
brilliant great video loved it I get loads of birds but mainly wood pigeons jackdaws magpies ... I have to tap on the window at times to chase them as I feel sorry for the little ones like bluetits robins sparrows wrens blackbirds etc .
Great video! Unfortunately our family of squirrels takes almost everything we put out and I don’t want to NOT feed them because I love seeing them. but it is annoying!
Hi. I hear you on this. It’s tricky. Can you get a metal sliding feeder, and hang it off a long rope/wire from a tree or bush, so the Squirrels can’t hang on it? Then add peanuts on the ground for the squirrels? Hope that helps. Cheers. Joel.
@@treacleization Personally, I avoid Amazon. It’s a terrible company let by a narcissist. Instead, I urge people to support other businesses so Amazon doesn’t put them out of business. Just Google for other options.
The baffles are a start but adding chilli flakes to the seed will soon reduce of stop the squirrels visits and the chilli flakes will not harm the birds.
@@666DW For years, I used hot pepper suet and squirrels would not eat. Then, suddenly, they seemed to like it. I also used hot pepper seed. Same story. It seems they can acquire a taste for hot pepper her in Virginia USA.
We’re planting native species that serve as food for caterpillars. Unfortunately a lot of the natives we’ve planted have been decimated by deer. Frickity frackin’ deer. I’m looking for sources of live mealworms for the fledglings this spring!
Hi, i loved this video and I am hooked. Can I ask if you can feed rye seeds to any birds as I bought 5kg to sow about 100 seeds and you can imagine how much I have left. Thank you.
Absolutely! I am not sure which country you are in as I have viewers from all over the world, but Rye was a main food source for so many of our smaller birds in the UK and I am positive that this will help them wherever you are. It seems you weren't aware of your generosity at the time of ordering the seed, but you'll have some very grateful visitors now :) Don't forget to feed a little at a time, rather than throw down 4.9kg (!) as you may encourage unwanted visitors, but every day there will be at least one desperate creature that's very grateful. Very best wishes, Joel
Thanks very much Joel. I will do that and I am in Lincolnshire UK and if I get lots of birds, it will be worth my grains. @@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton
Snow! We have not had any down here this year, but it has been wet for a few days now, that makes it very difficult to keep the bird feed in good condition , I am very concerned that any seed left under damp conditions will start to ferment and cause problems, the other problem we have is that with the shear numbers of birds feeding it is difficult to arrange the seed in a large enough area, at this moment I am looking out at over 50 Goldfinches, all fighting to get at the Sunflower Hearts, (which I find are the very best for attracting them), I have now started spreading the seed out on a large paved area ,this does at least give them more area to feed in relative isolation, they tend to feed in relays, with another flock,(charm), waiting up in a nearby tree, I have found the Sunflower Hearts the vey best feed here, I even had a House Sparrow, (the first I have seen for years), feeding, next year I think things will not be so good as now the disaster of brexit has hit us, we will no longer be able to buy our 40 Kg bags of Sunflower Hearts from UK, ironic really as they are sourced from Bulgaria by Croston Mill, who can no longer send them to us in France, another victim of brexit. Stay safe ! Chris B.
Great news about the House Sparrow Chris! Yep, I tend to put out smaller amounts of food, but regularly to ensure nothing ferments and rots, not that at this time of year there's much wastage. Another victim of Brexit it seems, I didn't realise the Bulgarian connection with the sunflower hearts - time to learn Bulgarian and shop direct? ;) Bird food amongst other things are increasing in price because of this :/ It's snowing again now and apparently it will drop to around -7 here this week - I'll be regularly "defrosting" the barrel ponds, pond and birdbath and be out there regularly brushing snow off the bird food on the table I guess! That's a wonderful number of Goldfinches you have, let's hope the House Sparrows follow suit. Take good care Chris and speak soon - Joel
@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton I was really pleased to see 3 House Sparrows on the feeding tray today, I almost missed them but they were 3 unusual birds in a huge mass of Goldfinches, I never thought I would be surprised to see a House Sparrow ! But there are the first ones I have seen here for many years, I think they may be making a come back. Chris B.
@@453421abcdefg12345 Yay! That's brilliant news Chris :) I'm currently watching an increase in the Fieldfares and Redwings outside - way too distracting! I've just got some good footage of them - one Fieldfare in particular seems more interested in chasing the others away, rather than making the most of the 50% berries now left on the Holly - the Blackbird yesterday was putting a lot of effort into wasting energy chasing away others! Think he's outnumbered at the moment - I've put apples down under the holly on a bench but no takers yet... there's so much else I should be doing but I can't drag myself away! Speak soon, Joel
Thank you for confirming what my backyard finches have told me about sunflower chips. The reason we started feeding them chips is we didn't like the mess that in shell sunflower shells made. That is the upside, the downside costs more until I found 50 lb. Bags at about $1.10 a lb. for the previous 7+ years, now in last 2 years they are $1.90 a lb, if you can get them. Let's go Brandon!
Excellent Thomas - thanks so much, wish I was in the US now as the chips are certainly more expensive! So glad you got a good result, it's so rewarding to see them finding the food source and keeping them well during winter - best wishes to you and yours, Joel
Sunflower hearts and peanuts are my favorite seeds to use in order to keep nearly every local species happy. However I bought a bag of seed mix that had hearts plus nyjer seed mixed in. Years ago, I fed nyjer regularly for the finches. But this year when I used that mixed bag in the tube feeders the birds literally discarded all of the nyjer and only ate the hearts. Huge mess of uneaten nyjer under the feeders so I decided to switch back to just sunflower. I find that a bit strange. Great video btw!
Same experience here. Sunflower seeds get devoured. Nyjer seed was never touched even when nothing else was available. Birds do not like it. I also know that any seed mix results in a lot of waste as I would watch birds spit out about 5-6 seeds and eat the next one and so on resulting in mess and pigeons living on the floor under the bird feeder. I never bother with anything other than sunflower hearts. I also have lots of gold finches feed and they didn’t like the nyjer seed either.
Can I still put out SOME seed in the summer? I do like to see them swoop and have a snack. The bird bath helps otherwise the birds are hidden! Thank you 👌
Of course Jane :) I do this too, but I try to make it complimentary to the insects that they need to ensure they can bring moisture back to the chicks, birds can't carry water in their beaks of course so it's insects, caterpillars etc that they rely on to provide "wet" food that seeds just can't do. But yes, absolutely, they will appreciate the additional help and as long as they are small seeds or very crushed peanuts, the chicks won't choke. Hope this helps - and thank you for helping the creatures so desperately in need right now - welcome to the channel, and best wishes, Joel
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
For anyone looking for the best seed mix for feeders and ground feeding, check out the unique mix we have on the Wild Your Garden website. It caters for all the birds visiting your garden. Link here: 👇
wildyourgarden.com/product/wild-your-garden-bird-seed-mix/
Please subtitel indonesia
Don’t put bird food out in your garden if there are cats in your neighbourhood ! Not even in hung boxes - cats can climb anything
@@johnlawrence2757 NOT SO---SEE ANTI SQUIREL FEEDERS
@@MrDaiseymay cats kill millions of birds every year and mostly in areas where food is set out. Birds hang around these areas, they don’t just fly in to feeders then fly out again. I think a lot of people put the food out with the deliberate intention of attracting prey for their precious little darlings
Love your videos & keep up the great work. I have some feeders on an apple tree in the back garden & I’m attracting a number of different bird species. I’ve got a couple of bird boxes up but I’d like to get a half barrel so they can drink. Can you give me any advice on this?
Judith Moore
I love the fact that you care about every species. Every bird and other mammals, as squirrels, all need food, and I love them all, I hate it when people discriminate against certain visitors. So Thank you for helping them all.
The one thing that needs to be said is the birds need water too, especially when it’s all iced over! so a fresh water source is always a good idea too when feeding them. 😊 Thanks for the feed information too 👍🏼💙🐾❤
How totally precious a huge, gorgeous man cares for the birds. Touches my heart. Great tips and I'm on it, Joel:)
Thank you! 😊 Just happy to do my bit. Your comment made my weekend! 😁👍
Really good, thank you. Enjoyed that.
I have just one point; I think birds should be fed all year round, not just winter. Our variable weather can make it hard for birds any time of the year, especially spring. This is when an abundant supply of food is essential for breeding. If we have a wet or cold Spring, caterpillars become hard to find and huge numbers of nestlings will starve. Every Spring I actually supplement with live mealworms and have had Robins land on my hand to get them. It's wonderful.
Random scattering of food is fine but any form of bird feeder is not good at this present time as feeders will encourage the spread of avian flu, communal feeding is a big no no.
I agree with you. I think they should be fed year around. However, in NH we have to worry about the bears in spring/summer.
@@georgebarnes8163You need to watch the news in your area. You should not put out feeders if you also raise poultry.
The Avian flu can be a big deal in domestic birds like chickens. The fear is that the flu will then spread to wild birds. There has been some spread, I know. In my area, it has not been documented.
Avian flu is not present in all areas. Your agriculture and wildlife agencies should be monitoring this.
There is also another infectious disease that birds can spread at feeders, so if you see a sick bird, you need to take the feeders down and cease feeding for several weeks. That bird will die within that time and will have moved elsewhere. This is a different disease than Avian flu. In 20 years of feeding birds, I have seen 2 of these birds, at two different times. I took down the feeders, cleaned them well, and did not put them back up for several weeks. I did not see any disease spread to other birds at either times.
I try to reduce rats and mice by seasonal feeding. Plus the starlings soon out flock the other birds in time. Niger, sunflower heart mix, fat slabs, bird table and I love robins mix.
Plus I use Jacobi Jayne ringpull feeders to clean regularly
I feed hulled sunflower seeds. Everybody loves them, and there's no mess. Millet is waste and so is another small round seed in the usual mixes. (Feeding doves on the ground draws all the neighborhood bad cats, though.
I also use dry oatmeal...birds n squirrels LOVE it, and it's nutritious.
Yes Kathryn! Blackbirds, Robins and Starlings can't resist oatmeal :) Thanks for thinking of the birds, particularly at this time of year. Best wishes, Joel
My birds insist on oats stirred into sunflower oil.
I thought I was crazy and I didn’t want to mention oats! But they really love them and it’s inexpensive for an old lady on a pension.
We put a mix of different type seeds on our porch railings year round. There is always a myriad of different birds feeding. I also put 2 hummingbird feeders out for the little guys and girls.
Sunflower hearts seem to be the best here in Indiana but are very expensive. Around 17 dollars for a 8 lb. Bag. Right now I'm feeding two bags a week and continually have 50 to 100 gold finches at the feeders all day long.
How wonderful Ron - not the prices, but the visitors! They're expensive here too so I really appreciate you considering these desperate birds - no need to say whether you're rewarded for your efforts :) Hope you enjoy the rest of the channel too - best wishes - Joel
I found them on Chewy for 11.99 just recently.
How lucky are you Ron, I bet they look wonderful...🌻🐦
Me too. Very expensive but I can’t turn them down! Back to Farm store tomorrow.
It’s expensive to feed the little guys,but we’ll worth it xx
hi Joel, I discovered your channel a couple of weeks ago and I’m watching all your videos. I’ve bought lots of plants you’ve suggested and can’t wait to add them to my garden this year. I have a small front and back garden. Among the plants and shrubs, I have 7 buddleija in my front garden and 6 in the back garden. I planted them all during the first lockdown. I’m planning on making a container wildlife pond after watching your videos. Last year in the back garden we watched a magpie taking bread from our lawn and taking it to the bird bath to dip it in and get it wet, then fly off to eat it on top of our shed. It was great to watch. Thanks for your fantastic channel, it’s very inspiring.
Hi Liz - thank you so much, your words and support mean a lot and it ensures that making these videos is worthwhile - I am so pleased that they're helping people to improve where they're already helping wildlife and encourage those that are just starting out. Your garden sounds absolutely wonderful, and you are being rewarded for your efforts :) Best wishes, and thanks again, Joel
Live and let live!!!
Absolutely :)
I started getting various foods for the birds , and my garden became quite busy in the summer , I had the same family roll up every day , fascinating, the misses wasn’t keen , she doesn’t like rats ,, l o l cheers shane uk 🇬🇧
Live in USA Rhode Island. Used sunflower hearts for decades until the last year or so. Why..it was fun for me but now that fungus has been released into the air the feeders ( no matter how clean they were ) were growing fungus. Had MANY finches die over time and develop diseases. I switched to sunflowers with hulls. It took about 6 months for the birds to get used them and recover. The birds take away the whole seed.. it is the squirrels that sit in one place and make a mess. I do need to rake the areas periodically to compost. Have incorporated more SEEDS mixes like milo etc. Lots of good advice in your video.
Hi there, my empathies re the finches, our chaffinches and greenfinches suffered this same fungal disease here in the UK - great idea re leaving the sunflower hearts in the husks when faced with this. Squirrels the same here, one local one destroys the feeders where the openings are to try to get to the seed etc inside :/ Thanks for your comment, it's interesting to hear what is going on in other countries too - best wishes, Joel
👍🏼 thanks for the tips
You're very welcome :) Best wishes to you both - Joel
I had three malamutes and they’re wonderful digs. Your boys cross is a particular favourite of mine. 💙
That's a handful Freda! They certainly are wonderful though, Sirius is nearly 15 now, getting about slowly but he's still enjoying life :) Best wishes, and thank you for subscribing, it really helps - Joel
Great information Joel love the suet feeders. I didn't have good luck with the commercial made suet you buy pre made so I ventured out and came up with my own recipe.
2 cups cornmeal, 2 cups oats, 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar. Melt 1 cup peanut butter and 1 cup suet ( meat fat) in a pan pour dry ingredients in a little at time time. Fill up you suet cage and set in the freezer til harden and serve. And your right lots of species of birds love suet. Great video love my Goldfinch,Jay's, Starlings, Sparrow,and many other bird species in my neck of the woods here in California.
Hi there :) This is great, thanks so much - you're obviously doing the right thing with all those grateful visitors - really appreciate your support - best wishes to you and yours in California - Joel
80 to 90% of the Corn crops in the USA are toxic genetically modified Corn, In
other words TOXIC. & much of It is sprayed with cancer causing Glyphosate herbicide.
Chances are you are feeding the birds poison. Good luck finding NON GMO corn meal.
I make my own suet bars. I buy chunks of suet from the grocery store and render them down in my iron skillet or pot. This serves two purposes. It makes a medium for me to include fruit, nuts, seeds, and grain for the birds AND it re-seasons my iron cookware. The woodpeckers devour suet cakes. We get just about every variety of woodpecker visiting, as well as the typical visitors native to south central Michigan, including cardinals, blue jays, nuthatches, chickadees, titmouses, juncos, etc. We also get plenty of those wingless birds more commonly known as squirrels. LOL.
So many people don't want the mess of feeding birds which is so sad because they would miss them if we did not take care of them, after our lovely cat passed i started to feed the birds in our garden ,i seen blue tits ,robins ,magpie ,parrots, pigeons ,wrens, sparrows and a few i have no idea what they are called yet / also bought binoculars to identify what's coming to feed , its taken away alot of the sadness of missing the cat ,so now have a café of a tree with different food for our feathered brethren /Thanks for vid very informative x ps and have a gang of squirrels that fight to get at the feeders but i put out food for them also xx
Wow gorgeous place and snow
Thank you Md - snow is always good at making everything peaceful and beautiful, it is just when it thaws that it makes things look worse! ;) It's a harsh time for birds and animals so I hope people try to help them through - we don't get much snow here in England thankfully. Hope you are well and safe, take good care - Joel
Got 2 mesh feeders and a bird house, I just got a property with a beautiful landscaped garden, thanks for the video. I needed some advice to bring the birds back into it again. The property hasn't had a feeder for a year or so. I have to be careful with seagulls, its summer west of Scotland. I have Berry trees, apple tree, pear tree and plum trees.. Lovely legacy garden.
Hi Sandra - apologies for the delay in acknowledging your comment, just catching up with everyone now - I am so glad this video was helpful to you and I expect you have many bird visitors in the autumn/winter with all those wonderful trees :) Best wishes, Joel
Really interesting! Great video!
Thank you, I really appreciate you taking the time to leave such an encouraging comment, it helps! :) Best wishes - Joel
What a terrific fellow everyone who can should follow his example and try an look out for the little birds especially in winter!
over the past week or so i have noticed a group of 8-9 gold finches on my tube feeders, very exciting :)
great video. greetings from Denmark.
I have three hanging feeders tucked into trees as we have sparrow hawks visiting every now and again, also a tray feeder and also just as important fresh water. ❤🇬🇧
I also have the same problem, unfortunately, it’s nature and all you can do is offer plenty of vegetation, bushes and trees for the birds to hide.
I also boil sugar and water and put it in a shallow dish for the bees. It's a big hit. I'll do it all winter, and if they like I'll do it year around. They also like honey 🍯, no surprise.
Sirius is absolutely beautiful 💜😍 thanks for putting me onto this video Joel, we recently ‘acquired ‘ a flock / charm of goldfinch I got so excited lol 😂🙈 the Nyger seed brought them in here ( probably spelt that wrong) haha!
Good on you for rescuing your lovely boy!
Thank you Lynn, he's a very handsome chap and has come on leaps and bounds (literally!) since his rescue 8 years ago now, I try to spend as much time as I can with him :) Yes, Nyger seed - mine will use the Nyger when the other sunflower heart feeder is already occupied and if it runs out, but I think they have adapted to prefer the sunflower hearts, although boy are they messy eaters! The Robins and Blackbirds, Pigeons etc don't mind as they soon hoover them up. The Goldfinches are such beautiful birds and have definitely adapted and succeeded in making the use of garden feeders - best wishes, Joel
I've been feeding the birds in my garden for years and never even thought of Sunflower hearts,, looks like another feeder is going up very shortly,, cracking vid Joel 👍👍
Sunflower hearts are absolutely devoured by all birds. I only have one feeder and that’s the only food I provide. They discard a lot of seed from mixed seeds and nyjer is never touched by any bird when I tried not even gold finches.
I raised a Raven, she chose to stay around. I've never caged, clipped or tethered her. Because she is a scavenger anything is food for her. What I have found is meat cooked or raw. Hard boiled eggs seem to be a favorite. Posted some of our interactions on RUclips channel if interested!
I would like to see please, do you have a link to your RUclips please?
@stuartclark8910 it this channel I commented with. Push the dog to see . All I post are shorts, mostly with a song! Thanks ! Please let me know if you like it? We Clarks have to stick together. LoL!
HELLO 👋 JOEL . . HOW ARE YOU TODAY ???
LISTEN , MY NAME IS SILVIO , I ‘M FROM ARGENTINA , AND I ‘D LIKE TO SAY , FIRST OF ALL , THAT I JUST LOVE YOUR MARVELOUS PROGRAM ; THERE AREN ‘T TOO MANY AROUND LIKE YOURS !!!!
ALL I CAN ADD IS THAT , SINCE SOME OF THIS FOOD FOR BIRDS 🦅 ARE QUITE EXPENSIVE,
I DID SOME RESEARCH AND I DECIDE NOT USE ANY FEEDER NO MORE BUT , TO STREW IT BY HAND AS IF I WERE FEEDING THE CHICKENS AND I WOULD USE JUST FOOD LEFTOVERS SUCH , FOR INSTANCE , CHOPPED BREAD CRUMBS, SOME GROUND CEREALS OR G R A N O L A WHICH I FOUND TO BE VERY EFFECTIVE FOR THE PURPOSE , CANOLA SEEDS , WHEET , MILLET AND CRANBERRIES, AS WELL !
THANKS 🙏 SO MUCH FOR EVERYTHING YOU DO FOR PEOPLE WHO LOVE BIRDS 🦅 OR MOTHER NATURE , ALRIGHT ? B E W E L L !
The Goldfinch’s love the sunflower hearts and so do Grey Squirrels.
I feed sunflower and peanuts too. $$. I’ve noticed cardinals are ground feeders. They will get on feeder when desperate. I have to try to remember to bring in fat balls and peanut butter or raccoons eat it all. I throw out some dry pet for the when it’s cold but not near bird feeders. Thanks for your videos. Love them.
Hi there, so sorry for the delay in acknowledging you but I'm just trying to catch up with 2 weeks of comments after the Christmas break - however I really enjoyed your comment, it's so nice to know what happens in other countries, particularly those that have Cardinals, such beautiful birds. Best wishes to you and yours for 2023 - Joel
I feed all those things but one thing all the birds seem to like is porridge oats. We live in the country but now have hardly any sparrows or starlings compared to 20 years ago when there were 100s. Wonder if their numbers are less everywhere? ☹️
After putting a trail camera by the feeders & noticing the magpies wouldn’t come close & scoff everything, I’m experimenting with different objects. They’re very wary of new things so if you want to deter them a bit & give the smaller ground feeders a chance, that works well. I even glued a couple of googley eyes on a plastic milk bottle & stood it near the food. They really distrusted that 😆 It doesn’t stop them having a little but by the time they convince themselves it’s actually safe, everything else has had a chance to eat. We have 3 gorgeous Jays which are very shy, but it doesn’t bother them at all. Fascinating!
The googley eyes! That made me laugh out loud, I can imagine it! Great recommendation re the oats Colin - sounds like you're determined and I'm sure the effort will pay off :) Best wishes, stay warm and safe - Joel
Very informative video 😊
Subscribed to your channel 👍
Here in the UK, I use those specific nyja seed feeders where only the Finches can access it. I find that the feeders with a certain diameter hole will attract unwanted birds such as Starlings which hover to feed , and which scare off the smaller ones. The other issue is that birds tend to empty the feeder contents onto the ground which then attract Magpies. I then spend time sweeping this up and reusing it.
Your dog is beautiful ❤
Thank you Robyn ❤ He's 15 in March and although going a little slower than before, he's hanging in and I'm making the most of my time with him. Best wishes, Joel
Aww! Dogs are the absolute best ❤😊
Lovely
I more or less follow exactly what you do Joel. Thanks for sharing. Rog from Wales 🏴
Hi Rog, thank you so much for the support and I am so glad that all these birds are being looked after and helped - best wishes to you and yours, Joel
@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton - thanks Joel. A personal reply means a lot to me. During the lockdowns watching the wild garden birds was amazing entertainment. I have carried on feeding them since. I even have Great Spotted Woodpeckers and they have babies every year; the adults teach their children on the nut feeder. Your amazing too.
@@rogerhargreaves2272 You're very welcome Roger, I do try to acknowledge people's comments when I am notified of them, and it's sometimes difficult to catch up with everyone but I do love to hear what people have to say and especially when they relay about the wildlife in their own gardens - quite envious of your woodpecker chicks, but well-deserved no doubt. I do hope you're enjoying the rest of the channel and that it's helpful - best wishes to you and yours -Joel
@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton - yea, more Woodpecker chicks coming soon I hope. 😀👍
Thanks.. all the best.
Thank you Michael, I appreciate your kind comment - all the best to you and yours for 2023 - Joel
Javanese culture in Indonesia understands that if we are friends with nature then nature will give us a lot of goodness, success for "Wild .............." ....Java Central, Indonesia, watch this video
I really enjoy feeding the birds. My biggest problem is providing ground cover. The trees and bushes in our newly built garden are still very small. Since we have have at least half a meter of snow, the bushes are at best barely visible. But I guess it will sort itself out in time! :D
Hi Anders :) I expect you have Redwings in abundance where you are - it is possible to put apples cut in half on the ground or maybe a table, any flat surface above the snow of course. They are attracted to red apples and I have one eye on my kitchen window as I type - there are 4 Redwings and 2 Fieldfares enjoying the Holly, they are looking at the apples but they are not so brave as the Blackbirds yet. It won't be too long before you have lots of visitors - hope you are well, best wishes - Joel
@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton I'm afraid all the Fieldfares and it's relatives have migrated to warmer places (UK?). They usually arrive in droves as the snow is melting. I haven't seen any Redwings at all. Our classic apple eating bird would be the Bohemian waxwing.
@@andershilden5577 Yes, they are here! I have never had so many in the garden and am thrilled to see them - they will be leaving soon and making their way back to you. I have seen Cedar Waxwing before but never the Bohemian, I would love to see one as they are such beautiful birds. Next winter I hope the story will be different for you and your ground cover encourages many more birds :) Best wishes, as always - Joel
Thank you Joel 👍🏻😃
My pleasure!
hes cute and good boy....and thanx...yor are doing such good work....and its too helpfull for other people...and specially me 😊😊😊🥰🥰🥰
He cannot resist helping! I am so thrilled that the channel is being of help to you and that you are enjoying it. I do this work to share with others so that there are more and more precious habitats created for all those creatures that need our help now, they cannot survive without food that is found in habitats so we can all do our little bit to make a bigger habitat together :) Stay safe Sneha and thank you so much for your support - he is a good boy when he is kept busy! ;) Best wishes, Joel
I hope the sunflower kernels I fave mine where safe. New Bird lady. ❤
SUPER! THANKS, GUY!!!
The Squirrel’s always reck my bird feeders 🎉 and sunflower hearts are great 👍
I can give you .22 solutions for that lol
Thank you Joel,very informative video. I love feeding our fine feathered friends🪶
Grow holly and pyracantha, birds love the berries. My greenfinch, goldfinches just love sunflower hearts, they won’t touch anything else. Starlings and Jays love fat balls. The woodpecker visits occasionally as does the Sparrow Hawk. Chaffinches occasionally visit. Peanuts are taken by the squirrels. Lol. Good work pal.
Very informative video. Thanks
Thank you James, you're very welcome :) Hope you find the channel helpful, there's lots here to help widlife in your own green space - best wishes and thanks for taking the time to leave a positive comment :) Joel
Thank you so much for this information, and for not forgetting about the squirrels, I have a bit of s problem tho, I’ve become attached to feeding the squirrels and I think they depend on me for food on the winter and also in the spring summer here in NY, I think I’m annoying my neighbors, I have approx. 15 or so that enjoy the nuts and sun flower seeds, should I stop this addicting habit/addiction? Also another question the nuts need to be unsalted?? Thank you for what you do🙏 your dog is absolutely beautiful!!!!
Hi there Beth, so sorry for the delay. The UK has a very different attitude to the Grey Squirrel, however they didn't just arrive all those years ago without human help and I love reading about people that care about ALL the living things, not just the pretty ones, not just the ones with beautiful song etc. Squirrels will of course eat both eggs and young chicks in nests but any nest boxes can be "proofed" with what we refer to as "chicken wire", it allows birds in and out and squirrels thwarted :) I would always recommend unsalted nuts, just in case. Thank you re Siri, he is 15 soon and the difference in these two/three short years is highlighted by the difference in him in this video. He's enjoying a slow retirement and everything at his own pace now :) Thank you for the encouragement and support too, it makes a huge difference. I hope you find the other videos on the channel helpful. Best wishes, Joel
Nice and simple presentation, thanks Joel. A 'flock' of Goldfinches is known as a 'Charm of Goldfinches'! Great thanks
Thank you Les, I really appreciate your kind words and support :) Best wishes to you and yours - Joel
Thank you, I really enjoyed your video.
You're very welcome Patty - really appreciate your support and I'm glad it was helpful to you - best wishes to you and yours - Joel
What a great video, very interesting and informative. I am new to feeding birds and I find it fascinating to watch them. Well done. I shall look forward to the next video. 🙂👍
Hi Martin, thanks so much, I really appreciate your kind words and support, it makes a difference. It can certainly become addictive when they start to visit and you can watch their behaviour and habits, it also gives a good feeling knowing you are helping them through difficult times due to loss of habitat but also natural food sources too in turn. If you go to the "videos" section on the channel there are lots of helpful videos there but I hope to update the channel regularly, particularly now the days are shorter and I am home sooner :) Enjoy the festivities, best wishes - Joel
Thank you Joel for your kind words. I am 67 and my son is 33 and Christmas is not a good time for me due to a loss in the family but we keep smiling and we find watching birds gives a sense of calm as well as learning about what birds eat and how they live their life's generally .I need to buy feeders ect so I've got a lot to do. Hope you have a great Christmas and a good and safe new year.l look forward to future videos. Martin. 👍
@@martinhall60 Sincerely sorry to hear about your loss Martin, I really am. If you ever need any advice at all, or even want to send a few photos of your grateful visitors then always feel free to drop me a line at hazelwoodlandscapes@hotmail.com, I'd love to hear from you. I'm more than happy to help. Thanks for thinking of those birds and helping them through tough times. Best wishes to you and your son - Joel
Here in the US, we despise Starlings, which are an introduced species - noisy pests that bully other species and deplete the food very rapidly.
Thanks Joel, another video full of great information. I am not having much success this year, the suet balls aren't even touched, go mouldy and I have to throw them away. I have given up on peanuts completely. The seed mix mostly sits there and even the sunflower seeds go down very slowly, although a wood pigeon sits at the feeder for ages getting the seeds out. My real success is a mealworm feeder that is emptied by the starlings in minutes (I notice you don't mention mealworms). I have not moved any of my feeders but I had to cut back a nearby mature trachelospermum at the end of last summer to replace the fence behind it. Before that I was inundated with house sparrows and starlings. Rarely see a house sparrow now, although a male blackbird and magpie visit regularly, and of course the wood pigeons! Do you think the birds will re appear when the trachelospermum regrows? I have a small garden with a silver birch so the garden is cosy. Feeling disappointed and despondent!!! Your garden is beautiful, as is your dog. You are also a natural in front of the camera, you explain things well and in such an easy going way - you need your own TV show. Apologies for the loooong comment! Take care
Hi Suzanne! No need to apologise at all :) Mealworms are absolutely great and, although more expensive of course, the live mealworms are a real help to parent birds in Spring when they need insects to give protein and moisture to their young. Yes, if not taken rather soon then fatballs can become "mouldy" but I'm fortunate that they don't last long in my garden - if you have any cover then do put them as close as possible so that they're not rained on and I'm sure you already know to discard any food that has become mouldy. I'm afraid that the removal of the Jasmine may have affected your visitor numbers but they will return as soon as the cover is back. They're pretty fast growers so don't be despondent yet :) Forgive me if I'm repeating what's said in the video but cover always attracts more birds - see the Coppice Belt video, although I appreciate that space may not allow. For now, appreciate the pigeons and blackbirds - the more birds in Spring the more others will be encouraged too :) Thank you so much for your wonderful comments - I'm trying my best, in between work of course, to upload a couple of videos a week, but don't want people to get "Joel Fatigue" either! ;) I'm always here if you have any questions - do take good care, don't be disappointed yet, Spring is on it's way - Best wishes, and thank you so much again - Joel
@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton Hi Joel, thanks so much for your reply. I am feeling more positive about the lack of birds now. I am going to try moving my feeders later. Unfortunately, I have a narrow (terraced house) garden so the use of trees, shrubs etc is limited . I am in the process of changing my bird feeders to easy to clean ones as I could never get tem clean enough and had to keep throwing them away!! I don't think you need to worry about 'Joel Fatigue', so long as you have something interesting to say (and you do) but obviously you have your work and your family so your time is limited. Off to watch your video on climbers for inspiration, and I really feel I need to re read your book, and maybe take notes this time as I have a mind like a sieve! Thanks again Joel, your help and advice really is much appreciated. All the best to you and your family.
Hi Suzanne, I am so sorry I missed your reply! What wonderful words, I'm always here if you need any additional advice to the book - thanks so much again for your kind words - it makes all the difference :)
@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton No problem Joel, you are so good at connecting with us but there are bound to be times when you miss things or are even too busy to reply, and that's fine! Take care
@@suzannebramble6564 Thanks Suzanne, it seems RUclips's notifications are intermittent, I certainly saw this one! Look forward to seeing you Sunday hopefully - best wishes to you - Joel
Great info ! Thank you !
Thanks for the great video. Don't forget oats. Loved by the blackbird and the woodpecker. And if you are in a country that like christmas ham on the table at, well, on christmas eve, take all the fat and give them to the birds. Of course in small pieces. Cheers
Due to the very cold weather the meatballs become hard so: I smash them up and mix them up with suet pellets. The birds love them.
Needless to say,they have seeds and peanuts,too.
The squirrels have peanuts in shells and hazelnuts....the magpies are catered for with shell peanuts scattered all over 😊
I melt their frozen bath and they enjoy drinking until frozen again!
Love them all.
PS:Fatballs not meatballs...Uribe spel!ing😠
Sorry!
Nice video👍🏼 - one thing I did learn through research this year is that shelled nuts and seeds are too difficult for birds to open once they get wet.. however I guess the squirrels could always eat them if the birds can’t 😂
That's great. I envy you for interacting with animals.
It takes a while for the birds to get used to new feeders - I envy the scenery in the driving you do! ;) Stay safe where you are, and thank you for the support - best wishes, Joel
Great info, I always wondered what Brian from Westlife did after.
First belly-laugh of 2023! Sorry for the delay in acknowledging you, just trying to get through 2 weeks of comments :) Someone else suggested that I was in fact Canello Alvarez, who I'd not heard of until about a year ago! Best wishes to you and yours for 2023 - Joel
I feed birds year round I leave up my finch feeder in winter here n I see sparrows land on it . great video n dogvis gorgeous
I use a base of 1 part high protein white flour to 2 parts of lard , after which I blend 3 part seed to one part base mix. From this I can make my own fat balls / blocks ( winter only ) , which helps to off sett cost at this time.
Thank you , for your help & advice Joel .
This is brilliant John, thanks for sharing this :) Wishing you and yours a brilliant 2023 - Joel
Had loads of tube feeders that just got demolished by squirrels but now have one with stainless steel hole surrounds and perching pegs also bought one to hold sunflower hearts that has tiny feed holes ( approx 4 mm across) which squirrels can't get their teeth into. Both can be found on Amazon. Year before last year 2 goldfinches last year at least 2 dozen also get a woodpecker loves fat balls. Chap is right about putting your feeder near cover, robins in particular will pop out grab one seed and go back in cover to eat it.
Sunflower hearts are easily the most popular feed in my yard. Bluebirds come around for the mealy worms, cardinals for the safflower, and 4th feeder is a mix of nuts, etc. could be anything there. Nyjer...I can't even give it away...got a bag of it, but no birds are eating.
Same here Karl, although I don't have the wonderful Bluebirds in the UK sadly - but although you can see the goldfinch enjoying the Nyjer in this video, it's only because the sunflower ports are already occupied, if they have the choice they'll all go for those :) Best wishes, Joel
@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton Thanks for the reply. Bluebirds tend not to come to urban areas, but one day two showed up for the sunflower and I immediately got a meal worm feeder just for them. Two years later and they're still here. They are fearless it seems. They will land a couple feet (.61 m) from me if they see a grub. Maybe my Nyjer is bad. Even when other feeders are empty, the finches won't eat the Nyjer. Thanks for your channel. It's appreciated.
@@karl662 That's brilliant Karl, what a reward for your efforts :) Years ago it was recommended to feed Nyjer Nyjer and more Nyjer for finches... they've clearly changed their preferences it seems :) Thank you for your support, I'm really grateful. Best wishes, Joel
What’s up with finches not eating thistle/nyjer seed? A couple of years ago, I had a flock devouring it. Now, although it’s a clean feeder with FRESH nyjer seed, I’ve yet to see any goldfinches. Hmm. I don’t want to attract house sparrows at all, but I might try the sunflower hearts until they come back, then try to quickly switch over to nyjer again to avoid house sparrows.
@@Hermitas Good to know. I thought it was just my finches. If I only fed sunflower, and nothing else, they'd all be happy.
Exactly the same foods I offer minus the thistle. Thanks for the info.
Thank you!!
You're very welcome Elizabeth :) I hope you enjoy the rest of the channel too - best wishes, Joel
THANK YOU
You're welcome William - thank you for your support :)
Hi Joel. Thanks for this, really good information here. Do you have any problems with rats going after the bird food?
Yeah I have a problem with this I normally take seed in at a night as I’ve that’s when rats tend to come
Hi Mark, luckily no problems for me - but that's not to say that they won't be encouraged by this extra food. The best way is to keep the ground under the feeders clear if it is dropped by the birds. Goldfinches as seen in the video are pretty messy eaters, not that the Blackbirds, Robins and Collared Doves mind as they soon clear it up :) The wood pigeons, jays and magpies get through the food on the table as they're now used to the food being there. But, as "UK Amphibians" say above, if a problem occurs then the food can be brought in at night. Hope you're doing ok - best wishes, Joel
Since I live in an apartment with a balcony garden that already has plenty of water sources since I live in a climate that gets extremely hot and dry and my neighbor that is now leaving had a bird feeder, is a mixture of nuts, seeds, fruits and mill worms a good idea? I live in central Texas if that helps
Aweeee 🐕 so cute ❤️🐦😄 love those bird sounds, how did u mange to get so close to them to film that? They are so beautiful 💖 God bless you and yours
Hello over there! Thank you so much, I used the go-pro tied to the shrub here - they were pretty cautious for a few hours as they're not used to seeing it there and I know birds can be cautious of cameras, as the lens can appear like a predator eye to them. This sure allowed me to see what messy eaters they are though - but the ground feeding birds appreciated it :) Take good care, Joel
@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton that's so true, cameras do looks like eyes, and not something I would have thought of, thanks Joel God bless you!
@@SereneSoakingSounds My pleasure - stay warm where you are - Joel
The birds here in north Texas have no problem opening the black oil sunflower seeds . Thisle seeds work very well for the smaller birds .
Thanks for this George, it's so good when people interact and give advice, it's what the channel is all about and I really appreciate it. Best wishes to you and yours for 2023 - Joel
Shelled walnuts are loved by Cardinals and Blue Jays!
I like the variety of birds you get! Along the eastern seaboard of the US, 20 miles inland ...we have found ordering wholesale peanut 'splits (no shells) from North Carolina ~200lbs at a time as the best bang for the buck ...with Black Oil sunflower seeds as co-equal in desirability, but a good deal more expensive. Perhaps the worst expenditure is those multi-mixes. The biggest problem living in the woods are the tree-rats. They drive off birds and hog the feeder. You need to feed on a pole with a predator collar to keep them off; birds naturally share by chucking bits over the side of the platform. Cheers. Jim
I really enjoyed the video
Nice video
Thank you so much, I really appreciate you taking the time to leave a positive comment, it makes all the difference :) Hope all is good for you in India and you are encouraging people to provide for nature in your beautiful gardens. Best wishes, Joel
Thank you for all your information. I love watching it. Since 2 years I have been changing my garden into a wildlife garden.
I’ve just bought a small pond that we will dig in. I was wondering don’t you have any trouble with chew birds?
I even have a cage around my feeding tubes, but they keep trying. They always come as soon as the small birds are eating.
The tube where the fatballs go in, also with a cage around it, well they still empty it within a few days.
How do you deal with this? We live in the Netherlands.
Hallo just butting in for a moment: we had a pond to attract wildlife, and on the summer evenings a whole family of hedgehogs came over a busy road to drink!
Sadly the very large adult drowned in our smallish pond because of not having any steps/rocks/ stones to climb over😢!
I was so upset as we thought we had done our best to encourage all sorts of wildlife and to provide the beast for them: and so the point being is to think how to keep these animals and birds safe!! 💯
LOVE IT
Similar outlook to the Garden @ rear of this property. As a very enthusiastic nature lover -
I've used Fruit Cake ( on its own &/or mixed with Shredded Suet ) also Various fruits especially Overripe Bananas - Robins
Seem to be Forever on the want - when There's any Banana available. Occasionally there's been some Currants, Raisins , Sultanas, Almonds left over from baking - that are mixed together ready for when there's a Carpet of SNOW.
Other seeds I found attractive to certain birds
Mixed Budget Seed,
Millet mixed millets &/or Sprays, Fennel Seeds
Nice shariing and nice information bro
Thank you so much for the support! :) Hope you and your family are well - best wishes, Joel
Fantastic ❤️ I put out a Niger feeder with seed and nothing has gone near it, so I will scatter the seed in the Park so as not to waste it. I removed the snow 3x today to expose the seed so the birds can keep feeding. So funny to watch the yellowhammers belly flopping across the snow, bless them ❤️ I think I'll put out a small table to keep food off the ground as noticed a rat on the camera and as you say, ground feeders need their right environment, so hopefully a win-win (especially if I lure in a hedgehog or 2, they can't eat the seed dregs or peanuts and get ill)
You. Have. YELLOWHAMMERS?! Wow, I'm yet to lure those to the garden, think I might pass out if I see one! Yep, same here, constant snow so regular outdoor visits to ensure the food on the table remained exposed and visible. One or two goldfinch use the Nyger but I do wonder if they would use it more if the sunflower hearts weren't there - they're such messy eaters though but they in turn provide extra food for the ground feeding birds underneath :) Hope you get some hedgehogs in Spring - take care out there, stay warm - Joel
Donna George-Henderson hi Donna I’ve bought Niger seeds a couple of times. We live near woods & fields & have many bird species but nothing has EVER touched the Niger seeds...on or off the ground. Haven’t got a clue what birds actually like them.....
@@colinmoyes8432 hey Colin, it's strange huh, I guess somewhere something will eat them... I will scatter some along the riverbank next time I'm passing 😊
I think you need shells just so they can store something in the tree to eat later. Shell preserves/protects...like acorns & no peanuts, try walnuts, almost as cheap but more fats for birds.
Lovely video again. Did you do the big garden bird watch last weekend? I got quite a variety but low numbers. I don’t get any starlings in my garden tho for some reason. And no finches either. Tits, Robins, dunnocks and blackbirds mainly
Thank you so much :) I did indeed do the bird watch. Typically the 4 greenfinches I have seen lately didn't show during the count, and no chaffinches for a good while - but good regular numbers of the others and I was chuffed to see the RedWing in the holly yesterday morning. I have a large colony of House Sparrows (circa 30) that are in the old buddleja every day, they go between the neighbour's Wild Privet and the buddleja, around 3-4 Dunnocks always underneath. The starlings showed in good numbers in the tree yesterday, as per the video but that was a rare sighting, I usually get 3-4 down to the feeders now. The goldfinches have certainly increased in numbers but finches in general are still struggling unfortunately. You got a nice count though, by the sound of it :) Hope all is good where you are - take good care, Joel
@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton yes I got a good count. Sod’s law 5 minutes after I posted my results I got a pair of robins and only ever had 1 before haha. I also took a picture of my garden on the day to show what it looks like and to compare that against future years when hopefully, with advice from your good self, I should see number increase as I plant better wildlife plants, shrubs and trees.
@@MrC-ov1ht Absolutely chuffed about that! Do send an email when you're ready with the photos etc - I'm happy to help remotely when I can - isn't it typical re the pair of Robins, every time I got the camera out yesterday everything seemed to disappear and I ended up in the kitchen, filming from the window with the window wide open - didn't go down too well with the other residents of this house ;) Take good care - speak soon
Nice job
Thank you John - appreciated :) Best wishes, Joel
Bird balls, I bought some today but I'm looking to make stuff
Wow nice Wolf thankyou for cleaning up other peoples mess on the world
Thank you SO much and welcome to the channel - I hope it helps people worldwide to ensure they can make space for nature within their gardens, balconies, greenspaces - take good care and best wishes to you! :) Joel
Hi there great channel please could you try me where you get your Nyjer seed holders from please
Hi there Kevin - if you could drop me a line at enquiries@wildyourgarden.com then we will be able to help, I am out and about at the moment and trying to catch up with everyone, but do send a message and I will be able to give advice :) Best wishes - Joel
Greeting from the USA!! Thanks for all the info!! Your dog is beautiful!! My black lab is such a "bird brain" he loves to eat bird seed (especially sunflower seeds) and peanuts!
Thank you. He certainly is a character - he was rescued from Romania along with another one who's not so keen on the snow, but keen on ANY type of food! I have a rescue from Spain too and he has some Black Lab in him, along with Galgo. Luckily Sirius has the goofiness of a Malamute but the discipline of a GSD when it suits him ;) Hope all is good where you are, take good care - Joel
I stopped feeding birds after being overrun with rats, my neighbours garden is very overgrown plus I have the canal at the bottom of the garden, I have started to feed the birds again as the weather is too cold for them to cope I am amazed how many birds are coming in to
feed
I have a problem with rats, who can’t get to actual feeders, but are always around the bottom of the pole searching for bits knocked out by the greedy starlings. Luckily it is just two or three rats that still turn up each day hoping to find something edible on the floor. I feed sunflower hearts, dried mealworms, and soft fat that I buy in a large block and fill tubs with. I have an army of doves that visit every day, and three squirrels that have discovered the feeders. They manage to jump onto the feeding station from a nearby bush. I don’t mind the squirrels, but they are starting to chew around the openings of the feeders.
Agree with your comments about the rodent attraction. This is the downside.
I have had problems with rats and mice in my attic, but I still like feeding birds. I find it helpful to bring in my feeders--all 8 of them--at night. I have a shelf in my storage room with sterilite containers (those clear plastic tubs) that hold the feeders. I also buy seed in bulk and then put it into smaller ziplock bags. These are also put into sterilite tubs so as not to attract rats.
I have also found, if you have a real rodent problem, that most rodents don't like the hot-pepper seeds. These are very expensive, but at least your neighbors won't complain as much. My local feed store has these in bulk size.
I have two feeder poles placed on opposite sides of the house. One pole has a baffle and no nearby trees, so any kind of seed can go there. (I don't have a huge hawk population.) The other pole is close to my window and house, so that is where I use the hot-pepper seed. Otherwise the squirrels and chipmunks would eat up my bird feed budget in one week.
No matter what I put out they will go for sunflower hearts first. I have 7 feeders with hearts in them, two peanut feeders and I scatter robin/finch mixed seeds under an 8ft artificial christmas tree, with rebar up the centre for strength, I put in the garden to provide cover during winter. The most Goldfinches I have had at one time was 15 and it is not unusual to have flocks of 50 birds circling awaiting their turn.
Peckish is a really good brand
brilliant great video loved it I get loads of birds but mainly wood pigeons jackdaws magpies ... I have to tap on the window at times to chase them as I feel sorry for the little ones like bluetits robins sparrows wrens blackbirds
etc .
The purchase of a mesh feeder will stop the bigger birds stealing the food but the likes of blackbirds, robins and sparrows prefer ground feeding.
My goldfinches have switched to sunflower seeds too
Great video! Unfortunately our family of squirrels takes almost everything we put out and I don’t want to NOT feed them because I love seeing them. but it is annoying!
Hi. I hear you on this. It’s tricky. Can you get a metal sliding feeder, and hang it off a long rope/wire from a tree or bush, so the Squirrels can’t hang on it? Then add peanuts on the ground for the squirrels? Hope that helps. Cheers. Joel.
I bought a couple of plastic domes from Amazon, hang one above and one below on a bird feeder stand, stops squirrels in their tracks
@@treacleization Personally, I avoid Amazon. It’s a terrible company let by a narcissist. Instead, I urge people to support other businesses so Amazon doesn’t put them out of business. Just Google for other options.
The baffles are a start but adding chilli flakes to the seed will soon reduce of stop the squirrels visits and the chilli flakes will not harm the birds.
@@666DW For years, I used hot pepper suet and squirrels would not eat. Then, suddenly, they seemed to like it. I also used hot pepper seed. Same story. It seems they can acquire a taste for hot pepper her in Virginia USA.
We’re planting native species that serve as food for caterpillars. Unfortunately a lot of the natives we’ve planted have been decimated by deer. Frickity frackin’ deer. I’m looking for sources of live mealworms for the fledglings this spring!
Hi, i loved this video and I am hooked. Can I ask if you can feed rye seeds to any birds as I bought 5kg to sow about 100 seeds and you can imagine how much I have left. Thank you.
Absolutely! I am not sure which country you are in as I have viewers from all over the world, but Rye was a main food source for so many of our smaller birds in the UK and I am positive that this will help them wherever you are. It seems you weren't aware of your generosity at the time of ordering the seed, but you'll have some very grateful visitors now :) Don't forget to feed a little at a time, rather than throw down 4.9kg (!) as you may encourage unwanted visitors, but every day there will be at least one desperate creature that's very grateful. Very best wishes, Joel
Thanks very much Joel. I will do that and I am in Lincolnshire UK and if I get lots of birds, it will be worth my grains. @@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton
@@tanju9041 Brilliant, you're in the perfect place - I am sure the birds will find you, let me know how you get on :) Best wishes, Joel
Thanks again Joel. I will let you know how many hundreds will come knocking!@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton
When we put seed feeders out, we find the smaller birds drop quite a few and the pigeons and doves tend to hoover them up so everyone wins!
Absolutely! Nature’s hoovers! 😆👍
Snow! We have not had any down here this year, but it has been wet for a few days now, that makes it very difficult to keep the bird feed in good condition , I am very concerned that any seed left under damp conditions will start to ferment and cause problems, the other problem we have is that with the shear numbers of birds feeding it is difficult to arrange the seed in a large enough area, at this moment I am looking out at over 50 Goldfinches, all fighting to get at the Sunflower Hearts, (which I find are the very best for attracting them), I have now started spreading the seed out on a large paved area ,this does at least give them more area to feed in relative isolation, they tend to feed in relays, with another flock,(charm), waiting up in a nearby tree, I have found the Sunflower Hearts the vey best feed here, I even had a House Sparrow, (the first I have seen for years), feeding, next year I think things will not be so good as now the disaster of brexit has hit us, we will no longer be able to buy our 40 Kg bags of Sunflower Hearts from UK, ironic really as they are sourced from Bulgaria by Croston Mill, who can no longer send them to us in France, another victim of brexit. Stay safe ! Chris B.
Great news about the House Sparrow Chris! Yep, I tend to put out smaller amounts of food, but regularly to ensure nothing ferments and rots, not that at this time of year there's much wastage. Another victim of Brexit it seems, I didn't realise the Bulgarian connection with the sunflower hearts - time to learn Bulgarian and shop direct? ;) Bird food amongst other things are increasing in price because of this :/ It's snowing again now and apparently it will drop to around -7 here this week - I'll be regularly "defrosting" the barrel ponds, pond and birdbath and be out there regularly brushing snow off the bird food on the table I guess! That's a wonderful number of Goldfinches you have, let's hope the House Sparrows follow suit. Take good care Chris and speak soon - Joel
@@WildYourGardenWithJoelAshton I was really pleased to see 3 House Sparrows on the feeding tray today, I almost missed them but they were 3 unusual birds in a huge mass of Goldfinches, I never thought I would be surprised to see a House Sparrow ! But there are the first ones I have seen here for many years, I think they may be making a come back. Chris B.
@@453421abcdefg12345 Yay! That's brilliant news Chris :) I'm currently watching an increase in the Fieldfares and Redwings outside - way too distracting! I've just got some good footage of them - one Fieldfare in particular seems more interested in chasing the others away, rather than making the most of the 50% berries now left on the Holly - the Blackbird yesterday was putting a lot of effort into wasting energy chasing away others! Think he's outnumbered at the moment - I've put apples down under the holly on a bench but no takers yet... there's so much else I should be doing but I can't drag myself away! Speak soon, Joel
Thank you for confirming what my backyard finches have told me about sunflower chips. The reason we started feeding them chips is we didn't like the mess that in shell sunflower shells made.
That is the upside, the downside costs more until I found 50 lb. Bags at about $1.10 a lb. for the previous 7+ years, now in last 2 years they are $1.90 a lb, if you can get them.
Let's go Brandon!
Excellent Thomas - thanks so much, wish I was in the US now as the chips are certainly more expensive! So glad you got a good result, it's so rewarding to see them finding the food source and keeping them well during winter - best wishes to you and yours, Joel
Would love to know where you found them I for $1.10/lb.
@@karenpiermarini3628 if only you lived in the Uk Thomas 😉😊 Thank you for commenting and take care
Sunflower hearts and peanuts are my favorite seeds to use in order to keep nearly every local species happy. However I bought a bag of seed mix that had hearts plus nyjer seed mixed in. Years ago, I fed nyjer regularly for the finches. But this year when I used that mixed bag in the tube feeders the birds literally discarded all of the nyjer and only ate the hearts. Huge mess of uneaten nyjer under the feeders so I decided to switch back to just sunflower. I find that a bit strange. Great video btw!
I had to compost the nyjer seed I bought; no bird was interested, even when the sunflower hearts ran out...
Same experience here. Sunflower seeds get devoured. Nyjer seed was never touched even when nothing else was available. Birds do not like it. I also know that any seed mix results in a lot of waste as I would watch birds spit out about 5-6 seeds and eat the next one and so on resulting in mess and pigeons living on the floor under the bird feeder. I never bother with anything other than sunflower hearts. I also have lots of gold finches feed and they didn’t like the nyjer seed either.
Starting off here in Dublin any tips food /feedingtroughs anything good vid 2
Can I still put out SOME seed in the summer? I do like to see them swoop and have a snack. The bird bath helps otherwise the birds are hidden! Thank you 👌
Of course Jane :) I do this too, but I try to make it complimentary to the insects that they need to ensure they can bring moisture back to the chicks, birds can't carry water in their beaks of course so it's insects, caterpillars etc that they rely on to provide "wet" food that seeds just can't do. But yes, absolutely, they will appreciate the additional help and as long as they are small seeds or very crushed peanuts, the chicks won't choke. Hope this helps - and thank you for helping the creatures so desperately in need right now - welcome to the channel, and best wishes, Joel