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Home > Archive > UK gardening > July 2005 > Birds in your garden
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Birds in your garden
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| We had our garden open to the public yesterday and one of the comments was
'Don't you have a lot of birds?'. We have bird feeders behind wire netting
to keep the Pigeons off and also to try to keep the Starlings off.
I think that Sparrows are our most common bird along with a few Tits and a
baby Robin :-))
Keeping the vermin cat out of the garden is one of the most important
elements of our being able to enjoy the 'natural' wild life. Why the Hell
aren't all vermin cats drowned at birth? Just what good do they do for
society? NOTHING
Oh God the 'Owners' will now have a go at me to prove that they DO NOT have
me killfiled :-))))))
Mike
:-)))))
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| Andy Pandy 2005-07-26, 2:21 pm |
| On Tue, 26 Jul 2005 16:02:44 +0000 (UTC), "Mike" <not@here.thank.you>
wrote:
>We had our garden open to the public yesterday and one of the comments was
>'Don't you have a lot of birds?'. We have bird feeders behind wire netting
>to keep the Pigeons off and also to try to keep the Starlings off.
>
>I think that Sparrows are our most common bird along with a few Tits and a
>baby Robin :-))
>
>Keeping the vermin cat out of the garden is one of the most important
>elements of our being able to enjoy the 'natural' wild life. Why the Hell
>aren't all vermin cats drowned at birth? Just what good do they do for
>society? NOTHING
>
>Oh God the 'Owners' will now have a go at me to prove that they DO NOT have
>me killfiled :-))))))
>
>Mike
>
>:-)))))
>
>
I'm not a great devotee of cats though I do know they provide a great
deal of stress relief for their appreciative owners. It also appears
that in the majority of cases, the RSPB do not agree with your
assumption, though I too find it hard to believe I must admit.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/gardens/advi...py_of_index.asp
Andy
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> I'm not a great devotee of cats though I do know they provide a great
> deal of stress relief for their appreciative owners.
Stress relief?
Try http://www.bkwsu.com/
Mike
Who never knowingly tells lies
Does he Mabbett?
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> Yes... perhaps though not the best choice of term. :-)
>
No
Try again.
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| Andy Pandy 2005-07-26, 5:21 pm |
| On Tue, 26 Jul 2005 18:16:09 +0000 (UTC), "Mike" <not@here.thank.you>
wrote:
>
>No
>
>Try again.
>
Just try stroking a pussy for a few minutes and you'll see. :-)
Andy
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"Andy Pandy" <AndyPandy@nosuch.co.uk> wrote in message
news:v05de1l7v5jmqp0q173lnasci8tol1u8r4@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 26 Jul 2005 18:16:09 +0000 (UTC), "Mike" <not@here.thank.you>
> wrote:
>
>
> Just try stroking a pussy for a few minutes and you'll see. :-)
>
> Andy
If it comes that close I will strangle the vermin
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| Andy Pandy 2005-07-26, 6:21 pm |
| On Tue, 26 Jul 2005 19:58:23 +0000 (UTC), "Mike" <not@here.thank.you>
wrote:
>
>"Andy Pandy" <AndyPandy@nosuch.co.uk> wrote in message
>news:v05de1l7v5jmqp0q173lnasci8tol1u8r4@4ax.com...
>
>If it comes that close I will strangle the vermin
>
See :-
http://www.bupa.co.uk/health_inform...ng/general/pet/
You might just change your mind !
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| >
> See :-
>
> http://www.bupa.co.uk/health_inform...ng/general/pet/
> You might just change your mind !
>
>
I am a dog lover.
I have had dogs.
I have trained dogs.
Good enough for you?
and before you come down on the old chestnut about dog crap on pavements,
that is as a result of untrained humans.
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| [H]omer 2005-07-26, 7:21 pm |
| Mike wrote:
> Keeping the vermin cat out of the garden is one of the most important
> elements of our being able to enjoy the 'natural' wild life. Why the Hell
> aren't all vermin cats drowned at birth? Just what good do they do for
> society? NOTHING
>
> Oh God the 'Owners' will now have a go at me to prove that they DO NOT have
> me killfiled :-))))))
You insensitive clod!
There's nothing wrong with cats ... that a muzzle, straightjacket, and
shackles won't cure 
Seriously though, there are a whole series of laws that restrict what
dogs (and their owners) can do - Control of Dogs Order; Town Police
Clauses Act; Dogs Act; Animals Act, Road Traffic Act, Clean
Neighbourhoods and Environment Act; Guard Dogs Act; and the Dangerous
Dogs Act.
Where are the associated restrictions for cats and their owners?
Every law I've read relating to cats is about *protecting* the cold,
beady-eyed, vicious little b'stards.
At least dogs don't decimate the local wildlife.
If someone is going to have a pet, let them keep it on a leash. No excuses.
I’m not naturally malicious, but sorry (to those who care) – if I saw a
cat attacking the birds in my garden then I’d bash its head in with the
garden spade, and have no compunction about doing it either.
--
[H]omer
Problem with cats in your garden?
Try this: http://img169.exs.cx/img169/6382/kitten8va.jpg
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| Herr Doctor Freud 2005-07-26, 7:21 pm |
| On Tue, 26 Jul 2005 16:49:04 +0000 (UTC), "Mike" <not@here.thank.you>
wrote:
>
>
>Stress relief?
>
>Try http://www.bkwsu.com/
>
>Mike
>Who never knowingly tells lies
>Does he Mabbett?
>
Is your straight jacket too tight?
Bored with banging your head against the padded wall.?
Is it really too late to ask for professional help?
Do your old comrades know about your problem?
Dr. Freud
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| Herr Doctor Freud 2005-07-26, 7:21 pm |
| On Tue, 26 Jul 2005 20:39:44 +0000 (UTC), "Mike" <not@here.thank.you>
wrote:
>
>I am a dog lover.
>
>I have had dogs.
and old trick you learnt in the navy.
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| Andy Pandy 2005-07-27, 3:21 am |
| On Tue, 26 Jul 2005 20:39:44 +0000 (UTC), "Mike" <not@here.thank.you>
wrote:
>
>I am a dog lover.
>
>I have had dogs.
>I have trained dogs.
>
>
>Good enough for you?
>
>and before you come down on the old chestnut about dog crap on pavements,
>that is as a result of untrained humans.
Sadly, it sounds as if your dogs are not providing the required level
pacification. I recommend you try a cat next time... Much better
results ! :-)))
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| In article <dc5mr4$m5g$1@nwrdmz03.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com>,
"Mike" <not@here.thank.you> wrote:
> We had our garden open to the public yesterday and one of the comments was
> 'Don't you have a lot of birds?'. We have bird feeders behind wire netting
> to keep the Pigeons off and also to try to keep the Starlings off.
Leaving aside any mention of cats, dogs, etc .. I am MUCH more
interested in the type of wire netting you use to protect the bird
feeders. What type is it? What gauge (i.e. how big are the holes?)
ta
john
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"John" <lalaw44@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:lalaw44-2CE2CA.08420627072005@ucsnew1.ncl.ac.uk...
> In article <dc5mr4$m5g$1@nwrdmz03.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com>,
> "Mike" <not@here.thank.you> wrote:
>
was[color=darkred]
netting[color=darkred]
>
> Leaving aside any mention of cats, dogs, etc .. I am MUCH more
> interested in the type of wire netting you use to protect the bird
> feeders. What type is it? What gauge (i.e. how big are the holes?)
>
> ta
> john
Better point out that I am on the Isle of Wight and do not have the Grey
Squirrel problem so we can operate without being cautious of those.
We have a post mounted semi-circular seed feeder which has a semi circular
delivery scoop along the bottom and a bar for the birds to perch on. We
faound that the birds were scattering the seeds looking for what they
wanted, so I made a plywood tray some 12" square with a notch cut out for
the 4 x 4 post and mounted it about 8" below to scoop to catch the seeds.
This worked fine because some birds could be on the perch whilst others were
on the tray. BUT pigeons could stand on the tray, the perch is too close and
too small for them to use, and the scoop was at beak level and they pretty
soon saw off all the smaller birds AND the seed.
The wire netting is of the 2 inch twisted wire 'cheapo' stuff, hooked round
the tray and standing up to above the seed delivery tray and standing free.
If a pigeon tries to land on this it is too unstable and it clears off. One
side of the tray is in the bushes so there is no wire netting there. The
birds come in through from the bushes AND land on the edge of the tray and
walk through the mesh. There is a Mum in there at the moment with a young
one feeding it. Mum came via the bushes, young 'un went in through the wire.
At present there are birds on the tray, on the peanut nets and on the path
getting the bits which are dropped. They can go on the path and ground for
obvious reasons.
Hope all that makes sense.
Mike
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| On Tue, 26 Jul 2005 20:39:44 +0000 (UTC), "Mike" <not@here.thank.you>
wrote:
>
>I am a dog lover.
>
>I have had dogs.
>I have trained dogs.
>
>
>Good enough for you?
>
>and before you come down on the old chestnut about dog crap on pavements,
>that is as a result of untrained humans.
That paints a revolting picture ;-)
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| On Wed, 27 Jul 2005 08:42:06 +0100, John <lalaw44@hotmail.com> wrote:
>In article <dc5mr4$m5g$1@nwrdmz03.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com>,
> "Mike" <not@here.thank.you> wrote:
>
>
>Leaving aside any mention of cats, dogs, etc .. I am MUCH more
>interested in the type of wire netting you use to protect the bird
>feeders. What type is it? What gauge (i.e. how big are the holes?)
and what sort of netting, wire, elctric fence, razor wire whatever
will keep the squirrels off the bird feeders!
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| >
> and what sort of netting, wire, elctric fence, razor wire whatever
> will keep the squirrels off the bird feeders!
>
Having seen the antics of the Grey Squirrel when visiting the North Island
and how they beat everything, the only suggestion I can make, is to have the
birdfeeder hanging free in a very open space on a thin but strong thread.
(In the hope that the thread will be too small for them to grip) and to have
a large inverted umbrella shaped very small gauge wire netting screen fixed
to the thread and its bottom edge being lower than the feeder.
"IN THEORY" (famous last words) 'If' the Squirrel can grip the cord and come
down it, by the time it has crawled down the 'umbrella' it will be too low
and too far away to get to the feeder. The trouble is, that in time it would
learn to get round the bottom edge and up inside I suppose :-((
Unless an umbrella of something very slippery/shiny is made, then as soon as
it gets to the top on its descent down the cord, it would slide off!!!
?????
Mike
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| Andy Pandy 2005-07-27, 7:21 am |
| On Wed, 27 Jul 2005 09:23:44 +0000 (UTC), "Mike" <not@here.thank.you>
wrote:
>
>Unless an umbrella of something very slippery/shiny is made, then as soon as
>it gets to the top on its descent down the cord, it would slide off!!!
>
>?????
>
>Mike
The answer is a large plastic funnel used for oil etc. Until recently,
I had a nice environmentally green one but it eventually cracked and I
have been unable to locate another.
If anyone know where I might find one, I'd be very grateful.
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| On Wed, 27 Jul 2005 09:23:44 +0000 (UTC), "Mike" <not@here.thank.you>
wrote:
>Having seen the antics of the Grey Squirrel when visiting the North Island
>and how they beat everything, the only suggestion I can make, is to have the
>birdfeeder hanging free in a very open space on a thin but strong thread.
>(In the hope that the thread will be too small for them to grip) and to have
>a large inverted umbrella shaped very small gauge wire netting screen fixed
>to the thread and its bottom edge being lower than the feeder.
>
>"IN THEORY" (famous last words) 'If' the Squirrel can grip the cord and come
>down it, by the time it has crawled down the 'umbrella' it will be too low
>and too far away to get to the feeder. The trouble is, that in time it would
>learn to get round the bottom edge and up inside I suppose :-((
>
>Unless an umbrella of something very slippery/shiny is made, then as soon as
>it gets to the top on its descent down the cord, it would slide off!!!
Tried something similar but without the umbrella. We replaced the
standard hook on a feeder with a long wire but if the wire was too
thick the little fluffy darlings could climb down it and if it was too
thin they just bit right through it and got the feeder onto the
ground.
JB
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| Klara 2005-07-27, 10:21 am |
| In message <4lmee1drpjqjet4flp9h886ro4rldqhd8s@4ax.com>, JB
<this.is.me@somewhere.else> writes
>Tried something similar but without the umbrella. We replaced the
>standard hook on a feeder with a long wire but if the wire was too
>thick the little fluffy darlings could climb down it and if it was too
>thin they just bit right through it and got the feeder onto the ground.
>
>JB
For seeds we have one of the cage types - has worked fine so far. For
peanuts, we want to give access to the woodpeckers, so we have one of
the long tubular holders, which has a metal tube that slides down if the
squirrel tries to come down along it.
http://www.wildforms.co.uk/html/squ...oof_feeder.html
The whole thing hangs from a wire, which itself hangs from a high
washing line put up for the purpose. So far they haven't worked out how
to go along the washing line and then bite through the wire, and the
whole thing is (presumably) too high up off the ground for them to jump
up.
But we are surrounded by sweet chestnut trees which they harvest and
hide, so they are probably not that desperate.
So far, so good ...
--
Klara, Gatwick basin
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| Chris French and Helen Johnson 2005-07-27, 5:21 pm |
| In message <q3kee110pt3nourboakn67ug4knlet2o7l@4ax.com>, JB
<this.is.me@somewhere.else> writes
>On Wed, 27 Jul 2005 08:42:06 +0100, John <lalaw44@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>and what sort of netting, wire, elctric fence, razor wire whatever
>will keep the squirrels off the bird feeders!
>
We had plenty of squirrels in our last garden, plastic feeders were no
good, but there are plenty of feeders around that are pretty squirrel
proof
--
Chris French
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| On Wed, 27 Jul 2005 21:04:29 +0100, Chris French and Helen Johnson
<newspost-c-002@familyfrench.co.uk> wrote:
>We had plenty of squirrels in our last garden, plastic feeders were no
>good, but there are plenty of feeders around that are pretty squirrel
>proof
So far we have found only one design that effectively keeps the
squirrels out but that is such a heavyweight design that it is too
ugly to keep near to the house and, more significantly, keeps half the
birds out.
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| Chris French and Helen Johnson 2005-07-28, 7:21 am |
| In message <id8he1ls6aa5qen7p9h0ohsl8pjoibkruk@4ax.com>, JB
<this.is.me@somewhere.else> writes
>On Wed, 27 Jul 2005 21:04:29 +0100, Chris French and Helen Johnson
><newspost-c-002@familyfrench.co.uk> wrote:
>
>
>So far we have found only one design that effectively keeps the
>squirrels out but that is such a heavyweight design that it is too
>ugly to keep near to the house and, more significantly, keeps half the
>birds out.
>
I've got an all metal stainless steel mesh feeder for peanuts that
remained secure for years.
I also found the Defender type birdfeeders from CJ Wildbird foods to be
very resistant as the tops, base, and feeding ports are all metal.
But I guess that it depends on how persistent the squirrels area in
particular area.
--
Chris French
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| On Thu, 28 Jul 2005 11:02:24 +0100, Chris French and Helen Johnson
<newspost-c-002@familyfrench.co.uk> wrote:
>In message <id8he1ls6aa5qen7p9h0ohsl8pjoibkruk@4ax.com>, JB
><this.is.me@somewhere.else> writes
>I've got an all metal stainless steel mesh feeder for peanuts that
>remained secure for years.
>
>I also found the Defender type birdfeeders from CJ Wildbird foods to be
>very resistant as the tops, base, and feeding ports are all metal.
>
>But I guess that it depends on how persistent the squirrels area in
>particular area.
The defender type is what I have at present. The squirrels can not
bite through the wire mesh but they have shown that they can get
enough purchase on each wire in the mesh to allow them to bend it back
and so get in. Alternatively if it is just suspended from a hook then
they can lift the entire feeder and drop it on the ground.
In their own verminous destructive way they are quite impressive!
JB
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| chris French 2005-07-29, 6:21 am |
| In message <9jdhe1dkk4bssuk57t4jqr85vrebi90huc@4ax.com>, JB
<this.is.me@somewhere.else> writes
>On Thu, 28 Jul 2005 11:02:24 +0100, Chris French and Helen Johnson
><newspost-c-002@familyfrench.co.uk> wrote:
>
>The defender type is what I have at present. The squirrels can not
>bite through the wire mesh but they have shown that they can get
>enough purchase on each wire in the mesh to allow them to bend it back
>and so get in. Alternatively if it is just suspended from a hook then
>they can lift the entire feeder and drop it on the ground.
>
You seem to be talking about something different.
The Defender one I was talking about was one like this:
<http://www.birdfood.co.uk/dev/shop/...ID=10&sub=11&pI
D=722>
But I guess you were talking about the mesh peanut feeders.
They used to have a go at the mesh peanut feeder but never made much
impact, the size of the mesh was probably to small for them to be able
to bend it out of the way eough to be a able to make a significant
impact on the peanuts inside.
--
Chris French
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| On Fri, 29 Jul 2005 09:14:07 +0100, chris French
<newspost-c-002@familyfrench.co.uk> wrote:
>You seem to be talking about something different.
>
>The Defender one I was talking about was one like this:
>
><http://www.birdfood.co.uk/dev/shop/...ID=10&sub=11&pI
>D=722>
>
>But I guess you were talking about the mesh peanut feeders.
>
>They used to have a go at the mesh peanut feeder but never made much
>impact, the size of the mesh was probably to small for them to be able
>to bend it out of the way eough to be a able to make a significant
>impact on the peanuts inside.
Yes I was talking about the peanut feeders. We do not seem to have too
much of a problem with the seed feeders and a google on defender CJ
Wildfoods turned up a list which included a defender peanut feeder -
hence I thought that was what you had referred to. Oh well the next
step is for my OH to get out the .22, I think this squirrel has had
its chances!
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