[8doubles]

Hedge sparrows are not very competitive and i have yet to see one on a bird table or feeder, they tend to skulk about on the ground picking up what the other birds drop.

I have an irritating hedge sparrow that builds nests on top of nest boxes i have provided.

[bainsk8]

Yes dunnock is hedge sparrow.

Hahaha! You got me. 

I have an irritating hedge sparrow that builds nests on top of nest boxes i have provided.

Hahaha! This is also funny, its like moving into a new house only to sleep in a tent in the garden. 

[sarah1983jane]

wehad snow so I didnt get out but went to a car boot today and bought a fab bird feeder for only£5, The guy seemed to be one of those people who likes making stuff out of wood and was just experimenting, I will go back next week and see if he will make me some more matching feeders!
Going to try peanut butter and sunflower cake next week for the birds

[bainsk8]

Sounds good Sarah, keep us updated on how you get on with the Peanut butter and Sunflower cake please. I would be very interested to know what takers there are.

[Springlands]

Sounds good Sarah, keep us updated on how you get on with the Peanut butter and Sunflower cake please. I would be very interested to know what takers there are.

Bainsk8 - Our garden birds are so fascinating to watch - I can spend hours just observing them. I have attached a link to the RSPB bird identifier which you might find useful.

 http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdidentifier/

[bainsk8]

That's great Springlands, thank you for the link. Once the kids are in bed tonight I will take a better look at the website.

[Springlands]

You are welcome Bainsk8. You might be interested to know that as part of this years Autumnwatch which starts on Tuesday on BBC2 there are webcams available through the red button on BBC1 and 2. I was watching for a while this morning - the webcam was focused on a bird feeder - and the number of birds that were visiting it were amazing. For part of the time there is a commentary explaining which birds were visiting - you and your family might find it really helpful.  I think the webcams will be covering different areas of the forest so the birdfeeders might not be in view all of the time. It was the best daytime TV that I have seen for a long time.   

[bainsk8]

Springlands that does sound really interesting to watch, I will check it out tomorrow. I don't normally watch day time TV but this maybe the start.

The bird identifier on the RSPB website is fantastic, extremely easy to navigate to the correct bird. I have had quite a bit of fun playing with it, I didn't know that there were so many different birds that live in and that visit the UK. Thank you again for the link, mostly appreciated. 

[Springlands]

You are welcome. I have watched birds for many years and there is still lots to learn. 

[Dopey113]

http://www.instructables.com/id/Soda-bottle-bird-feeder/

Just put wild bird feeder in the search bar, you will get loads come up, very good site for making stuff

[bainsk8]

Springlands we hear owls in the evening from late Summer through Autumn and with the help of the RSPB website I have been able to identify them by listening to the sound clips. They are Tawny Owls, Mrs Bainsk8 and myself always wondered what owls they were, they are so nice to listen to.

[Springlands]

It really adds to the enjoyment if you can identify what you are listening to or looking at. Glad to be of help. 

[BB Wendy]

I'm a newbie to the site and having just seen this thread I thought I'd pick up on it.

We made a bird feeder by rescuing a piece of pipe from a car mechanic's scrap bin (the pipe would have been for a car exhaust).  It didn't cost us anything.  We drilled a hole right through it and put in a bolt for the birds to sit on each side.  The top and bottom of the new feeder was taken from an old, broken plastic bird feeder we'd once purchased (by this time we were a little fed up with the short life of these).  The top and bottom fitted perfectly.

The new feeder is much more robust (we've had it for years) and, more importantly, the birds love it.