Frequently Asked Questions
Sparrowhawks
Q. I feed the birds in my garden but a hawk comes through every day and eats them! What can I do?
A. Sparrowhawks find our garden birds very easy to catch. Feeders can have as many of 7 or 8 birds on them at any one time which is very tempting for a sparrowhawk! This happens all the time in the countryside of course and we just don’t see it, but when we do it see it, it can be a bit upsetting. You can help your garden birds by hanging feeders close to dense bushes or trees so if a sparrowhawk comes through your garden and an alarm call goes up, the feeding birds can quickly take shelter. People worry that all our small birds will get eaten in this way but that actually doesn’t happen. Numbers of hawks decline when there are fewer small birds around for them to eat, so a balance of prey and predator is created.
How can I attract more birds to my garden?
Q. I would love to have more birds in my garden but I only ever see pigeons. How can I attract more birds to my garden?
A. The types of birds you will get in your garden will depend on many things, including where you live! If you are in the middle of a big city you may have more pigeons than anything else but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t other birds around! Try feeding Sunflower Hearts or Power Pellets in a Seed Saver or a Window Feeder or a rich seed mixture like Pure No Mess Mix in a Clingers Only feeder. These are specially designed for smaller birds including tits and finches. It doesn’t take long for these smaller birds to find your garden if you have the right foods for them.
Squirrels eat my bird food!
Q. How can I stop squirrels from stealing all the bird food?
A. Grey squirrels really can be a major problem in our gardens as they love peanuts and will destroy feeders just to get at them! JustAddBirds has several feeders especially designed to stop squirrels eating all your bird food. In the Nuttery Feeders, the peanuts or seeds are safe inside a metal cage which small birds can easily nip in and out of, while the squirrels can’t. The Squirrel Buster has a metal cover which slides down with the squirrel’s weight, covering the seeds, and the New Generation feeder has stainless steel mesh and a metal top which grey squirrels find hard to chew through. If you enjoy seeing squirrels in your garden you could always put out a few peanuts especially for them in a special squirrel feeder.
My Bird Food Makes a Mess!
Q. How can I find a bird food which isn't messy?
A. Many cheaper bird food mixes are very messy because the seeds have husks which fall to the ground, or they contain seeds and other items which the birds won’t actually eat!! The answer is to buy a ‘no mess mix’ where the seeds have already had their husks removed and everything in the mixture is edible and delicious! Use these mixes in a tube feeder, a window feeder or on a bird table and every scrap will be eaten. The other advantage of this sort of mix is that as no waste is created you won’t have a problem with attracting furry friends such as rats.
Summer Feeding
Q. Should I stop feeding the birds in the summer?
A. Where our garden birds are concerned the key to attracting even more to your garden is to feed, feed, feed all year round! Although food may be scarce in the winter and feeding during the colder months is certainly very important for the survival of our native species, food can be hard at find at any time of year, especially when birds are nesting and breeding. JustAddBirds has different mixes that are great for birds all year round – we feature these in our ‘Seasonal Suggestions’ section on the home page.
