That'd be nice Lottie, ta - the more birds we have in our garden the better! I love nothing more than standing at the sink, or sitting at the dining table watching them flit from feeder to feeder, or bird bath to bird bath, 'specially when they're bathing in them - binoc's in hand!
I think I'll try them on niger seeds too - every little helps to coaxe them in. P'raps we could compare notes & see if they like them!
The niger seed should bring in the goldfinches. I have a flock ( about a dozen ) come every morning and they also like sunflower seed hearts ( and these don't make any mess on the ground ).My latest visitor is a woodpecker, he is fantastic.
Thanks for that Mctavish - I shall be popping out later, so will stock up on niger seeds.
We already have sunflower seeds, but look forward to seeing how many are tempted with the nigers!
Yes, I remember the excitement some years ago when we first saw a woodpecker in our garden, they are such beautiful birds. I also think magpies are very striking birds & I love the sound they make, although they are not to everyone's taste!
Actually, I love all birds and even though I hate to actually see the birds in our garden taken when the Kestrel or Sparrowhawk visits, I realise they have to survive too. I am told that we should be honoured because their visits mean we have a plentiful supply of birds so in fact are achieving a good balance of nature.
The greenfinches and goldfinches are still keeping away from us in favour of our neighbours. They have a two acre garden and are avid bird lovers and also have a large natural bond. Going over to there house is like visiting a nature reserve. We also have a Hawk and Owl trust reserve less than a mile away as the crow flies - so we are really lucky to see Marsh Harriers at really close range from March until October. They visit the field behind our garden.
Like you Smudge, bins are always at the ready on the window sill (complete with bird books in case anything unknown comes along!!