Birds not nuts about nuts

[Huldrekat]

We recently got a birdtable with an insert-thingy to fill with nuts, but the birds don't seem interested. If we put bird seed or breadcrumbs on the table, they gobble up the lot. But apart from a few pecks, they totally ignore the nuts. What's wrong with our nuts?! Is there anything else we could put in the insert (the wire's too gappy for seed).

[Goofy]

what sort of nuts are you giving them? peanuts go down well here, but i've never tried anything else. not salted though!

[woofgang]

I find that its cyclical. Sometimes my birds empty the nut dispenser and ignore the rest, sometimes vice versa. I guess that birds can have their fancies too!

[Hamish]

certain birds feed in differnt ways - on our feeders we get t*ts, robbins, woodpeckers and a squirrel. dunuks pick up bits that fall and we also get black birds and thrushes in the garden, but not on the hung feeder.

[Cetti]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with your nuts - if you get my meaning!

At the moment the gardens and hedgerows are full of berries, apples and other goodies that give the birds all they need, but when they disappear about November/December  that is when you will see a change in feeding. The prime time is after Christmas - the barren months when the birds will really flock to the nut feeders - when they really are hungry. Sunflower hearts are a real treat if you're feeling generous! 

As well as seed and good peanuts(the cheapies contain toxins) please make sure there is always fresh water available.

[ursula62]

I bought some pellets made of suet and ground peanuts - they look a bit like coarse mince. You can use these in nut feeders. The manufacturer is Gardman and I bought them at the garden centre. They do loads of flavours. But as Cetti says, at this time of year the birds don't feed much from feeders as there are lots of seeds and berries around. If you keep filling up the nutholder the pigeons will descend in hordes.

[shaneystar]

Come the winter months the birds in my garden love fatballs which you can put in the feeders...in fact my fussy little devils leave the peanuts in the cold weather for the fatballs!

[burnhal]

and dont forget the Nijer seed- takes them a while to find it but the goldfinches love it- got four of them on the feeder at the moment

[woofgang]

be careful with the suet based food if you have got a piggy dog like mine. Anything with suet in it has to be placed well out of reach!!

[spudqueen]

Stick with it, as has already been said this is a good time of year for birds to find natural foods and so they tend not to visit gardens as much. Also I find that when I've put a new nut feeder out there are hardly any nuts eaten and then when the nuts have gone gikky and I've cleaned it out and put new nuts in they seem to go mad for them!

[Huldrekat]

Thanks everyone - will look out for the suet/peanut pellets. We've had nothing but sparrow and starling fledglings all summer - not the most spectacular birds but it was nice watching them grow up. But a greattit, bluetit and robin have appeared in the last couple of weeks, so maybe the news of our birdtable is spreading!

[Cetti]

It's true Sparrows are not spectacular but they are the most watchable of birds. A close-knit family unit will give you hours of watching pleasure. You have the colonel, he's the one with the biggest dark bib on his chest, then the lower ranks finishing up with the children. They hang around the bushes  muttering to each other all day just  like typical bored teenagers. Magic!