I am often asked how one goes about setting up a bird feeder in their garden. Last night one of my sons asked me this very question. So today Daniel this post is to answer you. Firstly if you have cats, I would discourage you from putting a feeder in your garden. Cats are lovely pets but they are predators and love the opportunity to catch and kill birds. You don’t want to make it easy for them.
The photo above is a good way to start and is what I used to get all of yesterday’s images (which I am showing you in this post). It is a warratah (from Bunnings) stuck into the ground with a piece of driftwood tied to it and a piece of fern tied to that. A couple of flat head nails into the driftwood to put the fruit on and you are good to go.
I use oranges for the silvereyes and tui, and banana specifically for the silvereyes. The sparrows like banana too, so it is important not to put a perch next to it. The silvereyes are much better at clinging while they eat than the sparrows.
We also have a sugar water feeder for the tui and silvereyes but you can get birds into your garden without doing that. Please don’t throw bread out to the birds, it is not the ideal diet for them and you won’t be helping them to stay healthy if you do.
You can hang seed bells out for the seed eaters – you might be surprised at the amount of different birds you will get going to these, but be warned it can get expensive if you want to have them there all the time. The birds will get used to a routine and they will look for the food to arrive.
It is good for the birds if you offer them water too. A simple bird bath will bring lots of birds in the hot summer months. Keep the water fresh and clean. Oh and don’t put your feeders over decks or near where you park the car. You don’t want to end up with a slippery deck or a dirty car.
