5 Reasons Why Birds Are Avoiding Your Feeder
- Fiona Clougher
- Sep 3, 2024
- 4 min read
Watching beautiful wild birds flock to a feeder in the garden can be a wonderful experience. Bird watching can be relaxing, exciting and very rewarding. The hobby is very popular and is suitable for all ages. However, it must be remembered that birds are living beings with minds of their own. They have strong instincts as prey animals and this is vital to keep them safe from harm, from both disease and predation. Whilst we might invest in a multitude of seed varieties and even varying styles of feeder, from the simple to the elaborate, it is not guaranteed that birds will be attracted. Birds can easily be put off using a new feeder and even feeders they have previously frequented, for a number of reasons. Thankfully there are solutions we can seek in order to raise the appeal of our garden feeders.
Here are some reasons birds might avoid a feeder in the garden:
Damp Food: Seeds are only good in a feeder for about 1-2 weeks, exposed to rain this life can be reduced to just days. Seeds are organic matter and therefore subject to decay, rot and the harbouring of bacteria, particularly in damp conditions. Naturally, a bird feeder in the open garden is likely to find itself rained on from time to time. The cylinder shapes of many feeders can lead to the collecting of water within the feeder, particularly in densely packed food and can cause food to rot. Birds will learn if a feeder is regularly neglected and presenting damp or 'bad' food. 1
Wrong Location: Little garden birds, such as the classic blue tit, robin, or sparrow, are prey animals. They are often preyed upon by larger mammals and birds of prey. For this reason, evolution has provided them with avoidance tendencies to keep them safe. Note how little birds often quickly flit away at the sound of your presence, or a door opening, or when children are racing around etc. It is for this reason that they tend to prefer feeders that are positioned in sheltered and hidden areas of the garden. Whilst some established feeders can do well in the middle of a lawn, what can often be the case particularly with new feeders is that birds will prefer to visit if the feeder is near to overhanging branches, a bushy hedge, or shielded by surrounding shrubbery where the birds can quickly hop to and from if they become cautious.
Food Left Too Long: Food in a bird feeder has a 'shelf life'. As mentioned in point '1', seeds left in a feeder are subject to the elements; notably rain, sunshine and cold temperatures. For this reason it can go off quicker than you might imagine. Food that has been sitting too long can develop mould, mildew and even bacteria or insect larvae. This can all be bad or even toxic to birds. Watch out for discoloured or even sprouting seeds, using sight and smell as good indicators as to whether food has clumped, gone damp, or started to decay. Keep food fresh, adding only a little at a time until you have enough birds to ensure that what you are providing is being consumed regularly. 3
Predators: Not only are wild birds constantly on the look at for wild predators, such as sparrowhawks, kestrels, foxes, and squirrels; your sweet and docile domestic dog can also be a huge concern to a small bird. If a garden is regularly used by noisy, quick, large mammals (yes, that includes your children!), then it might seem an unsafe place to visit. Try fencing off areas specifically for your feeders, making sure they are positioned in areas shielded by foliage and not too exposed. Try using squirrel-proofing systems to keep those pesky rodents from frequenting too. 4
Competing feeders: You might notice from your bedroom window the flocks of birds in your neighbour's garden, multiple feeders all covered with excited little critters emptying the seeds even on a daily basis! When a feeder is successful it can actually be quite a challenge to keep on top of. Birds quickly learn the locations of 'good feeders'. It also depends on where they are nesting and how plentiful their food supplies are in the wild areas local to your garden. Competing feeders, if established and successful, can simply draw all the attention from your own feeder. A tip here can be to try and use different types of food in your own feeder, so that birds are offered more variety. You could try different types of feeder from your neighbour; consider window mounted trays which might attract birds at a new location on their flight paths.
It is important to be patient when setting up a new feeder in the garden. Birds do need to learn about new sources of food, and they are not always quick to trust a new setup. If you provide good quality seed, perhaps some different varieties and types of bird food, keeping food fresh and in an appealing position in the garden, then you might find that with a little time you'll gather a nice little flock.
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