What Food for Woodpeckers?

[blueg33]

We have a peanut feeder in our garden that is visted by a Greater Spotted Woodpecker about 10 times an hour - he clearly likes peanuts. Other birds also visit this feeder

We are conscious that you shouldn't put peanuts out when birds have young, but we want to keep attracting the woodpecker. He ignores the other feeders with mixed seed and the one with mealworms.

So what food is suitable for a feeder, for the woodpecker when birds have young to feed?

[Mr Pointy]

The issue around feeding peanuts is only where there is a risk the birds can take whole nuts which can choke the chicks. From the RSPB site:

"Is it okay to feed peanuts during the breeding season?

It is important during the breeding season to only put out peanuts in metal mesh feeders. This means that birds cannot take whole nuts, which can choke young birds. It is also important not to use nylon mesh bags, as these can trap birds’ feet."

If you want to try something different put out shelled sunflower hearts as many birds like these.

[mickyh7]

As much as people enjoy feeding birds, it's totally unnecessary unless the ground is hard or covered.
But it does mean we get to enjoy seeing them all.
We get Greater Spotted Woodpeckers year round.
Later in the year two usually become seven.
Five scraggly ones!
The thing with Peanuts is not to feed them loose.
That's when chicks can choke.
If they are in a feeder then it will be broken pieces going back to the brood. So no problem.
The only problem with Woodpeckers is that they are such aggressive feeders they chase everything else away including Squirrels!

[Jonny TVR]

ours likes the fat balls

[recordman]

Our's too thrive on fatballs, especially the ones from B&M at £7.99 for 150!

[liner33]

Same here ours love fatballs and suet logs , they peck so hard the Blackbirds always hang out underneath to mop up the crumbs

[Evanivitch]

mickyh7 said:

As much as people enjoy feeding birds, it's totally unnecessary unless the ground is hard or covered.

The huge decline in UK bird species, the 10s of millions of game birds released every year, and widespread use of pesticides and the destruction of mature trees, hedges and fallen trees, means this is very, very much not true.

[Mr Pointy]

Jonny TVR said:

ours likes the fat balls

recordman said:

Our's too thrive on fatballs, especially the ones from B&M at £7.99 for 150!

For some reason none of the birds in my garden will touch suet balls for the last year: they simply ignore them & they go mouldy. They aren't cheap rubbish either - I tried the RSPB ones & they just will not eat them. I even stopped putting other food out & they still wouldn't eat the suet balls, I just stopped getting birds in the garden.

[Bacon Is Proof]

liner33 said:

Same here ours love fatballs and suet logs , they peck so hard the Blackbirds always hang out underneath to mop up the crumbs

Likewise, although in our case the black birds are moorhens.
There's something in the Tesco fatballs that the blue/great tits don't like and they spit them onto the floor to be hoovered up by Patrick and Julianne.

[Evanivitch]

I've found Wilko Suet Pellets to be quite effective and much cleaner than mixed seeds. Some of the smaller birds tend to need to break them in half.

[blueg33]

Mr Pointy said:

For some reason none of the birds in my garden will touch suet balls for the last year: they simply ignore them & they go mouldy. They aren't cheap rubbish either - I tried the RSPB ones & they just will not eat them. I even stopped putting other food out & they still wouldn't eat the suet balls, I just stopped getting birds in the garden.

The birds in our garden dont eat the fat balls either

We had a very interesting, and very rare visitor to the garden at the weekend - a leucistic red kite (basically a white one), have seen it flying around but it came into the garden for a few minutes on saturday

[mickyh7]

Evanivitch said:

The huge decline in UK bird species, the 10s of millions of game birds released every year, and widespread use of pesticides and the destruction of mature trees, hedges and fallen trees, means this is very, very much not true.

Then let's start with people not allowing Domestic Cats outside!
I hear what your saying but filling wildbirds full of Prossesed Fat and Peanuts is not a great idea.
We leave boundaries around our crops and sow to suit. As do many Farms nowadays.

[blueg33]

mickyh7 said:

Evanivitch said:

The huge decline in UK bird species, the 10s of millions of game birds released every year, and widespread use of pesticides and the destruction of mature trees, hedges and fallen trees, means this is very, very much not true.

Then let's start with people not allowing Domestic Cats outside!
I hear what your saying but filling wildbirds full of Prossesed Fat and Peanuts is not a great idea.
We leave boundaries around our crops and sow to suit. As do many Farms nowadays.

Our garden is full of birds, we have two cats that go outside and our neighbour has tow cats.

Aside from a couple of fledglings the cats dont catch birds - they are more interested in rats and mice

Last year we had the following nesting in the garden: Great tit, blue it, little owl, thrush, blackbird, robin, longtailed it, wren, wood pigeon

They dont seem to mind the cats

[mickyh7]

blueg33 said:

Our garden is full of birds, we have two cats that go outside and our neighbour has tow cats.

Aside from a couple of fledglings the cats dont catch birds - they are more interested in rats and mice

Last year we had the following nesting in the garden: Great tit, blue it, little owl, thrush, blackbird, robin, longtailed it, wren, wood pigeon

They dont seem to mind the cats

That's great news. But I fear you are the exception.
Do a quick google.
It's frightening.

[blueg33]

mickyh7 said:

blueg33 said:

Our garden is full of birds, we have two cats that go outside and our neighbour has tow cats.

Aside from a couple of fledglings the cats dont catch birds - they are more interested in rats and mice

Last year we had the following nesting in the garden: Great tit, blue it, little owl, thrush, blackbird, robin, longtailed it, wren, wood pigeon

They dont seem to mind the cats

That's great news. But I fear you are the exception.
Do a quick google.
It's frightening.

I am aware, my son used to work at the local wildlife rescue centre. Bear in mind though that song birds are heavily predated naturally. The local sparrowhawk kills (and plucks live) more blackbirds in our garden than the cats ever will

[mickyh7]

Perhaps watch 'The Secret Life of Cat's.
We don't have a clue what Cats get up to.
But it's more than you would like to think!

[blueg33]

mickyh7 said:

Perhaps watch 'The Secret Life of Cat's.
We don't have a clue what Cats get up to.
But it's more than you would like to think!

Done that too.

One of ours used to wear a tracker on his collar, he wandered all over the place! Mainly eating food in other peoples houses !

[Lotobear]

Telegraphs poles,.... or at least that's what the one outside my office window seems to like this time of year.

[blueg33]

Lotobear said:

Telegraphs poles,.... or at least that's what the one outside my office window seems to like this time of year.

The ones here like the telegraph pole in the corner of the garden

[Evanivitch]

mickyh7 said:

Then let's start with people not allowing Domestic Cats outside!
I hear what your saying but filling wildbirds full of Prossesed Fat and Peanuts is not a great idea.
We leave boundaries around our crops and sow to suit. As do many Farms nowadays.

Domestic Cats are any easy target for the landed gentry. In reality they barely fill the gap of a whole multitude of native predators.

And yet gentry are happy to ignore the 45 million game birds released a year, whilst only a third are shot, and over a third die of starvation in habitats that can't sustain them.

Farms are paid to leave that minimum margin land, so let's also not pretend it's an act of kindness.