I have one tree in my yard and so thats where I have put two bird feeders and a humming bird feeder. I have a small birdfeeder which is nothing more than a humming bird feeder with the lid off for this huge male bluejay. He couldnt fit on my large gazbo birdfeeder and eat. Now the large gazbo is the typical one you can get one sell. Its got the five sides and little bars on the outside for the birds to land on while they eat. You take the top off and pour the seed inside and it comes down to a little space at the bottom where it then ends up in a little trench of sorts for the little guys to eat. Under where the gazbo feeder is, is a small garden that is around the tree. In the garden is caladiums, mini elephant ears, Persian Buttercups, pansies,and sweet peas...or four oclocks! I cant remember. Anywho, now the last time I filled the feeder, it was used by more birds then usually(just passing tho I guess) and they made a horrible mess in my garden with the seed!!! My garden has a thick blanket of bird seed. Some have even started sprouting, which of course I pull) Now I havent put food in the feeder in three days because Im trying to get the birds to eat the mess they made! What can I do to stop this mess!!?? I dont want to have too move the feeder cuz it looks nice there and I can see it from the house. I sit outside and watch the birds come in and feed. Any help out there??
I wish I had an answer for you Denee but I'm afraid I have the same problem. My birds seem to throw out the seed they don't want all over the ground below the feeders. Although I have collared doves, dunnocks and wood pigeons that eat the seed from the ground there always seems to be soooo much of it still lying around. I always let the feeders run down until they're empty before refilling them but it makes no difference. Hope someone comes up with a solution for us!!!!!
I had thought by having 6 of my birdfeeders under the large hackberry tree where I have purposely left it uncultivated, that would solve the problem of birdseed seedlings .....hahahahaha, silly me. It does cut down on the number simply because it is total shade. The one not under the tree is the one made from the lamp,glass and plate. It is under the windmill and seed scatters everywhere and sprouts, except where the cedar mulch is. It doesn't sprout there, gotta get more mulch out there. Shoot, I have even found birdseed seedlings in that very large rain gauge Randy gave me.
Hi Birdie girl! I have heard of different seed blends that are targeted for different birds can often be helpful for this problem, further there are now birdfeeders designed and engineered to keep larger birds (often the scatterers of smaller seeds hygrading for the larger or select seeds of their acquired tastes) from lighting upon or feeding from said feeder. The newly designed feeders can also boast rodent resistant respects like resting posts and/or covers that are impervious to said offenders. There are also feeders/mixes targeted to larger/other birds if one alternately wishes to encompass them with a different feeder and/or seed mix designed for their needs specifically. Good luck to you and please keep feeding the birds once you have started--stoping said feeding ritual can often cause distress to dependant birds species reliant on your habitat's provisals for sustenance. ~Cheers and happy chirps to you.
I have a lot of birds and I have the same problem but only with one feeder. The finches used to throw out there niger so I think they must have moved to the seed feeder. My husband says they are sharing with the ground feeder birds. I don't have a solution either.
Mine are on the side of the house that I keep woodchipped. I have a row of lilacs and other big bushes and a birch tree right on the property line. Well, my house is only 12' off of the property line, and I got sick of mowing around all of that stuff, so I corralled that whole area in with landscape pavers and filled that area in with wood chips. I stuck some shepherd hooks in and put my feeders there. Once a month I squirt whatever sprouts with a little roundup.
My husband has several feeders so I know what you are dealing with. I read someplace that if your put the seed in the microwave for a short time, it will not germinate. This would at least solve the problem of unwanted plants.
wow polly-- Wow Polly, What a good idea, I will have to keep the microwave idea in mind and tell my friends about that one! Cheers! Kelly.
