I am looking for a good quality source of bird seed on line, in
particular for finches, as my local shops do not seem to stock that.

In article ,
says...

I am looking for a good quality source of bird seed on line, in
particular for finches, as my local shops do not seem to stock that.

I get all ours in bulk (20K bags) from a local farmstock feed
suppliers; they take telephone orders, deliver free to the door, it's
very high quality. Prices are about one third of the big online birdfood
suppliers...I'm not paying for all those glossy colour catalogues and
media advertising campaigns.

The seed I get from them for the birdtable is this one, no mess

http://birdfood2home.co.uk/garden-gourmet/

finches love that and also nyger seed

Try yellow pages for your nearest stockfeed supplier.

Janet.

On Sun, 18 Aug 2013 11:25:42 +0100, Broadback
wrote:

I am looking for a good quality source of bird seed on line, in
particular for finches, as my local shops do not seem to stock that.

Having tried and failed to find a local farm feed supplier, I use Ark
Wildlife - http://www.arkwildlife.co.uk/ - who are significantly
cheaper than the RSPB (as is anyone) and, IIRC, about 2/3 of the price
of CJ.

I now put out just peanuts and kibbled sunflower hearts. In winter I
mix ground peanuts with the sunflowers. I get a good, greedy variety
of visitors (including lots of finches).

Nyger seed here was always untouched and the so-called "no-mess" feed
mixes are anything but...! Fat balls simply attracted more magpies who
would fight over each ball with the losers then venting their spleen
by killing a finch or a tit.

--
Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Wilting just a little at the east end of Swansea Bay.

"Broadback" wrote in message
...
I am looking for a good quality source of bird seed on line, in particular
for finches, as my local shops do not seem to stock that.

Personally, I mix canary seed 50/50 with sunflower hearts both from
Wilkinson's.
It's very successful. Try it yourself.
A fraction of the price of online suppliers.

The finches love the canary seed.
I did pay more when I was near a shop that had British Finch mix but as I
don't have a reason to go there now, I found there was no difference in the
take up if I used canary seed from Wilko.

It's just not necessary to spend loads of money on online places for bird
food.
Well, I think so, your views may differ.

Tina

"Broadback" wrote in message
...
I am looking for a good quality source of bird seed on line, in particular
for finches, as my local shops do not seem to stock that.

www.brinvale.com

Order Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday it arrives next day by Parcel Force.
Friday/Saturday/Sunday usually arrives Tuesday.

"My" finches (Bull, Green and Gold) seem to like Sunflower Hearts. Took
them a while to latch on to Nyjer (your spelling may vary!) but it now gets
eaten pretty quickly although it does seem to be 2nd preference despite most
shops and books suggesting Finches love the stuff. I use one of these
(first seller I came across tonight)
http://www.monsterpetsupplies.co.uk/...FRMRtAodKFsAow
and it seems more successful than some of the more conventional feeders.
Tits will eat almost anything. The winter Starlings that live on the
Somerset Levels (10 miles away) eat almost anything and can be a bit of a
nuisance. I have yet to find a mixed seed that (a) never gets dropped and
(b) doesn't then germinate to some degree but the "Little Brown Jobs" hoover
most of that up along with Crows, Jays, Magpies, Blackbirds, Pigeons, the
occasional Thrush and Collared Doves. That said the Brinvale stuff seems
better than others for minimising mess. The Woodpeckers makes straight for
the peanuts.

The Robins mostly ignore the food but I spotted one early this year that
seemed to have cottoned on to using a feeder.

On 18/08/2013 21:31, Graham Harrison wrote:
I use one of these (first seller I came across tonight)
http://www.monsterpetsupplies.co.uk/...FRMRtAodKFsAow
and it seems more successful than some of the more conventional feeders.

That's a feeder?
It looks more like a miners lamp.

"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 18 Aug 2013 21:40:37 +0100, David Hill
wrote:

On 18/08/2013 21:31, Graham Harrison wrote:
I use one of these (first seller I came across tonight)
http://www.monsterpetsupplies.co.uk/...FRMRtAodKFsAow
and it seems more successful than some of the more conventional feeders.

That's a feeder?
It looks more like a miners lamp.

Recycled NCB surplus.
--

Martin in Zuid Holland


Nyjer is a tiny seed (teaching Granny to suck eggs?). The one I have came
with a sleeve that fits inside the feeder whilst filling to stop the seed
coming out. I don't use it because I keep the seed in a large container
and fill over/in the container. I just have to be a bit careful when I
lift it out not to dislodge some seed. But, like I say, it does seem to do
the business.

"Broadback" wrote in message ...

I am looking for a good quality source of bird seed on line, in particular
for finches, as my local shops do not seem to stock that.

I use food4wildbirds for the past 2 years with no probs. Free delivery if
you spend £20 :-
http://www.food4wildbirds.co.uk/wild...ood-c-566.html

On 19/08/2013 20:32, Bertie Doe wrote:


"Broadback" wrote in message ...

I am looking for a good quality source of bird seed on line, in
particular for finches, as my local shops do not seem to stock that.

I use food4wildbirds for the past 2 years with no probs. Free delivery
if you spend £20 :-
http://www.food4wildbirds.co.uk/wild...ood-c-566.html


Many thanks for all the suggestions, I have gone with the Wilkinson's
tip as they are low cost and low quantity, so I can see what works best.
From a birds point of view and come to that mine what is the difference
in Sunflower seeds and Sunflower hearts?

"Broadback" wrote in message ...

Many thanks for all the suggestions, I have gone with the Wilkinson's
tip as they are low cost and low quantity, so I can see what works best.
From a birds point of view and come to that mine what is the difference
in Sunflower seeds and Sunflower hearts?

Sunflower hearts have had the seed coats removed. Hence the higher price.

On Wed, 21 Aug 2013 14:05:23 +0100, "Bertie Doe"
wrote:



"Broadback" wrote in message ...

Many thanks for all the suggestions, I have gone with the Wilkinson's
tip as they are low cost and low quantity, so I can see what works best.
From a birds point of view and come to that mine what is the difference
in Sunflower seeds and Sunflower hearts?

Sunflower hearts have had the seed coats removed. Hence the higher price.

And of course, the birds won't eat the coats so you'd be paying for
waste if you bought the whole seeds and you'd have the mess to clear
up.

--
Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Wilting just a little at the east end of Swansea Bay.

"Jake" wrote in message ...

On Wed, 21 Aug 2013 14:05:23 +0100, "Bertie Doe"
wrote:



"Broadback" wrote in message ...

Many thanks for all the suggestions, I have gone with the Wilkinson's
tip as they are low cost and low quantity, so I can see what works best.
From a birds point of view and come to that mine what is the difference
in Sunflower seeds and Sunflower hearts?

Sunflower hearts have had the seed coats removed. Hence the higher price.

And of course, the birds won't eat the coats so you'd be paying for
waste if you bought the whole seeds and you'd have the mess to clear
up.

Last month we had a couple of rare visitors - a pair of bullfinches. Mostly
the male only showed up and he would only stay for 5 or 10 minutes.

His first choice of food was whole black sunflower seeds, with just an
occasional visit to the SF hearts. Maybe the coats on the BSFs keep the
inards fresher? The bullfinch has a powerful beak, which helps. However,
goldfinches prefer the hearts and will only move to the nyjer when the
hearts are finished.

On Wed, 21 Aug 2013 19:01:04 +0100, "Bertie Doe"
wrote:



Last month we had a couple of rare visitors - a pair of bullfinches. Mostly
the male only showed up and he would only stay for 5 or 10 minutes.

His first choice of food was whole black sunflower seeds, with just an
occasional visit to the SF hearts. Maybe the coats on the BSFs keep the
inards fresher? The bullfinch has a powerful beak, which helps. However,
goldfinches prefer the hearts and will only move to the nyjer when the
hearts are finished.

It's fascinating in a way that in different parts of the country,
birds seem to like different foods. Here bull, gold, green finches all
go for the hearts. Nyger just wasn't touched. There's even a spotted
woodpecker that prefers the hearts on the table to pecking at the
peanuts in the feeder (though other woodpeckers prefer the pecking).

Food doesn't stay long enough to go "unfresh". The feeders and the
table are cleared each day. In the summer, they only get replenished
once a day (my wallet can't take more). In winter, it's at least twice
daily.

--
Cheers, Jake
=======================================
Wilting just a little at the east end of Swansea Bay.

In article ,
lid says...

On Wed, 21 Aug 2013 19:01:04 +0100, "Bertie Doe"
wrote:



Last month we had a couple of rare visitors - a pair of bullfinches. Mostly
the male only showed up and he would only stay for 5 or 10 minutes.

His first choice of food was whole black sunflower seeds, with just an
occasional visit to the SF hearts. Maybe the coats on the BSFs keep the
inards fresher? The bullfinch has a powerful beak, which helps. However,
goldfinches prefer the hearts and will only move to the nyjer when the
hearts are finished.

It's fascinating in a way that in different parts of the country,
birds seem to like different foods. Here bull, gold, green finches all
go for the hearts. Nyger just wasn't touched.

Initially I put out nyger to attract goldfinches; they and the siskins
love it. This past winter, for the first time, one or two sparrows
learnt to hang on and feed from the nyger feeder, the fatball holder and
the peanut feeder. Within days all the sparrows were doing it.

Janet

"Janet" wrote in message
t...

In article ,
lid says...

On Wed, 21 Aug 2013 19:01:04 +0100, "Bertie Doe"
wrote:



Last month we had a couple of rare visitors - a pair of bullfinches.
Mostly
the male only showed up and he would only stay for 5 or 10 minutes.

His first choice of food was whole black sunflower seeds, with just an
occasional visit to the SF hearts. Maybe the coats on the BSFs keep the
inards fresher? The bullfinch has a powerful beak, which helps. However,
goldfinches prefer the hearts and will only move to the nyjer when the
hearts are finished.

It's fascinating in a way that in different parts of the country,
birds seem to like different foods. Here bull, gold, green finches all
go for the hearts. Nyger just wasn't touched.

Initially I put out nyger to attract goldfinches; they and the siskins
love it. This past winter, for the first time, one or two sparrows
learnt to hang on and feed from the nyger feeder, the fatball holder and
the peanut feeder. Within days all the sparrows were doing it.

There's been a sparrow population explosion here but they haven't got the
hang of the nyger feeders yet. Maybe because the feeders have tiny 2mm
access holes. I suspect the gold/fs lick the contents out?

Hearts are pricey, I limit the feed to 50g per day, which runs out about
midday.