Fat balls are good. Take the plastic netting off them though. Mealworm are really good. I was thinking of getting a load of live maggots from the bait shop, but the wife scuppered that plan.
That Aldi scope mentioned is a good starter scope (I've got one) but as soon as you look through another, more expensive one, you'll understand why they are so cheap. I think the term - you get what you pay for - is apt when it comes to optics.
Geoff Hargreaves said
Mon Nov 21 9:39 PM, 2011
Pete,welcome to the forum,just to add a budjet option,aldi sell a small birding scope(subject to availability) for about £30 which is great for the garden,and with a bit of practice is usable for 'digiscoping' in good light conditions.
cheers geoff
Craig Higson said
Mon Nov 21 6:41 PM, 2011
Pebo - welcome along to the Manchester Birding Website and Forum. I'm sure you'll get many more relplies once people settle down in front of their PC's.
As far as feeding (I'm no expert by the way) but in my experience, variety is the spice of life. Certainly Niger seed and sunflower seeds/hearts will attract a wide range of species bu they can be quite expensive. I'd suggest having a look on one of the bird food websites then see if you can buy cheaper in bulk from a grain wholesaler - theres one called Bamfords in Leyland but I've no idea on contacts I'm afraid. For soft bills like Robins and Dunnocks try dried mealworms. You can occasionally find these cheaper in discount stores like Wilkinsons.
As for lenses, why not consider killing two birds with one stone (forgive the expression) and get yourself a decent scope and use if for digiscoping - loads of people do this. You would then be able to use a normal camera but have the advantage of a spotting scope if you just fancy a bit of birding!
Whatever you choose - enjoy.
-- Edited by Craig Higson on Monday 21st of November 2011 06:44:02 PM
Joe Wynn said
Mon Nov 21 6:25 PM, 2011
Pebo wrote:
45 Views and not one reply??
-- Edited by Pebo on Monday 21st of November 2011 06:16:28 PM
Give us a chance, most people are only just getting in!
In terms of seed, I use Sunflower heart which should, depending on where you live, bring in common tits and finches. Stuff like peanuts may bring in a woodpecker, although this is a much rarer occurence. I feed nijer feed to get Goldfinch and sometimes Siskin if i'm lucky in winter, but it rarely gets used as the Goldfinches, although initially attracted to the nijer now prefer sunflower.
In terms of Camera lenses, there's no such thing as a 'cheap' one for wildlife i'm afraid. For a DSLR you are looking at around £100 for a bottom of the range 300mm lens which is pretty much the minimum zoom you can get away with. You may be better off with a bridge camera which will have more zoom but may compromise on image quality. I'm no expert, but someone else might be.
Good Luck,
Joe
Pete Share said
Mon Nov 21 6:15 PM, 2011
45 Views and not one reply??
-- Edited by Pebo on Monday 21st of November 2011 06:16:28 PM
Pete Share said
Mon Nov 21 12:43 PM, 2011
Hi everyone. I'm Pete, from South Manchester and completely new to this hobby. I had a sighting of 2 Parakeets in my back garden at 07.20 over the weekend as I was having a quiet smoke. I was frankly pretty taken back by this, and it seems to have triggered an interest in me.
I have always had a few feeders in the garden, but did it more out of kindness to the birds rather than an urge to study them, but now I really fancy looking a little closer to see exactly what birds are in my area.
Anyway, I was hoping that somebody could give me an idea of what kind of seed etc I should put out to attract as many species as possible to my feeders? And also, if there are any budget long lens camera's that I could buy to photograph the birds too? I don't have a lot of money to spend :(
That Aldi scope mentioned is a good starter scope (I've got one) but as soon as you look through another, more expensive one, you'll understand why they are so cheap. I think the term - you get what you pay for - is apt when it comes to optics.
cheers geoff
As far as feeding (I'm no expert by the way) but in my experience, variety is the spice of life. Certainly Niger seed and sunflower seeds/hearts will attract a wide range of species bu they can be quite expensive. I'd suggest having a look on one of the bird food websites then see if you can buy cheaper in bulk from a grain wholesaler - theres one called Bamfords in Leyland but I've no idea on contacts I'm afraid. For soft bills like Robins and Dunnocks try dried mealworms. You can occasionally find these cheaper in discount stores like Wilkinsons.
As for lenses, why not consider killing two birds with one stone (forgive the expression) and get yourself a decent scope and use if for digiscoping - loads of people do this. You would then be able to use a normal camera but have the advantage of a spotting scope if you just fancy a bit of birding!
Whatever you choose - enjoy.
-- Edited by Craig Higson on Monday 21st of November 2011 06:44:02 PM
Give us a chance, most people are only just getting in!
In terms of seed, I use Sunflower heart which should, depending on where you live, bring in common tits and finches. Stuff like peanuts may bring in a woodpecker, although this is a much rarer occurence. I feed nijer feed to get Goldfinch and sometimes Siskin if i'm lucky in winter, but it rarely gets used as the Goldfinches, although initially attracted to the nijer now prefer sunflower.
In terms of Camera lenses, there's no such thing as a 'cheap' one for wildlife i'm afraid. For a DSLR you are looking at around £100 for a bottom of the range 300mm lens which is pretty much the minimum zoom you can get away with. You may be better off with a bridge camera which will have more zoom but may compromise on image quality. I'm no expert, but someone else might be.
Good Luck,
Joe
-- Edited by Pebo on Monday 21st of November 2011 06:16:28 PM
I have always had a few feeders in the garden, but did it more out of kindness to the birds rather than an urge to study them, but now I really fancy looking a little closer to see exactly what birds are in my area.
Anyway, I was hoping that somebody could give me an idea of what kind of seed etc I should put out to attract as many species as possible to my feeders? And also, if there are any budget long lens camera's that I could buy to photograph the birds too? I don't have a lot of money to spend :(
Any advice appreciated :)