Home made fat balls ?

[Eddie H]

Guys,

   I've made some fat balls packed with mixed seeds, two half coconuts, and a ball feeder with it in.

Before I used this LARD and seeds mix, the feeders where chocker with birds, and bought fat balls only lasted a few hours.
Now, nothing at all. they still use my peanut and seed feeders, but not the Lard n Seeds.

  Any ideas ? I'm stumped.

Thanks for reading,

Eddie H

[A McLee]

Perhps it is all to do with risk and exposure time to predators?
Tit species, nuthatch and robins prefer to grab a large food item and dart back into cover to eat it. Chaffinches usually do too when presented with sun flower seed. However greenfinches and goldies tend to sit on the feeder and eat sunflower seed. Given a choice of nyjer and sunflower, goldies in my garden choose the sunflower as they can eat large amounts faster and be exposed for a shorter time.
Well it is a theory anyway .

[Eddie H]

Cheers,

   I only ever get House Sparrows, Starlings and the odd Blackie in the garden. When I first put  em out, a Coaltit came in. Never to be seen again.
Our garden is very open on 3 sides, but, its never tettered them before. Will just persevere for a while longer before we go back to the bought f/b's.

Eddie

[Gordon]

I just buy a block of 'Britannia finest beef DRIPPING', lard is too messy. Just put the block in a cage of wire mesh, used by GSW, all the tits, nuthatch, 'hovering blackbirds', robin, magpie have a try, a squirel one got a taste for it (but not for long!). Some times of the year it only lasts a few days, at the moment its lasting about 3 weeks. As with any feeder the local Sparrow hawk will add its location to its hunting ground.

[Eddie H]

Was going to try Dripping also.

   We where buzzed by a Sparrowhawk earlier in the week, happens once every so often as they come down from the Steetley area.