How long before birds find feeder

Exciting times as you go about setting up a bird feeder, but it can be concerning when you don't know how long it is before birds arrive to it.

How long before birds find feeders in gardens can be as soon as you are packed up and out of the way. Common garden birds in the UK feed all year long, so there's always going to be robins, sparrows or tits seeking out a new feeder. It could be later into the day, but expect it to be no longer than 24 hours.

Where you decide to locate your recently purchased bird feeder can have its say, but its vital to hang it up or site it in a place that is seen from passes by.

Then, as soon as you disappear back into the house, you could see one or two curious birds come down off a tree to see what's on offer.

While that applies to mostly less busy, more quieter gardens, it certainly can take longer for birds to use a bird feeder, much less use it at all if its a busy location.

Its important then to hang up to 4-5 bird feeders on a bird feeding station, or hang them off a bird table as to present food in the most obvious way. Offer different bird feeders to hold seeds, nuts or suet - as to cater to as many birds as possible.

How long it can take for more busier, nearby activity sites can be still a possibility, but its certainly harder for birds to feed off feeders.

Where to hang bird feeders is important, but its vital to be patient as they will come in due course.

As soon as its setup

I would say probably the same day, but you could expect the usual suspects to arrive at your new bird feeder within 24 hours.

To have a garden with no feeders at all, be it hanging off a bird feeding station or a bird table unit - birds are nowhere to be seen at this time.

That is not to say they occasional fly by or nest nearby come spring. Common garden birds could also be feeding out of a neighbours garden - so its because of that it won't be long before birds find new bird feeders.

It could be season dependant too, wild birds could quickly locate a new food source - as in your bird feeder - if food in nature is scarce, due to drought.

But it could be way longer for birds to arrive if the country experiences plenty of sunshine with reliable water sources.

To be wet weather, insects or invertebrates in nature can be easily accessible to birds, but that is not to say they prefer the convenience of a bird feeder.

Longer if no birds in area

Birds who frequent our British gardens to feed on our feeders do so because they've come to rely on bird feeders all their lives.

Its certainly rare to see wild birds NOT use our feeders, because they continue to seek them out all the time.

However, it could be that you are in an area that is without many birds, so it can be far longer, before birds find the feeders. While gardens, and therefore your home, is located near natural coverage do see more success - it can be difficult in more densely populated areas.

What to do then is always make sure the garden the bird feeder is sited in, is kept replenished for the coming months, while avoiding approaching the feeders as to not scare off interested birds.

You'd should personally know if its going to take longer to bring birds to a new bird feeder, because only can get an idea by simply noticing lack of wild life in your garden.

But that is not to say it can't happen providing you keep up with offering their favourites, including: peanuts, seeds and mealworms - plus suet in pellet, fat ball or block form.

Not at all if active garden

How long before birds find feeders can be almost as soon as you are away from the bird feeders, or it could be a little later in the day before the first arrival.

It then could be the next day as wild birds are seen less in your area of town, but it could be non at all if you don't allow them time to find it.

Active gardens relate to people continuously occupying it throughout the day; including pets or children who play.

You could be putting at the washing to dry or tinkering around in the shed.

If any of this activity is within close proximity of the bird feeding station or bird table, it could well keep birds away.

Its imperative then to locate the bird feeders in a quieter spot in the garden, as people and feeding birds can work together with their goals.

Quiet gardens that are undisrupted for most of the day with no activity are going to see arriving birds at the bird feeder before long.

If a single feeder won't cut it

In order for new arrivals to begin feeding on your bird feeders, it is of course important to attract birds to your garden with use of a feeder.

That alone might not cut it, in fact you may have to setup an entire bird feeding station on a pole. with up to 4 or 5 bird feeders offered to them in one go.

Now I can't go over the need to avoid waste with too much feed used in one go, but at first you need to overfeed birds before you can get a grasp of how much bird food to offer them on a daily basis.

What feeders you need to concentrate on is one peanut feeder, perhaps two seed feeders to guarantee small garden birds can use them - plus any one suet bird feeder for pellets or suet block - or the more popular fat ball feeder.

All of these bird feeders attract the most birds so are more widely sold.

The idea is to make your feeding area big and inviting, so a single feeder won't cut it.

You'd need a bird feeding station to provide you the opportunity to present the food out in the open - but so can a bird table do the job or perhaps hanging feeders off a tree.

To summarise

As soon as the bird feeders are setup and you are out of the way you could see a few arrivals within the first hour.

Long absence of a bird feeder or not using one previously can take longer, but it shouldn't be long before birds find feeders in your garden.

Longer it takes can be attributed to a noisy, active or nearby disturbance, so its vital to maintain a quiet, undisturbed feeding environment.

Its also important to announce the setup of a brand new feeder by making sure its easy to find, thus easily spotted from above as birds pass by overhead.

One bird feeder might not be enough, so up to four bird feeders may be needed as to hold all their favourite bird food.

Hang it off a tree or a wall bracket if you like, but a bird feeding station or bird table in a centralised located in the garden, might bring birds to feed sooner.

How long before birds find feeders can vary hugely, so if its not right away just be patient as it could be long into the week before you get more takers.

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