24 Feb 2011
| Trial 2 | Each feeder starts with 4 oz of seed | Remaining |
|---|---|---|
| NW | PEANUTS | none |
| NE | SUNFLOWER | 2½ oz |
| SE | MAIZE | 4 oz |
| SW | HEMP | 3¼ oz |
I left the 2 tube feeders filled with ordinary mixed seed in situ for Trial 2 as shown in the image above. To my surprise, these seemed to attract as much interest as the dish feeders containing singles. Finches [‘Gold’ and ‘Green’] in particular were drawn to the tube feeders and shovelled out great quantities of seed in search of something. They either enjoy shovelling on the same principle as General Peckem [I think – or was it Major Major?; “while none of the work we do is very important, it is important that we do a great deal of it”] or they were looking for something other than peanuts, black sunflower, maize or hemp each of which was to be had more easily and in greater quantities only inches away.
Trial 3 will be an attempt to eliminate the possibility that birds’ feeding is determined by preference for the feeder location rather than its contents. Trial 2 is therefore repeated but with the positions of the preferred seed being swapped with that least favoured, and the middle two being reversed. One picture being worth…
