Birds

We have a couple of reasonably friendly blackbirds with babies who come to our garden every day and night.
I love watching the parents feed the babies.
Also have sparrows and 2 thrushes.
We try not to feed them white bread, sometimes really seeded bread.
What else can we give them. I boiled up some writhered up potatoes the other day and they liked them. We dont have a lot of fruit to spare.
Ideas of what they could eat would be appreciated. On the pension, so have to be cheap food.
thanks

Sparrows love wheat. Around $20 for a 25kg bag from a rural stock outlet like Farmlands. Lasts forever if properly stored. Blackbirds and thrushes like raisins chopped up and this has to be placed on a flat surface for them. also add suet and other berry fruit like grapes, blueberries, etc. Buy the frozen berries and defrost for them. that is the cheapest way. A little bit daily

Maye I should have put this in pets. thanks anyway for info

Love my birds! I was delighted to see finch parents bring their brood to show them where the free food was obtained!

I use dry rolled oats, (I use them too, if I run out of porridge ) PakNSave has wild bird food if you want it, as does Countdown. I forget which size but approx $12-13 for the big bag. If I throw bread out it’s usually grain loaded.
Any grapes they get are those destined for rubbish.

I have cut them back on their meal size, it’s time they were looking for their own food!
Never give them wet porridge as it may stick their beaks together.
My family gave me a birdbath and a bird feeder to put on a garden table.
I get a a great deal of pleasure from watching them. I know my neighbour does as well.
I have sunflowers growing in front of my kitchen window, a wax eye zoomed in on what looked like a caterpillar,right in front of me. I didn’t know they liked them. During the winter the wax eyes ate banana and sliced navel oranges.

A few years ago I bought bagged bird seed and doled it out to the local birds but didn't use it all. After a few months we were inundated with pantry moths, which we eventually traced to the unused birdseed. It was writhing with larvae and moths. So if you get some bird seed either keep it in the freezer or perhaps outdoors.

I cook white rice for the birds, which is cheap and far better than white bread. I also slice and dice apples. I have birdseed as well. $12 for a 5 kg bag at Countdown, far cheaper than Pak n Save.There is a family of magpies that visit several times a day at the moment. Mum,Dad and 2 noisy babies.The babies sit on the wheelie bin and try to peer in the window.They all have some dog roll.

My current favourite is the blackbird who hops around me as I rebuild my tiny garden after contractors put in new pathways. As I shift paving stones he dives in to check for exposed critters, and is delighted to take up any snails I find. He is the cheekiest bravest bird, coming within a foot or so with one eye on me and the other alert for opportunities.

Lovely creatures.

cool everyone