a shock in the garden today

never mind sanbaz think of all the days weeks months and maybe years you have kept that little bird alive with the food he has from your bird table.

OH San! That's really awful, quite traumatic actually. I do feel for you....terrible. :(((((((( take care and try not to dwell on it...poor little thing. If it did break it's neck it would have been dead really quickly. I will remember not to buy this kind of feeder though.....K x

thanx sticki and karen, i will get the net mesh nuts ready to hang in future, iv had to eat chocolate for the stress :o(

Very sad and how awful for you to have to release it.

it was MM awfull, wouldnt want it to happen again, the feeder is in the bin now.

What a shame San, I would of cried too, dont blame yourself it wasn't your fault, My friend found a dead cat tangled in a football net in her garden a couple of years ago, Sometimes freak accidents happen! Youv'e started me off now, i want chocolate :))

thanx Dee how awfull for your friend, that would have freeked me out totally being a cat lover to, have some chocolate quick ;o)

Sandra what a horrible thing to happen, poor thing i'll make sure i dont get any of these feeders. Good job it did happen to me, dont know about chocolate think i'd be back smoking. There again you can look at all the birds you save from starving in the winter, hope your feeling alot better now.

Awful. Definitely not your fault.
After reading a lot about feeding wild birds and the problems I had with rats and squirrels I decided to stop feeding and gradually leave it to nature. There are arguments in favour and against feeding wild birds for a very long time. Some experts consider it to be an interference with nature and make birds less likely to survive if the ready available food suddenly seize to exist. Some birds become very dependent and loose their ability to find food on their own.

Oh San that is so sad, I would have cried too.

Have some more chocolate ! !

Please don't use the net mesh, many blue tits get tangled in these and the RSPB don't recommend them, also if you buy the little fat balls in mesh please remove it before putting them into the tubular feeders.

It's unusual for starlings to take food from feeders as they are not as agile as the tits and woodpeckers.

In over 30 yrs of feeding birds, I have only had one mishap with wire feeders, that was when the top came off one and a siskin climbed inside and couldn't get out again.

Luckily, I was able to release it before it came to any harm.

i feel for you ,i feed lots of birds on my feeders everday ,they come in droves but so does the sparrow hawks all day every day ,i see them devastateing the birds but what do i do ? stop feeding ? the hawks even slam into my aviary mesh trying to get my canaries ,i really dont like sparrow hawks ,anything that kills my little birds is no friend of mine lol

Oh Sanbaz how awful for you, I would have been upset as well. I was gutted one day when I found a dead sparrow in the pond and I felt like it was my fault, but these things happen.

Gosh Tanji, that sounds really dramatic... in a bad way, like a nightmare!

I encourage the birds in too....I feel it helps to keep the aphids etc. down. And I love having them, this morning was really foggy and miserable here and the garden was absolutely full of all different kinds of birds and it really lifted my spirit to watch them.

thankyou all for your kind and helpfull comments, i will take all advice on board about feeders, ie, mesh etc. im calmer now, after choc and talk with baz, was just such a shock. hope i never find a bird in my pond, dread to think and it has netting over, oh my god, must stop thinking, i have left the waterfall area free from net thats where they usually bath and drink, guess if we thought about everything we wouldnt have anything incase of danger. thanx again :o) x

It is distressing to find something like that but I`m afraid it does happen sometimes and not just to the birds, I remember a few years ago one of our previous dogs was losing his sight and he got entangled in my strawberry net and nearly choked, luckily I heard the poor thing and was able to cut him free, the same lad also smashed into the greenhouse, he loved the toms and walked into the glass, he lived many years after but confined to the dogrun for his safety.
You can only do your best San, I nearly learnt the hard way, I no longer have any netting where the birds or dogs and cats are, its lethal stuff, especially where greedy creatures are about....

thanx sue and luckerly you were able to be there for your doggy, poor thing, your right sometimes better not to use netting etc and let nature take its course, i should try and think about something safer over my pond.

Oh Sandra, how awful for you. We had a squirrel trapped in our squirrel-free bird feeder. It was trapped while I screamed and Barry ran round the garden to the spot to help it. It was so frightened by the noise it managed to escape in panic. We also had a sparrow hawk make off with a small bird. Our gardens are places of such drama...life and death. We try to help and hopefully by feeding the birds we save the lives of many birds.

Thanks for the warning. Sorry you had such a traumatic time though.

Oh San, how horribe for you to find the poor Starling like that. I've not seen a feeder quite like that and certainly wouldn't buy one now. I hang the fat-balls in a special container, minus the netting, as they can trap their claws in them. My biggest worry is Megan, she brought a juvenile Robin in earlier in the week, really upset me! ... :o((

Hi Sandra,how sad for you..but it could not be helped..i hope you are feeling better about it now.my daughter was in her garden last week & found a chick on her lawn near some bushes..picked it up & it died in her hand..she told her neighbour over the fence..who then found one on her lawn ..picked it up & the same thing happened to her..they were crying all day..

Och Sandra! That's awful for you, and you're so kind hearted to feed them in the first place! But don't feel too sad, it's just the way that bird was supposed to go.
Twice in the past week, while I've been deadheading petunias in the window box, I've lifted wee scaldys that have fallen out of the house martin's nest up under the guttering. Then next door's cat brought me a live one and spat it out at my feet, and when he realised I didn't want it...he took it under a bush...and ate it...then I vomited...

Don`t be too sad Sandra its all in life`s cycle and you`ve got rid of the feeder and thats all you can do, other than eat a bit more chocolate.

Such a shame Sanbaz but as everyone say's these thing's do happen,as you know the Magpies where taking lot's of fledglings here earlier in the year that was really upsetting but just part of nature, just keep the chocolate handy.

ohhh nooo !! poor you , its bad enghe wen u find them ................ but to have to remove it as well , it is sad but as every one says !!! ............ we had 2 hens die 3 weeks ago , 1 while heron and puddle were here .urhhh , and the children !!. you have to put a brave face on ;0(((

San, how awful, I hate it when the young birds hit the windows too, why not look at the RSPB site and buy feeders that they recommend, I do know that the nets cause trouble, here they rip them open and the end up on the floor!

thankyou all for your kind comments and reading your stories i realise it happens alot in different ways, like you say its nature good or bad, some upsetting stories from some of you to but nice we can surport eachother through the bad times.
on a better note its sunny today and got home from work early so did a bit more in the garden ;o)

How awful for you to find the poor bird....it was a horrible day yesterday.. but hope you have had a lovely sunny day today as we have had down here...

That would have really upset me too Sandra what a shame but not your fault you are only trying to feed them:(

Nice and sunny here today in Newcastle a bit cooler but no rain ,just right for a bit of pottering in the garden. The Sparrowhawk paid a visit this morning but he left empty beaked and the robin is back so all's well in the garden :-)

thanx holly, nana and mavis, not good here today, dull and a few showers.

All change here as well Sanbaz torrential rain plus thunder and lightning, typical summer weather :-(

at least we dont have thunder mavis, rain again today and going to funeral, makes it seem worse when rain as well :o(

what an awful thing to happen no wonder your upset, you think your helpin birds by feedin them you dont expect anything like that to happen.

thanx for your comment jackie, im more carefull on feeders now and your right we dont expect this to happen, people design these and should be more aware than us.