Bird Seed Bells

[Ric Raftis]

G'day all,

I have been looking everywhere on the net for a recipe for a bird seed bell. I  found a site on using egg whites, but that seems like a whole lot of trouble for the amount of birds we have here.

We're in drought at the moment, so the birds are flocking even more to the garden for seed and water. I have established that PVA glue is the bonding agent, but is it watered down and what do you wrap around them so the dried articles slip out cleanly.

Hoping a few of you old bushies out there might know!    

[Babe]

Gelatine may be a better option as a binding agent, Ric.

Try the method laid out here: http://www.faunarescue.org.au/seedbells.html

As a mould, you could try seedling tubes lined with freezer bags.


Babe

[Ric Raftis]

Thanks Babe.  As a mould I was thinking more of those cake tins like a donut that would make a 1kg block or thereabouts.  Although I note the gelatine, PVA glue, which the commercial ones are made from, is supposed to be non toxic and water based.

I'll start some experiments.

Thanks a lot!  :lol:  :lol:

[zondrae]

HAPPY NEW YEAR RIC and team,

I bought one of my daughters, a new type of cake tin. It was a bit expensive but it is soft and rubbery. They are the latest thing in bakeware. They do come in a donut shape. They are available in Wollies etc. Cost about $9. Sound perfect for your needs.

Thanks for all your hard work and generosity in providing this site for 'we crazy (but dedicated) poets'.

[Ric Raftis]

Thanks Zondrae.  I should be down in Bendigo today or tomorrow so I'll check them out.

Thanks for your thanks also, but the site wouldn't be what it is without such good quality people participating.

[the mad mare]

Hi Zondrae,  I've got one of those floppy cake tins (can't really call them "tins" anymore, but "cake floppies" doesn't sound right).  It seemed dreadfully wrong to me, to put a rubber item in the oven, and I fully expected it to melt, but it didn't and the cake turned out OK (as well as any of my cooking does anyway).

Hi Ric,  that's nice of you to be making fancy bird seed bells for the local wildlife.  We just put our bird seed out in big flat pans and they scratch around in that ... then they have a little splash in the water bowl ... what a wonderful life!  It's lovely to see the variety of birds that visit.

Happy (and Healthy) New Year everyone!

[heyu]

Hi fellow bird lovers

My morning ritual is to turn bread into bread crumbs in the food processor then divide the crumbs.  Half goes into a bowl and is mixed with honey and the rest is blended with meat to make a mash.

Attracts about 60/70 rainbow lorikeets and blue eyed honey eaters and the meat mix goes to the magpies.

But lately the rainbow lorikeets have been helping themselves to the magpies breakfast as well.

All my life I've had problems trying to understand 'birds'


heyu

[heyu]

Hello again

Seems like I'll never learn.  I just walked out into the backyard (still fairly light up here)  and four magpies landed at my feet, looking up at me with pleading eyes.  So I went back inside and chopped up some meat for them.

Unbelieveable!    Twice divorced and still subject to the whims of birds.

heyu

[Ric Raftis]

Hello again

Seems like I'll never learn.  I just walked out into the backyard (still fairly light up here)  and four magpies landed at my feet, looking up at me with pleading eyes.  So I went back inside and chopped up some meat for them.

Unbelieveable!    Twice divorced and still subject to the whims of birds.

heyu

Well at least it seems you made some progress Pete.  Now they are at your feet begging!!!!  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

[therese]

hey ric!  how'd you get on with the making of your seed bells?

[Ric Raftis]

Still trying to get the right mix Therese.  At the moment we are using 1/3 water to 2/3 PVA, but they are still a bit crumbly.  Next batch, we'll up the PVA a bit to 75%.

[the mad mare]

Yeah I've been meaning to ask how the project was going too.  Are you sure it's OK to feed them glue, Ric?  Doesn't sniffing the stuff make you high, so surely ingesting it must be worse???  I know you said in previous posts that it's OK, but it just seems yukky.  I wouldn't want to eat it.  Would a flour/water glue mix be less likely to turn them into gluegobbling-graffiti galahs?  Or would it just make the seeds sprout and go mouldy? 

[therese]

eww, using pva does sound a little yukky.  you wouldnt think it'd be good for them.

[Ric Raftis]

Apparently there's no problem.  It's non toxic, even to humans.  You could probably use it on your weeties instead of milk Therese, but I'd water it down a bit to give it the same consistency!

[heyu]

Gee thanks Ric

Tried it on my weeties and I now have a bowl of weeties sitting by the sink with an upper denture stuck in them.  I think I'll stick/stick/stick to bacon and eggs in future.

cheers

heyu