The half coconut fat feeder is not proving as generally popular a some of the previous ones have done. Most of the small birds seem to prefer the three-quarter nut, which they find easier to disappear into completely, whereas the half nut requires a balance or grip which most of the birds don’t seem able to maintain, until more of the food has been eaten out.
A starling came to investigate it this afternoon and at first he tried to cling to the cut edge of the nut. There was plenty of other food available, but even after he lost his grip a couple of times, he would come back. Eventually, he tried a different approach. This time he came down onto the top of it. The string was too thin or too awkward to grip, but there was a twiggy branch jutting out at the side, so with one foot on the top edge of the nut and the other gripping the twig it leant over, almost upside down, to dig its beak into the fat.
thekitchensinkbirdwatcher 