Wild birds at our bird feeders

upthesaukee · 12-12-2017, 05:39 PM

Early this past summer, we noticed an unusual decline in the number and species of birds at our feeders, and this decline continued into August when we had a bear visit our yard.

We pulled the feeders in for a few weeks, and then strung them high up between two trees, using a pulley system to lower the feeders down for filling, and then raise them up again out of harm's way. Worked good as far as the bear was concerned; he did come back once and looked around at the feeders and then left. Good news!

Bad news was the birds did not return. We could hear them and see them close by in the woods, but seldom would one venture to the feeders.

About a month ago we moved the feders out to our front yard, and again, few if any would come to the feeders. I did read we were not alone, with speculation that there was an abundance of natural food available to them. I could only hope that snow cover would help entice the birds to return to the feeders.

Today, we had juncos, titmice, chickadees, nuthatches, a pair of cardinals, and a few others I was not sure of. Not only did I enjoy watching, but so did our cat.

Soooooo, I guess they're back! 👍

Dave

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Hillcountry · 12-12-2017, 06:34 PM

I Noticed, during 2” per hour snow today, a pair of cardinals in my birch tree above the empty feeder...I guess that’s a sign that (given the bears should be denning now) I should buy a bag of bird seed for them!

Barney Bear · 12-12-2017, 06:39 PM

Plenty of wild birds, turkeys, and sguirrels at our feeders here in southern NH. 🦃 🐿 🕊

Slickcraft · 12-12-2017, 07:19 PM

Still waiting for customers here on the hill is West Alton. Feeders went up 3 weeks ago and only a few chickadee and junco sightings. Only a few seeds gone so far. I assume a very good year for natural food. In past years we would have refilled the feeders a few times by now. Maybe they will stop by when the temp drop in the next few days.

smith point boater · 12-13-2017, 07:27 AM

We're in W. Alton also. Lots of birds have come back in the last week or so. Prior to yesterday I hadn't had to refill the feeders for weeks. I looked out yesterday and they were all empty. Snow covered ground probably helped too

JerseyGuy · 12-13-2017, 08:49 PM

On our bird feeder at our NJ residence we almost always have a great deal of activity in the winter months. Every so often they all will disappear. We figured it out last winter when we watched a cooper's hawk eating a bird in a nearby tree. So when the hawk is watching the feeder, the smart ones stay away.

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Greene's Basin Girl · 12-27-2017, 02:44 AM

The birds are back and they sure are hungry!

Rob M · 12-31-2017, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by upthesaukee

We pulled the feeders in for a few weeks, and then strung them high up between two trees, using a pulley system to lower the feeders down for filling, and then raise them up again out of harm's way. Worked good as far as the bear was concerned; he did come back once and looked around at the feeders and then left. Good news!

Dave

Sent from my SM-T580 using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

I would suggest continuing to bring in the feeders in the spring and fall, I used to string my feeders the same way about 18ft up between two large oaks. A sow with two cubs showed up, sniffed around for a minute climbed the tree, chewed through the rope, and destroyed three large feeders. The only way to keep the bears off the feeders is to keep the feeders in.

dpg · 01-09-2018, 12:07 PM

Feed them in Ma. tons every day. This winter I've noticed a lot of Blue Jays it's nothing to see 4 or 5 at the feeder at once. Also always had a few Cardinals and their back. Bunch of the little "finch" type birds I don't know them by name. The squirrels hate the Baffle I bought to keep them away. I use a pretty big plastic feeder and they were capable of emptying it daily...I actually wouldn't mind if they hit it for a snack and left but they eat and eat and eat! Now they settle for the droppings.

Slickcraft · 01-09-2018, 05:08 PM

All the usual birds are back up here on the hill in West Alton with one big exception: The chickadees are a total no show! We normally have a substantial group here cleaning out the feeders. This winter I have only seen two! Lots of juncos and finches and jays etc but no chickadees.

Must be much better eating down around Smith Point. I'll have to see if we got black listed on Yelp.

smith point boater · 01-10-2018, 07:29 AM

Not a lot of chickadees here either. But have just had the turkeys arrive again!! 3 of them that sit under the feeder and eat the scraps that have dropped. They are ugly!!

daveschappell · 01-10-2018, 09:23 AM

We bought a new feeder at Bradley's Hardware about a week ago. Put it out and had no birds for first 3 days. But it's exploded in last few days. Looking out at a Cardinal now, and we've seen Blue Jays, Juncos, Chickadees, Tufted Titmouses, Woodpeckers and many more. It's just been awesome. And we set it up so we can see it from bed, while enjoying morning coffee -- ahh :-)

Spider Girl · 01-10-2018, 12:25 PM

Seems to be a banner year for Juncos. A few Chickadees, Downy Woodpeckers, Titmice, Purple Finches. One or two Mourning Doves. One lone female Cardinal. An occasional Blue Jay. All in all, seems to be a quieter bird year judging from feeder fill frequency.

12-12-2017, 05:39 PM	#1
upthesaukee Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Alton Bay Posts: 5,596 Blog Entries: 2 Thanks: 2,453 Thanked 1,979 Times in 1,080 Posts	Wild birds at our bird feeders Early this past summer, we noticed an unusual decline in the number and species of birds at our feeders, and this decline continued into August when we had a bear visit our yard. We pulled the feeders in for a few weeks, and then strung them high up between two trees, using a pulley system to lower the feeders down for filling, and then raise them up again out of harm's way. Worked good as far as the bear was concerned; he did come back once and looked around at the feeders and then left. Good news! Bad news was the birds did not return. We could hear them and see them close by in the woods, but seldom would one venture to the feeders. About a month ago we moved the feders out to our front yard, and again, few if any would come to the feeders. I did read we were not alone, with speculation that there was an abundance of natural food available to them. I could only hope that snow cover would help entice the birds to return to the feeders. Today, we had juncos, titmice, chickadees, nuthatches, a pair of cardinals, and a few others I was not sure of. Not only did I enjoy watching, but so did our cat. Soooooo, I guess they're back! 👍 Dave Sent from my SM-T580 using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app __________________ I Live Here... I am always UPTHESAUKEE !!!!

12-12-2017, 06:39 PM	#3
Barney Bear Senior Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 962 Thanks: 495 Thanked 273 Times in 174 Posts	Come and Get It! Plenty of wild birds, turkeys, and sguirrels at our feeders here in southern NH. 🦃 🐿 🕊

12-13-2017, 07:27 AM	#5
smith point boater Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: West Alton,NH Posts: 209 Thanks: 335 Thanked 94 Times in 53 Posts	Birds We're in W. Alton also. Lots of birds have come back in the last week or so. Prior to yesterday I hadn't had to refill the feeders for weeks. I looked out yesterday and they were all empty. Snow covered ground probably helped too

01-10-2018, 07:29 AM	#11
smith point boater Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: West Alton,NH Posts: 209 Thanks: 335 Thanked 94 Times in 53 Posts	Smith Point Not a lot of chickadees here either. But have just had the turkeys arrive again!! 3 of them that sit under the feeder and eat the scraps that have dropped. They are ugly!!

01-10-2018, 12:25 PM	#13
Spider Girl Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: NH Posts: 37 Thanks: 40 Thanked 11 Times in 3 Posts	Birds at Feeder Seems to be a banner year for Juncos. A few Chickadees, Downy Woodpeckers, Titmice, Purple Finches. One or two Mourning Doves. One lone female Cardinal. An occasional Blue Jay. All in all, seems to be a quieter bird year judging from feeder fill frequency. __________________ Spider Girl

12-12-2017, 06:34 PM	#2
Hillcountry Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: In the hills Posts: 2,420 Thanks: 1,677 Thanked 786 Times in 466 Posts	I Noticed, during 2” per hour snow today, a pair of cardinals in my birch tree above the empty feeder...I guess that’s a sign that (given the bears should be denning now) I should buy a bag of bird seed for them!

12-12-2017, 07:19 PM	#4
Slickcraft Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Welch Island and The Taylor Community Posts: 3,296 Thanks: 1,222 Thanked 2,080 Times in 952 Posts	Still waiting for customers here on the hill is West Alton. Feeders went up 3 weeks ago and only a few chickadee and junco sightings. Only a few seeds gone so far. I assume a very good year for natural food. In past years we would have refilled the feeders a few times by now. Maybe they will stop by when the temp drop in the next few days.

12-13-2017, 08:49 PM	#6
JerseyGuy Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Lebanon, NJ & Laconia, NH Posts: 27 Thanks: 31 Thanked 10 Times in 5 Posts	On our bird feeder at our NJ residence we almost always have a great deal of activity in the winter months. Every so often they all will disappear. We figured it out last winter when we watched a cooper's hawk eating a bird in a nearby tree. So when the hawk is watching the feeder, the smart ones stay away. Sent from my SM-T550 using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

12-27-2017, 02:44 AM	#7
Greene's Basin Girl Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Moultonborough, NH Posts: 1,515 Thanks: 394 Thanked 527 Times in 269 Posts	The birds are back and they sure are hungry!

01-09-2018, 12:07 PM	#9
dpg Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 2,591 Thanks: 150 Thanked 229 Times in 166 Posts	Feed them in Ma. tons every day. This winter I've noticed a lot of Blue Jays it's nothing to see 4 or 5 at the feeder at once. Also always had a few Cardinals and their back. Bunch of the little "finch" type birds I don't know them by name. The squirrels hate the Baffle I bought to keep them away. I use a pretty big plastic feeder and they were capable of emptying it daily...I actually wouldn't mind if they hit it for a snack and left but they eat and eat and eat! Now they settle for the droppings.

01-09-2018, 05:08 PM	#10
Slickcraft Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Welch Island and The Taylor Community Posts: 3,296 Thanks: 1,222 Thanked 2,080 Times in 952 Posts	All the usual birds are back up here on the hill in West Alton with one big exception: The chickadees are a total no show! We normally have a substantial group here cleaning out the feeders. This winter I have only seen two! Lots of juncos and finches and jays etc but no chickadees. Must be much better eating down around Smith Point. I'll have to see if we got black listed on Yelp.

01-10-2018, 09:23 AM	#12
daveschappell Senior Member Join Date: May 2017 Location: Wolfeboro, NH Posts: 50 Thanks: 28 Thanked 21 Times in 12 Posts	We bought a new feeder at Bradley's Hardware about a week ago. Put it out and had no birds for first 3 days. But it's exploded in last few days. Looking out at a Cardinal now, and we've seen Blue Jays, Juncos, Chickadees, Tufted Titmouses, Woodpeckers and many more. It's just been awesome. And we set it up so we can see it from bed, while enjoying morning coffee -- ahh :-)