Date: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 09:13:24 -0500
From: gardener
Subject: About those missing birds
Greetings, fellow feeders of the birds!
I live in the Manns Chapel area. During early fall, the birds were not visiting my feeders frequently, due, I believe, to the great abundance of preferred natural food sources. Oaks produced abundant tasty acorns. The smaller acorns of species such as Willow Oak, Southern Red Oak, and Water Oak are favorite foods of blue jays and woodpeckers, among others. My oaks were rocking all early fall with the sounds of acorn harvesting by these species. Additionally, the large Southern Magnolia in my yard produced zillions of cones laden with red fruits beloved by all birds. That tree burbled, squawked, chittered, and shook as many warblers, woodpeckers, chickadees, titmice, robins, cardinals, etc. argued over the tasty bounty. Additionally, pokeweed berries, viburnum fruits, spicebush fruits, and other native berries were enjoyed by all. I actually left my feeders empty during this time, realizing that the seed would spoil before any feathered visitor bothered to stop by.
However, in the last several weeks as our temperatures have dived and natural food sources, including abundant bugs, waned, my feeders are being steadily visited. Cold days bring more species than warm, wet ones, but I’m seeing all the usual suspects: Red-bellied, Downy, and Hairy woodpeckers. The Yellow-shafted Flickers don’t visit the feeders but are all over the yard. White-breasted and Brown-headed nuthatches are stopping at the suet too, along with chickadees, titmice, Carolina wrens, many cardinals, and now at the safflower daily I’m seeing many House Finches along with a fair number of doves. I hear the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in the trees, and see a Great Blue Heron stalking the creek shallows while Wood Ducks paddle further downstream. The Red-shouldered Hawk patrols the creek area for sleepy frogs, and I hear the Barred Owls conversing on moonlit nights.
In short, all the usual suspects are around. If yours are gone, perhaps something has changed about your local environment? Has an adjacent forest been recently cleared? Has the seed and suet lingered in your feeders more than two weeks? If so, given our recent weather, the seed and suet are likely spoiled. Try cleaning out your feeders and putting out fresh food, but wait until the next round of rain is past and the weather chills back down.
Since 1989, I’ve been adding native trees and shrubs to my yard so that native wildlife has enough food and shelter to find my yard appealing. Are your feeders near good cover for your avian visitors? They prefer having a bush or dense tree nearby, so they can hide quickly in case a hawk zooms by. Do you make sure to offer fresh water in several bird baths? Even when they weren’t eating my food, I saw many happy bathers daily throughout the fall. And if your yard is short of nesting sites, consider asking Santa for a few bird boxes to scatter around your property.
If you’re doing all these things and you still have no birds, are there new predators in your area? Perhaps a cat that’s identified your feeders as an all-you-can-eat buffet?
Regardless of your situation, if you put out fresh food and water, as our weather continues to chill, I predict your birds will return. Now is still an excellent time to plant a few native shrubs or trees they’d like, if you feel that could be part of your problem.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Catherine Bollinger
Blogging at http://piedmontgardener.com