Birds not using feeder now tree is dead?

[laurie \(Mother Mastiff\)]

I put a feeder with National Geographic seed suitable for small birds, and
had an early spate of small beauties when the tree was still half alive. As
soon as the weather warmed up, the whatever-it-is (pine borers or fungus?)
that has been killing off all my white pines nailed it and in a matter of
days it went from mostly green to all dead.

Haven't seen birds eating from the feeder since then. It is still about 2/3
full.

Do you experienced birders think the birds quit coming because the tree is
dead, or may there be another cause? I have heard and seen birds in the
live trees in the yard, so they aren't just avoiding my yard....

Since the tree HAS to come down (rotten roots, close to the house, thicker
and fuller on the side nearest the house, no-brainer!) I would love to have
a bird feeder even closer to my window, in the hopes of taking some photos
of birds closer up. The window is on the north side of the house. Is this
feasible? Likely?

Would birds eat from a feeder near a window, near the eaves of the house?
How high is a good height for the feeder? Is there a style that is better
for attracting birds? Squirrels don't come into this part of the yard, or
they'd've emptied the cheap feeder that's already up....

Thanks for any advice you can share!


--
laurie (Mother Mastiff)
Please review my draft web page about my birds, www.mothermastiff.com

[Anne Lurie]

[My apologies if this shows up twice -- I mistakenly hit Reply instead of
Reply Group the first time, and it bounced back to me.]

Laurie,

I doubt that birds would stop coming to a feeder simply because the tree
died. You might check to see if the seed might have gotten wet and/or
moldy.

As for feeders near a window, there are some that mount directly to a window
with suction cups. (Although, personally, I always have trouble getting the
cups to stick on the window, so I'm not using any at the moment.)

My bird-feeder pole arrangement is about 5 feet from my kitchen window. The
old pole had been further away, but when I moved the feeders closer to the
house, *more* birds came, not fewer!

As for style of feeder, my preference is for one where birds can not
actually stand in the seed (house finches seem to be notorious for this).

If possible, locate bird feeders (and birdbaths) near bushes or trees that
birds can use as cover. My dripper birdbath is very popular, and birds
often hop up into overhanging wisteria to "fluff up and dry off." (The bath
itself is actually a plastic saucer for a large flowerpot -- which I
discovered when I bought a replacement! It sits in a metal frame anchored
to my deck railing. The dripper has a thin hose connected to a nearby
faucet. The big advantage to this type of birdbath vs. concrete one is that
I can easily clean the birdbath in the kitchen sink and replace it in the
frame.)

Height may not matter much; whatever you can comfortably reach with a full
feeder, keeping in mind that some large feeders can hold a lot of seed.

And don't forget a hummingbird feeder! You don't need commercial solution,
just use 4 parts water to 1 part sugar boiled until sugar is completely
dissolved. My personal preference is for Droll Yankee feeders because they
are clear, so you can see what you are doing when you clean them -- also,
the bee guards (look like flower petals) are permanently attached.

Good luck!

Anne Lurie
NE Raleigh


"laurie (Mother Mastiff)" > wrote in message
...
>I put a feeder with National Geographic seed suitable for small birds, and
>had an early spate of small beauties when the tree was still half alive.
>As soon as the weather warmed up, the whatever-it-is (pine borers or
>fungus?) that has been killing off all my white pines nailed it and in a
>matter of days it went from mostly green to all dead.
>
> Haven't seen birds eating from the feeder since then. It is still about
> 2/3 full.
>
> Do you experienced birders think the birds quit coming because the tree is
> dead, or may there be another cause? I have heard and seen birds in the
> live trees in the yard, so they aren't just avoiding my yard....
>
> Since the tree HAS to come down (rotten roots, close to the house, thicker
> and fuller on the side nearest the house, no-brainer!) I would love to
> have a bird feeder even closer to my window, in the hopes of taking some
> photos of birds closer up. The window is on the north side of the house.
> Is this feasible? Likely?
>
> Would birds eat from a feeder near a window, near the eaves of the house?
> How high is a good height for the feeder? Is there a style that is better
> for attracting birds? Squirrels don't come into this part of the yard, or
> they'd've emptied the cheap feeder that's already up....
>
> Thanks for any advice you can share!
>
>
> --
> laurie (Mother Mastiff)
> Please review my draft web page about my birds, www.mothermastiff.com
>
>