Where do My Birds Go in Winter?
by Jill
Hello
Bird Feeders
by Monique
I hung up a bird feeder at the beginning of November and I have never seen any birds using it yet. How do I attract the birds to the feeder? Birds
We just moved to a new house where the past owners did not feed birds. We've had seed and suet balls out for 2 months now and not one bird has come by... is it just a question of waiting or is there something we can do to encourage them?
 Are your feeders out in the open or close enough to a tree which might provide a refuge in case of a predator? They will need some kind of cover to flee to in case of danger 5 to 10 feet from your feeder. The birds will also use this perching area to scan the area for danger first before they go to the feeder. If you do not have trees, etc, you can build your own place of refuge by making a brush pile. You will find some ideas here on how to go about doing that on a page from my site called Bird Watching by Winter Feeding. Another reason for not having any birds could be related to your proximity to a large body of water. Some birds of prey hunt near water and open areas where they can see their target better. There could be birds of prey hunting in the area scaring off the small songbirds. Birds of prey make places for the small birds to hide a necessity. One more reason to provide a place for the birds to shelter is cold or severe weather. It is important for the birds to have a place to roost at night that is sheltered from the wind and where their body heat can build up somewhat to conserve heat and stay warm. They will also need this refuge during the day if the weather is very bad. If shelter is available close by then they will have one more reason to stay near to your feeders. Not having wild birds at your feeders could also be because there are no other feeding stations in the area. Wild birds are foragers and like to move from one source of food to another. If you live in an area where other households are feeding the birds too, then the birds will travel through, feeding from one station to another. If you do not have neighbours nearby, then your birds would have to travel further to find another feeding location. To rectify this problem, it may be helpful if you set up one feeding area in your front yard and one in your backyard providing two feeding stations. You will also need to look at the quality of the seed you are using. Because a wild bird’s energy reserve is crucial in the winter they will not hang around a feeding station where the seed shells are mostly empty or the seed inside is undeveloped and too small. They cannot afford to spend their daylight hours and energy reserves consuming poor quality food. They will locate a source that provides the energy they require.
Another question to ask is, do you make any significant changes to your yard as the winter season approaches. Wild birds are creatures of habit and will be cautious to come to a yard that has changed. This will be true any time of year. Make changes slowly to your yard. If you want to place something close to your feeding area, do it in increments so the birds have time to become accustomed to the object.
 
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