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Nature Done Wright
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May 6, 2018
Backyard Bird Question: Your Help Needed
A reader in New Milford writes:
For the past 4 years my wife and I have been feeding the birds with our backyard bird feeder.
There has always been a crowd at the feeder, regardless of the season.
For some reason, which we do not fathom this year only, for the past few weeks, attendance at this feeder has been very sparse.
It's a small backyard surrounded by three large yards and has French Creek running through it.
An adjacent yard has several feeders and is experiencing the same situation.
We have a squirrel-proof feeder hanging from the roof of our patio.
We used to have a hummingbird feeder but removed it after 2 years of no hummingbirds.
The yard is completely fenced.
Explanation, please, if there is one?
6 comments
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We have been experiencing a similar dramatic decline in feeder birds. Looking for an explanation, we try to determine what’s new and different. Not red tail hawks, that are prevalent here near the top of the hill. Not foxes, that regularly traipse through our yard. But this spring we have a resident pair of American crows apparently nesting nearby, certainly a threat to any nest eggs of the feeder birds. Or perhaps it is a seasonal abundance of caterpillars and other insects that are preferred over the seeds? But this morning even our house wrens are not calling.
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I live in River Edge, the next town over. We have had many red tailed hawk sightings recently. I know the birds at the feeder scatter, sometimes for hours.
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I agree and also think it may be a predator. We have had a fox in our yard and that certainly chases the birds away. If you could have seen the fox jump the fence you would not have believed how fast and agile it was.
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or… perhaps someone in the neighborhood recently began letting their cat out.
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Fascinating theory!
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Maybe a hawk, possibly nesting, in the area?
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6 comments
Tom Mitchell
We have been experiencing a similar dramatic decline in feeder birds. Looking for an explanation, we try to determine what’s new and different. Not red tail hawks, that are prevalent here near the top of the hill. Not foxes, that regularly traipse through our yard. But this spring we have a resident pair of American crows apparently nesting nearby, certainly a threat to any nest eggs of the feeder birds. Or perhaps it is a seasonal abundance of caterpillars and other insects that are preferred over the seeds? But this morning even our house wrens are not calling.
Diane
I live in River Edge, the next town over. We have had many red tailed hawk sightings recently. I know the birds at the feeder scatter, sometimes for hours.
Marianne Herrmann
I agree and also think it may be a predator. We have had a fox in our yard and that certainly chases the birds away. If you could have seen the fox jump the fence you would not have believed how fast and agile it was.
julie
or… perhaps someone in the neighborhood recently began letting their cat out.
Jim Wright
Fascinating theory!
Carol Flanagan
Maybe a hawk, possibly nesting, in the area?