We put a bird feeder in our back yard two days ago. Where are the birds?

[Orrex]

After we noticed that they were picking through our compost heap, we thought that they might appreciate an actual, approved feeding site located nearby for their convenience.

But two days on, and nary a bird has partaken.


What kind of snob birds are they?!?

[siligut]

1. It can take weeks.

They will eventually show up, but truly it takes time for them to trust and know. Don’t fret. You don't have snobby birds.

[trof]

2. Takes a while for them to find it sometimes.

It was a couple of weeks before they started to visit ours.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

3. Hurry! Hurry!

tsk tsk...city boy. Nature is on its own time :D

[Orrex]

7. But I live in a city!

A very small one, but a city nonetheless! Nature should therefore obey our whims and wishes!

[TZ]

4. Obviously

they are liberal latte drinking volvo feather wearing elitist birds...:P

[MajorChode]

5. Some birds don't eat seed

Depending on where you live there may not be too many seed eaters around this time of year. Also birds are creatures of habit and tend to go back to the same places to eat and nest.

It took a couple of years before I got a good number of hummingbirds to feed at my feeders, but now they come back every summer. Last year I got a mother hummingbird to build a nest in a tree right outside my kitchen window. We could sit at the table and watch her feed her young.

[Orrex]

8. That makes sense

We noticed that birds were picking the corn meal out of our compost heap, so we hoped that seed was in an approximately equivalent taste-zone.


Maybe I'll get one of those plastic yard-owl things to foster an image of a bird-friendly yard!

[dgibby]

16. Bad idea if you want the birds to come to your feeders.

Owls are predators and the little birds will not be happy!

[Orrex]

28. That explains why all the goats left when I put up that chupacabra statue

[BeachBaby]

6. Got any sharp-shinned hawks out there?

They scare the finches away every damned time.

[Orrex]

15. I don't see hawks around here too often, and when I do, they're mostly red-tails

We get turkey vultures fairly often, as well as the occasional crane.


Mostly it's just the little birdies in my neighborhood, though.

[CreekDog]

9. In South America

what part of February don't you understand? :rofl: :hide:

[Orrex]

10. Hey, smart ass!

About two weeks ago we saw this in the tree behind our house:



I figured that at least a few of them would be hungry by now!

[Fire Walk With Me]

11. Think cats are the only ones after the mythical, magical cheezeburger?

Nope. Birds want it too. Offer up some cheezeburgers, stat, or you'll get no birdie love.

Encrustation upon all exposed automobiles, but no birdie love.

[Skittles]

12. you want I should kick some snob bird ass, Orrex?

let me at them little f***ers

[Orrex]

13. If it wouldn't be too much trouble for you

I thought about roughing one of them up as an example to the others, but I'd appreciate the input of a professional in this matter.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

14. Give it time...

Sometimes it takes awhile for them to visit new feeders. I think they just need to air out a bit and eliminate the "human" smell.

[RushIsRot]

17. Most of my birds prefer black oil sunflower seeds. Is that what you

offered?

[Skittles]

18. your snobby birds may not represent all snobby birds

:7

[RushIsRot]

19. If I can get close enough, I'll kick their collective asses!

DRAT!

[Orsino]

20. We just came through a windy period...

...in which seeds of all sorts were spread everywhere. I noticed that birds weren't showing up at our feeder. They're back now.

It might take a few days, too, for a new feeder to be discovered. By birds. The squirrels probably knew when you first thought about installing a feeder, and began Twittering about it immediately.

[Arkansas Granny]

21. Whenever I put a feeder in a new location I generally put some highly visible food

on the ground near it. A few slices of stale bread torn into chunks usually works to get their attention and they will discover your feeder while they are there.

[Bertha Venation]

22. They'll come. Trust me.

As soon as one finds the feeder, you'll have more than you can count.

[MineralMan]

23. If you hang it, they will come....

They will. Really. It can take a few days.

[DevonRex]

24. It took a really good snow storm before the birds found our feeders.

As soon as they can't find stuff on the ground, they'll fine them, never fear.

[TreasonousBastard]

25. First, the squirrels have to rip the...

feeder to shreds and spill the seeds on the ground.

Then the birds show up to eat the fallen seed.

[graywarrior]

26. They're all at my house

Practically baning my door down. And I ran out of seeds. They're glaring at me.

[Evoman]

27. Fill the bird feeder with old McDonalds wrappers....favourite food of the local birds.

[Jamastiene]

29. It's winter.

Give it until spring. They'll be everywhere, throwing seeds all over the place and waking you up at the crack of dawn fighting over who gets dibs on the sunflower seeds.

If you want to hurry things along, buy some meal worms and feed those to them on the feeder.

[DarkTirade]

30. Well maybe if you didn't pour arsenic over your seeds you'd have more birds left...

[jobycom]

31. At the Olive Gar.... Oh you know.

[old mark]

32. They will take their own time to start, but in a week or so

they will be there in gangs.

We did the same thing this summer - took about 10 days. I think they are put off by the human smell on the feeders.

mark