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	No Birds at the Feeder

Why are there no birds at the feeder?

If your bird feeders were quiet in the fall, you are not alone. This is a common observation in the fall.

We do not always know why there are fewer birds at feeders in a given year but there are a number of factors that could account for it. The normal migration of birds in the fall often results in gaps when local birds have moved south and migrants from further north have not yet arrived.

If this is the first time you have put up a bird feeder at your house, it may take several months for the birds to find it. Keep in mind that most small birds which come to feeders prefer sunflower seed and nearby bushes or trees for cover.

Keep in mind that some birds we think of as year-round residents, such as chickadees, blue jays, goldfinches and house finches, may migrate in some years. Occasionally, they move south or to another area, in response to food supplies or weather cues we can't detect. The birds you see in summer may not be the same individuals you see in winter.

Other birds such as pine siskins, evening grosbeaks, and redpolls are erratic visitors to New Hampshire. They breed further north and west and will stay there in the winter if food supplies are good. We may see hundreds one year and none the next.

If berry and/or nut crops were particularly good, birds often use these food sources and ignore feeders, especially during mild weather.

If you have fewer birds, please don't worry - it has nothing to do with your feeders, and we know of no recent catastrophic event, such as disease, that is harming the bird population. Local habitat changes, such as development, and the increasing number of people feeding the birds may also affect the number of birds at the feeders. It is also possible that rainy weather in early summer made it difficult for adult birds to successfully raise young. There may be fewer young birds around resulting in a smaller quantity overall of our winter residents.

In stormy weather, the birds come to feeders more often, so be patient. We encourage you to report the activity at your feeders, or lack thereof, in our annual Winter Bird Survey in February. For instructions and a recording form, send a self-addressed, stamped, long envelope to Winter Bird Survey, ASNH, 3 Silk Farm Road, Concord, NH 03301. Or, you can pick up the materials at Audubon House in Concord.