Where are the birds????

[dixiegrrrrl]

There are no birds this fall/winter in my yard. The full feeders have not been touched.
My neighbor, who keeps a giant feeder of black sunflower seeds, says she has no visitors either, since summer.
This is normally an area that gets at least 12 types of birds in the fall/winter, and we have year round cardinals.
Have not seen a cardinal since ....gosh, maybe last spring?

Anyone else have this problem?

[TexasProgresive]

1. They're all at my house

We have wrens, sparrows, cardinals hitting our feeders and cat food. We have migratory geese flying around but I haven't heard the call of field larks yet. They usually winter here.

[bigwillq]

2. At mine too!

I love my birds, and even the squirrels!

[TexasProgresive]

3. We haven't see squirrels around for several years.

Monday I returned home with a load of hay. There gamboling across the yard was a squirrel.

[zazen]

6. may I transport wildlife across state lines? I have about 50 in my yard you can have!

[TexasProgresive]

14. Nah! It's not that there are no squirrels in the area, just not at my house.

And if you bring alien squirrels into Texas the Texas Independent party squirrels with get their bowels in an uproar.

[Whiskeytide]

41. I have a lab mix...

...that will happily chase your squirrels for you. He won't actually CATCH any of them (just too goofy to get the jump on them), but it's not for lack of earnest effort.

[bigwillq]

7. The squirrels eat most of our feed.

LOL

We even put out peanut butter sandwiches for them. I heard if you do that, they will eat the sandwiches and stay away from the feed. Nope. They eat the sandwiches and then go to the feeder. But it's all good. I enjoy feeding all of the wildlife.

[zazen]

4. now that you mention it, I haven't had as many, to be sure

In NC here.

We had been putting out less food because we saw fewer and hadn't really been paying attention. . . but after putting out a very nice x-mas present of expensive squirrel proof food we did get some visitors after Xmas. On Sunday alone (suburb in Triangle here) we had some juncos, a pair of red-bellied woodpeckers, a bluejay, a goldfinch, a pair of bluebirds, carolina wrens, nuthatches, chickadees, and mourning doves. But no cardinals, now that you mention it, and our yard used to be full of them. Not sure I saw titmice either. Haven't seen robins in a while either, or brown thrashers. Lots of hawks nearby and crows.

And too many friggin' squirrels!

Where do you live?

Maybe because it's been warmer in the South this season so far? Or thunder-stormy?

[dixiegrrrrl]

18. I live 90 miles north of Mobile

We are supposed to be in the semi-tropical zone.
Have not had much cold here.
We are in the fly zone for a lot of migrating birds.
Cardinals and mockingbirds live here all year round.
Have not seen them since summer.

[William Seger]

5. My feeders have been unusually busy this month

Two types of Blue Jays, a pair of Northern Flicker woodpeckers, at least a half-dozen different Mourning Doves, and various wrens and sparrows. We've mostly had unusually warm weather -- just 2 cold spells. (I think my elderly neighbor has stopped filling her feeders, so maybe they're all coming to mine.)

[TexasProgresive]

17. Do the doves eat from the feeders?

Ours only eat on the ground, so we make sure to spill some for them.

[William Seger]

20. I have an open, flat tray for the ground-feeders.

I have a tube feeder, but only the wrens and sparrows feed there. All the other birds and the squirrels like the open feeder.

[KatyMan]

28. Doves here in Katy TX do

they're up at our feeders all the time, as well as on the ground (mostly mourning doves, with some white wings too). I too spill seed on the ground for birds that don't/won't use a feeder. We're in Katy, far west Houston.
I too have noticed a lack of activity the past week or so. Do starlings migrate?

[a kennedy]

36. They are ground feeders at least in our neck of the world....La Crosse, Wi

I love the doves, so beautiful if you look close at their feathers, one of my favorites.

[R. Daneel Olivaw]

8. No problem in Boston area.

I can't keep my feeders full.

[Historic NY]

9. Tied a huge chuck of suet outside....

my normally active tree isn't. Perhaps they are waiting for that sunny day.

[GGJohn]

10. No problem here in Flagstaff, although it's snowing right now, so they're not so active.

[johnp3907]

11. Here in PA ours are around.

Our cardinals showed up yesterday.

[SamKnause]

12. Hello from Seaman, Ohio.

I have many many birds.

[johnnyreb]

13. Very few sparrows in South Carolina

By several years ago I noticed a huge lack of sparrows.

Researchers stumped over decline of sparrow population
October 5, 2013
Researches are investigating why the sparrow – long considered a barometer of human environments - is on a dramatic decline.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/10/05/sparrows-dying/2923241/

[dixiegrrrrl]

19. This does not sound good.

And now that you mention it...no sparrows. We usually have 2-3 different kinds.

[rogerashton]

15. We have the usual mob --

sparrows, cardinals, Carolina Wrens, finches, woodpeckers, the odd nuthatch. A Flicker a few days ago. We have to take the feeders in at night, since otherwise the deer who sleep next door will knock them down.

[packman]

16. Looking for birds in NW Florida

Every year it seems there are fewer and fewer. Portending bad times in a state that could use their happy songs.

Now, here's a bird for the ages - a half male/half female cardinal---

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/30/half-male-half-female-bird-cardinal-plumage_n_6392336.html

Ain't Nature wonderful?

[2naSalit]

23. Wow

a bisexual Cardinal? or would that be hermaphrodite? or...?

That is one for the ages! Wonder if that's a result of some nasty toxin in the environment.

[2naSalit]

21. Here

in SWMT we have our normal winter birds but had fewer summer birds. Saw only one hummingbird all summer and that was in YNP and the bluebirds were few in number. Not only that but the local ravens took a vacation for about six weeks this summer too. Had more Western Tanagers than I've seen in a few years though. The Arctic Juncos showed up super early this year.

Can't blame some of those smaller birds, It's been +2F by day/-22F at night recently so I can imagine they are huddled up some place warmer than here.

[belzabubba333]

22. here's some byrds

[2naSalit]

24. One of my favorites!! n/t

[onehandle]

25. Do geese count?

The skies are full of them heading South here in Eastern PA.

[Hari Seldon]

26. Yes and No

less birds EVERY year, sad to day

i have some crows that I am feeding

we had robins, a cardinal, blue jays all summer

my cats think that a bird feeder is a buffet table, so I don't keep one

but I can hear when my cats are outside during nesting season

[brooklynite]

27. Based on what my cats have brought in, I can definitely say there are birds...

[brewens]

29. Bushs' "Clear Skies Initiative" finally paying off I suppose. n/t

[B Calm]

30. Do you have any snow on the ground?

I usually see a lot of birds at my feeder when we have a lot of snow.

[dixiegrrrrl]

33. Warm winter, no snow.

Had snow in 2010, there were birds then.

[BumRushDaShow]

31. They are all in my mother's shrubs

Tons of sparrows and a couple families of cardinals. The cardinals have been vivid and plentiful this year. Have also heard occasional bluejay screeches and have seen a few red-tail hawks and turkey vultures circling.

[femmocrat]

32. I have noticed there are fewer than usual, too.

I thought it was because of the mild December. No snow here all month (PA). I do see them at the feeder, but not many.

[Rex]

34. Now that you mentioned it, I usually see thousands of birds this time

of year migrating. Haven't seen a one yet.

[Brother Buzz]

35. I can't keep my feeder full

Our resident pair of Anna's Hummingbirds are into inverted sugar with just a hint of caramelization this time of the year.

[MFM008]

37. we good

Birds, squirrels, chipmunks , raccoon , rabbits,deer, and I live in an apt complex. (WA state)

[DawgHouse]

38. I have lots of cardinals, I would say more than normal in fact.

You may have other "predator" type birds around that are raiding the nests.

[greytdemocrat]

39. Birds and TreeRats all over the place here in FL. nt

[Blue_In_AK]

40. I've seen quite a few Bohemian waxwings,

and some chickadees and nuthatches, always Ravens and magpies, but I haven't seen any redpolls that we had so many of a couple of years ago. I've read the redpolls go in cycles, so I'm not too worried about them.