Bummed about my new bird feeder - ideas wanted

[Grace]

I got a window bird feeder several months ago. It has a one-way mirror on it so I can see the (theoretical) birds, but they wouldn't be able to see me.

So far it's only attracted...... MICE!!! And lots of them. Since the feeder is in the window that butts up against my desk (I can reach out and touch the window), seeing little mice crawling all around is gross to me - not to mention all the mouse doo-doo they leave everywhere. And the worst part is there hasn't been a SINGLE bird that has come to feed from it. Ever. The directions that came with the feeder say that it may take awhile for the birds to come, but to be patient. Well, I just keep refilling it for the danged mice and that's it.

Any ideas on how to attract birds to the feeder? Should I put some mouse traps out there to keep the mice away? (I told DH if we do that, HE'S going to remove the dead mice, not me!) Should I just forget about it and take the whole thing down? I would SOO love to have birds sitting and feeding in my window next to me. I don't understand what the problem could be.

Here's a link to the feeder I have:

http://www.bestnest.com/bestnest/RTProduct.asp?SKU=BCO-78623

Oh, and our back yard is FULL of birds - we have bird houses all over and they're all full of birds. I've even seen bluejays and cardinals, which are unusual around here - we have mostly sparrows. But NONE will come to the feeder! :confused: :confused: :(

[donleyk]

I would be worried that if you did the mouse traps you'd hurt your birds. I don't have a recommendation but you do have my sympathy!

[MrsReber]

Eieieieieieei!!! :eek: !!

No advice, though.

[Grace]

Yes, it's definitely gross (the mice, that is). I forgot to mention that the mice only come at night, not during the day. And they're not afraid of me. I shrieked the first time I saw one there, but then I tapped on the glass, shined flashlights on them, made a whole bunch of noise, and they just ignored me! :rolleyes:

I never thought about the birds potentially getting caught in the mouse traps - good thinking. Although there haven't been any birds..... :rolleyes: :p

[MrsReber]

Yeah, but you just know if you put a trap there, that's when the birds would show up. How about getting a cat to sit in the window? Of course, that would scare the birds, too.

I never had this problem, but it doesn't sound very promising. It's sad- I can see you all excited about watching the birds and then getting mice! It's not fair.

[Mamasue]

Grace...that is very unsual. The only thing that I can think of is the feeder and window low to the ground so that they can get in. You should have had birds at least after a few days. Maybe also the birds don't accept it because its close to movement in the house. Have you tried any other standing feeders.

[gertdog]

Grace, I found this info on the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's FeederWatch website, in the FAQ section.

http://birds.cornell.edu/pfw/

"Rodents are attracted to seeds dropped beneath feeders. Once a population is established, it can be very difficult to discourage. The first step is to discontinue feeding for a couple of weeks to encourage the rodent population to disperse. Next, consider ways to feed without any waste falling to the ground. There are several feeders available that will catch dropped seeds, but most of the catch trays aren't big enough to really do the job. You may want to look into constructing a large catch tray to place under your feeders that you can clean out or remove each night or that can be hung off the ground. The key is to prevent rodents from getting to any seed. Also, it will be important to clean any catch tray that you construct, because bird droppings contaminated with Salmonella bacteria may survive on the catch tray and cause disease among your birds."

Good luck!

[sneezles]

Once I put up a squirrel feeder, one that you put the dried corn on, and all I ever got were bayou rats!!! One time I glued a squirrel statue to the "seat" and the next morning I found him on the ground...d@mn rats!

Do you have houses that are close to that window? Could you put another feeder on the same side of the house but on a tree or the fence? Or maybe a birdbath in the same general area...

[Kathy B]

You might just take it down for a few weeks and take care of the mice situation. If you put traps out at night, you shouldn't need to worry about the birds, but be sure to bring them in before you go to bed. Birds are early risers. :p

Then I would suggest putting up a feeder further away from the window to attract the birds. Once you have birds coming to your yard, you can put the window feeder back up, but leave the other feeder up, too. If they are used to coming to the first feeder, they will eventually/gradually check out the window feeder.

[muriel3002]

You might taking in the feeder at night and returning it during the morning, if your mice problem is only at night. I know it's a pain, but my mother is a fanatic about feeding the birds and also has bears, so she has to take the feeders in at night. (If not, there's bent over, destroyed and empty feeders in the morning.)

I'm not sure if that would discourage the mice completely, but it might work.

Also, check with a store that sells birdseed - maybe there is a type that mice don't like?

[tbb113]

You might want to check this site (http://www.wildbirds.com/feeding_birdsgone.htm) about why birds aren't going to a feeder. Maybe they don't like the location? If you have other birds coming to your other feeders...I would think its that the birds don't think the new feeder is safe

[DmOrtega]

I would get a different kind of feeder to put out further from the house, even 6" away, on a pole system. Check out
Wildbirds Unlimited (http://www.wildbirds.com/) for information.

I found this for you on the website.

Your bird feeder is offering free food. Of course you are going to attract unwanted visitors!
Some folks would like the "pest birds" to go away. These might include Starlings, House Sparrows, Grackles, Crows, Blue Jays or Sharp-shinned Hawks.

Other birdfeeders attract pests like raccoons, mice and rats, or deer. One person even wrote to a national birding magazine about a Moose that came to their birdfeeder!

There are a few tricks to getting rid of the critters you do not want:

Keep birdseed off the ground
Stop feeding certain foods for a while
Change the type of bird feeder you use
Move your feeders to a new location
Stop feeding completely for a week
Keep the area under the feeders clean and free of seeds. Birds spill a lot of seed. This can attract mice and rats.

Larger birds can be deterred by enclosing your feeders in a cage. The smaller birds can get through the narrow openings and eat. The larger birds are kept out. This should also prevent deer from eating your birdseed.

If you are bothered by raccoons, you may find that moving your feeder away from tree branches or buildings will help. See our suggestions for stopping squirrels -- these ideas will help stop raccoon raids as well.

edited to add - try moving your feeder away from the ledge, far enough that a mouse would have to jump to the feeder.

[Jazzmatazz49]

I vote TAKE IT DOWN~~~I hate mice. I'm deathly afraid of any little creepy crawlie critters!

[Beth Y]

I know you can buy stuff to keep away squirrels that is basically vaseline with hot pepper in it. I bought a small tub and just smear it on the way up the pole that holds my feeders and the squirrels don't come around, at least not until a good rain washes off the goo. Apparently the squirrels hate the pepper, but the birds can't taste it. They also make stuff you can put in your feed, or feed with it already in it. I wonder whether since mice and squirrels are both rodents, they will also hate the pepper and give the birds a chance.

[HejazSunKat]

How about writing to the website's customer service or to that of the manufacturer (do you still have the box it came in?) and tell them about the issues you're having both with the unwanted visitors and the lack of birds. Maybe they would have some suggestions for you. Watching the birds outside your window sure is a wonderful simple pleasure so I hope you can get it resolved.

[Grace]

Thanks for all the input everyone. I bought the feeder in the Spring (and it was a big deal for me - it's been on my Xmas wish list for like 3 years and I'd never gotten it, so I broke down and just bought it for myself), I then had the mice problem and took the feeder down for a long time (like a month I guess). I decided to try again. The mice didn't find it for a while, but still no birds came to it. I used to have an old clear feeder that just sat on the outside sill that the birds came to like crazy, so that's why I figured they'd like this new feeder much better. No such luck. Maybe the mirror scares them away?

I guess my option at this point is to take it down again for a few weeks and when I put it back up again, I'm going to change to a different bird food - one with more millet/little seeds in it, not so many sunflower seeds. The bag of birdfood I have now says for "songbirds", and I have seen a blue bird (or blue jay, not sure which) and a couple of male cardinals sit on the electric wire just above the window and look down at the food, but they never actually came to the feeder. I'd be happy just to feed the darned sparrows. But it doesn't seem the sparrows like this food (they liked the other stuff I used to put out that was more millet).

I guess I could also try putting up another different feeder a few feet away and see if that helps. It's just that this one already cost $70 and I'm not too keen on spending more. But it's of no use if they never come to it, so I need to do something.

I agree Linda that watching the birds IS a wonderful simple pleasure! I can't tell you how happy it makes me to sit at my little desk in my litte house and look out at my very little backyard filled with bunnies, flowers, herbs, rasberries, birdies, butterflies, and the hear the buzzing sound of those summer cicadas!

I think I will also try to contact the company and ask them for advice too. Thanks again everyone and I'll let you know if I have any success attracting some actual BIRDS! :D

[Kathy B]

Grace,

One thing that you might try for bird food is the sunflower chips. Those are just the seeds of the sunflower, NO SHELLS, and there are a LOT of birds that like those. Cardinals and blue jays will eat it as well as titmice (NOT a mouse), finches, chickadees and others. We started using that a few years ago, and there is a lot less waste. If the birds don't like it, they don't come, and the ones that do come eat it all. With the mixes we found that birds would "root" through to find what they liked, and a lot of the other seed fell to the ground. (Here mousey, mousey!)

[Beth]

The blue jays and cardinals will be atrracted to sunflower seed more than millet. Blue birds too from what I remember. (Blue jays are the size of cardinals or larger and have grey and white markings -- and a tuft on the top of their heads. Bluebirds are smaller, but not as small as the sparrows and wrens. The have a blush of rosey color on their chests.)

My bluebirds did come to a window feeder one year, but not when we were too close to the window or there was a lot of activty. I don't think the larger birds ever did. We had a flower bed right underneath and hanging baskets nearby -- that might have helped attract them. We also put mealworms out when we knew the bluebirds were there. The other birds loved them too, but we were trying to keep the bluebirds nesting in the yard happy and returning -- also loved seeing them come up to the window.

Another thought -- if the seed is getting a lot of sun, or just if it is hot and humid, the seed could be turning rancid. Try putting out small amounts and replacing it more often. Birds won't eat bad seed, but squirrels and mice may not be so picky.

If you can figure out where the mice are oming from, you could put traps with peanut butter down. If they are under brush and the birds can't see them, you will lessen the possibility of catching a bird. Do you have any broken flower pots? Or maybe just some plastic cups you could cut holes in or the side out of so a mouse could crawl in and get to the trap, but a bird wouldn't?

I would like to be able to draw more birds to this house too -- haven't seen any red headed woodpeckers or bluebirds since we moved, and they were two of my favorites. The squirrels can get to all our feeders here and it's hard to have anything left for the birds -- or even that they can get to since the squirrels are always there.

[Beth]

Also, you may be right about the mirror. Some birds are drawn to them, but will try to scare off or intereact with the "other bird." Some will avoid them.

[Gilgamesh37]

I agree with what everyone else has suggested. We have a constant battle with mice, even though I bring the feeders in every night nad put them in a metal garbage can, and all our extra seeds is kept in metal cans. Still, spills happen when I'm filling the feeders, and so we have mice. In our house, I'm The Bringer of Mousie Death, cuz DBF has greater guilt feelings about killing them (but not about killing the mole that was eating his bonsai trees. But I digress)

For the record, here's a blue jay

http://www.stanford.edu/~petelat1/photos/blja-2.jpg

and here's a western bluebird (I forget where you are? you may have mountain ones instead)

http://www.stanford.edu/~petelat1/photos/webl-3.jpg

[Grace]

Oh, they're beautiful! My "blue" bird was definitely a blue jay then. I know blue jays are considered pests by many because they destroy other bird's nests, but I love all of them anyway! :D

I took the feeder down now and cleaned up the gross and disgusting mouse droppings :mad: Maybe things will be better in the fall.

[Grace]

Just coming back to report that I FINALLY have birds in my feeder!!! I'm so thrilled! About two weeks ago the sparrows finally found the food and they're in and out of it all day, but just now, as I'm sitting here reading the board (the feeder is about a foot and a half away from my keyboard) a big blue jay flew in! I'm so excited! I'll try and take a picture when he comes back.......

But I guess the key was to put it up in Fall when the natural food supply is dwindling some. I bet this winter it will be FULL of hungry birds! YAY! :D

[kima]

That is great news Grace!
There is somehthing very relaxing about watching birds at a feeder. Enjoy!:)

[HejazSunKat]

Originally posted by Grace
But I guess the key was to put it up in Fall when the natural food supply is dwindling some. I bet this winter it will be FULL of hungry birds! YAY! :D

You know, I was actually wondering if you'd found a solution. Great! Enjoy your feathered friends. :)

[Beth]

Originally posted by Grace
But I guess the key was to put it up in Fall when the natural food supply is dwindling some. I bet this winter it will be FULL of hungry birds! YAY! :D

I find that we get a fair number of birds in the fall and winter, but the heaviest feeding seems to be in the spring when seeds haven't yet formed and they are feeding the babies. Now that they have found the feeder and feel safe there, I bet you'll get plenty of activity in the spring too.

[fci5767]

This information is coming at the perfect time. I'm planning to get a bird feeder to hang outside the windows of my classroom. Hopefully we will attract some feathered friends to observe.

I can't wait until spring when we will plant a butterfly garden.

[Grace]

Here's a quick picture I got of one sparrow having a snack - usually though there are more like 3 or 4 in there at one time, and I wish I would have gotten a picture of the Blue Jay. He was really big (like 4 times the size of the sparrow) and really cool! Anyway, you can see how close I sit to the feeder. I really enjoy sitting at my desk working (um yeah, that's "work" you see there on my computer screen! :D ).

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid145/pd44469a69b30c0a7be0ece1c3e40de7d/f66ec6a1.jpg