Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska help, birds will NOT come to feeder

So what do I do ? I have a tube type feeder full of blk oil sun flower seeds�.�along with a recently added suet ball. Going on 2nd year !! hung some �foil� to catch there eye and lure them in/near nope that no work---- even did a grouse carcass�..and all I got was a camp robber and a magpie ,same thing with a moose leg�at my last place (30 miles away)..... With this setup, I was the greatest buffet in town��..heck I even got out the �fox pro5� and played some bird sounds��to no avale......

Sunflower seeds are a pretty large seed that a lot of birds cannot or will not eat. I would try one of the commercial bird mixes that have a combination of millet, safflower, sunflower etc. I lived in AK for a few years, and to be honest, there really aren't that many seed eating birds that spend the winter up there. Not compared to the more temperate zones in the Lower 48 anyway.

Do you have a lot of birds in the vicinity this winter?

Thanks,
Chet

Sounds like you've got everything right. My birds will empty my feeder every 2 days. The only thing they'll eat are black sun flower seeds and pick at suet.

Try niger/thistle seeds. (though your tube feeder might not have the right holes.)
They are thin, almost like wide slits, in the tube. Anyway, the chickadees and the red polls love niger seed.

How open is the feeder? If the birds have to cover a lot of open space to get to the feeder they may not take a chance, especially if there is a merlin or an owl around. I usually get only blackcap chickadees and nut hatches, I'm not real fond of redpoles(too messy and drive off other birds and the mess attracts mice). I make a feeder ball out of walnuts and peanut butter. The birds around my feeder will always go to this ball over the suet ball. Good luck, Pete

using the small spend'e blk sunflower seed ..the other seeds use to get "kicked out" and not ate'n feeder looks pettey much like miss treateds......i see the birds in little flocks in the birch trees once in a while picking away...then i toss some on the driveway so they can have it there way ...all i get is grouse and some paragian ...which only fills my blk lab with happiness.... see my feeder is here..top left conner.(but not in pick https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth...ch/true/Lone_Smoker_30_BELOW#Post5841762

hen scratch

Unless you have predators hanging around they should come to the feeders. The only other thing can be as it happens to us once awhile is that if you get an old stale and moldy batch of seed, they will not come, ever! Ditto if the feeder is not cleaned and you contaminate the seed. Good luck.

Kill the lynx.

I have better results when the bird feeders are under or very near tree cover.

The birds stage from the tree branches, fly down to the feeders. If anything makes them nervous, they're up in the branches quick.

Any time I had the feeders out in the open, I got a lot less action.

Cover - tjm is on the money

I think so too - our bird feeder in Sterling hangs on the corner of the deck, protected from Tripper Lab by the gate swung back and tied, forming a protected triangle. There is a single large spruce tree about 20 feet away, and woods about 50 feet away. They stage off either and get pretty brave- some of the chackadees and nuthatches will be in the feeder, with Trip's nose only about 16 inches away from them, his head stuck thru the pickets in the gate... Pretty funny to watch.

When we are in attendance regularily, there is a Steller's Jay that will tap on our windows when he wants peanuts. He stashes the surplus all around, but the Canada Jays know all his hiding spots....

maybe you should try taking that 22 and 410 out of the window next to the feeder. LOL

Feeders attract birds and the birds attract predators, both from above and below. Any house cats around?

Bingo! This stuff works great for us too. Having your feeder next to the trees will also help.

Add a bunch of thistle to the mix.

That's a great picture!!!

Nothing like a picture with a little tail in it!

That picture sure is one in a million!

Great!

Here's another type of feed tactic we employ here at the Lake!