Birds depend on food sources, and will not leave food sources and head south for the rest of winter because it is cold outside. Instead, something else in the yard is possible giving them perception of danger or is not giving them high quality resources.

Your feeder hasn't been cleaned in a while

A dirty bird feeder is an easy way to keep birds away. Old seed hulls collect droppings which can cause bacteria and mold to accumulate. Birds avoid feeders that contain mold and bacteria even if you can’t see it. Birds use smell or see contaminated feeders when humans cannot see them. During winter when birds need to eat a lot of food to survive cold nights, they will completely avoid unreliable food sources.

Every two weeks, clean your feeders using a 10% bleach solution and scrub all the residue from perches, ports, and feeding trays. Rinse well and allow the feeders to dry completely before putting food out again. This simple maintenance tells the birds feeders offer clean food. All types of feeders, including tube feeders, platform feeders and suet cages, need regular cleaning. If you have several feeders, you can clean them in a rotating fashion to ensure that food is available for the birds at all times. Keeping feeders clean is necessary to protect the birds from illness and attract more birds to your feeders.

You are Selling the Wrong Seeds for Winter

Different kinds of birdseed attract different kinds of birds in winter. Many cheap mixes contain a lot of milo, wheat, and cracked corn that many birds ignored and let rot in your feeder. In January, birds are looking for high calorie foods with high nutritional value.

The best option to attract different birds is to use black oil sunflower seeds. These seeds will attract cardinals, chickadees, nuthatches, and finches because of their high fat content and thin shells. Suet cakes will attract woodpeckers, wrens and other insect eaters because these birds need fats in their diets and bugs are not always available. Goldfinches and pine siskins are attracted to Nyjer seed. Instead of spending money on cheap seed mixtures, offer single seed types that target the birds in your area. For winter birding, appropriate and fresh seeds will attract more birds and reduce waste. To see if your seed selection meets your bird visitors' needs, examine what birds are eating and what is falling to the ground. The more seeds that are falling to the ground, the more likely it is that your seed selection is not good.

Disease is spreading at the feeder.

A bird feeder can spread disease if sick birds intermingle with healthy birds. If you see birds at your feeder with crusty eyes, being lethargic, or acting strangely, it is likely your feeder has disease. Even with food available, healthy birds will not come to a feeder that is infected. This instinct allows entire groups of birds to be infected when they are around an infected bird feeder.

Let's break this down. The immediate solution is to remove the feeders for at least two weeks. This will help to change bird habits, disperse the birds, and break the transmission cycle. You can also use this time to clean and disinfect feeders (perch and feed areas), using bleach solution. Be sure to rake and dispose of seed droppings under feeders. Once you start feeding again, make a commitment to clean at least weekly, and monitor droppings on feeders. Spacing feeders out will help reduce crowding. Sometimes, the most responsible thing you can do is to not feed the birds. This will protect the wider community of birds from an outbreak that could spread throughout the entire neighborhood.

There are predators that have made your backyard unsafe.

Instincts for survival are strong in birds. If a predator is close, they will abandon food sources that would otherwise be great for feeding. Cats, hawks, and other predatory birds learn that feeding stations are great spots to hunt as they can find their prey easily. If Cooper's hawks or sharp-shinned hawks patrol your yard, small birds will leave until the danger goes away. Feeder hawks and cats are even worse, creating a danger that drives birds away for long periods. Look for scattered feathers, birds that are hesitant to land, or long periods of quiet after a feeding frenzy.

To make feeding stations safer, put feeders at least 10 feet from dense shrubs that conceal cats but within 15 feet from trees or bushes that can conceal birds from aerial predators. Consider covering the ground with quick cover (like dense shrubs) that will not conceal predators. Consider putting predator baffles on the poles and keeping cats indoors. Birds need clear sightlines to see danger but need cover to get away from predators. A setup that meets these conflicting needs will help birds feel safe enough to visit feeders all winter.

Seeds That Have Gone Old And Moldy Are Piling Up Below

Your feeder tells a story that you need to listen to. If there is a thick layer of uneaten seed, or black, moldy seed husks, birds have already voted, and they have not voted in your favor. Moldy and fungus covered seed that gets wet and frozen during January's thaw cycles is a bird repellent. Birds can smell it from a distance. The waste can even make fresh seed that has been recently placed in the feeder less appealing when the waste is surrounded by fresh seed. The waste is made up of seeds that have rotted, but unappetizing seed waste isn't the only thing that goes to the birds. The nasty stuff contains aflatoxins and other compounds that can make birds sick or even kill them.

Birds that feed on the ground, such as juncos and sparrows, usually eat food that spills out from feeders, but they will not go to an area that has mold. Cleaning and preventing mold issues are both important. Rake any old seeds and remove them from the feeding area. You may want to change to a no-mess seed blend that uses hulked sunflowers rather than seeds, or put a seed-catching tray under the feeders to keep excess seed dry and contained. Fill feeders only with what birds will eat in a two to three day period to improve the quality and ensure the feeders remain fresh and attractive to birds throughout winter.

Feeder Location Does Not Have A Shelter Child Care Center Nearby

Feeding birds over winter is an excellent way to support them. However, birds will not visit bird feeders in wide open spaces because they need somewhere to take cover from wind and predators. When birds see open spaces from a feeder, the birds will not visit the feeders due to the lack of protection from harsh weather and predators like hawks. In addition to protection from the wind and birds, birds will need places to rest and wait their turn, and they will be less likely to visit feeders in the wide open. Instead they will look for sheltered areas.

The best feeding stations are placed 10 – 15 feet from protective cover, enabling an easy escape, while grounding predators play ambush from the cover. Evergreens such as Junipers, Hollys, or Spruces, provide protection all year, and are especially useful in January when leaves are gone from the trees. If the birds do not have natural cover, they will appreciate a brush pile made of pruned branches or native shrubs and young trees which will provide bird cover for years. Birds will use your yard more if you make simple changes like moving the feeder closer to the trees or adding a trellis with climbing vines.

You Don't Stick To A Schedule With Refills

Birds are everyday creatures that adapt their daily habits around dependable food sources. Your feeder, that is everyday empty, is sung to the birds as a lost cause, and they begin to depend on more reliable food sources. This becomes a problem in January. Birds need to conserve energy and avoid certian feeders to prevent wasting energy on those feeders. Once birds find new food sources, it can take multiple refills just to get the birds back to the feeder. More food does not equal more birds, but consistency does.

A small feeder that is always full will attract more birds than a large one that is empty. If you travel a lot or have an unpredictable schedule, consider putting up multiple feeders so that some are available while you service others. You could also use large-capacity models that hold several days worth of seed. You can also ask your neighbor to help with a refill while you are gone. Many birds have small living ranges and during harsh winters their options are limited. Your feeder can become very important to their survival. Predictable and regular refills let birds know that that station is worth visiting and remembering.

Birds Have Become Wary Due To Window Collisions

If you have bird feeders by your windows and notice birds flying into your windows, the ones that survive remember that particular area and start to avoid the area altogether. Each year, window collisions kill hundreds of millions of birds. A window collision, due to a bird looking like he or she is flying into a tree, creates a learned avoidance behavior that is spread throughout the entire flock of birds. Not having dead birds is not an indication that windows aren't being collided into. Birds fly into windows regardless of whether or not someone is there to witness them doing so. If you look at the windows near your bird feeders, you will see evidence of bird collisions such as smudges, feather dust, or small scratches. Moving the feeders or adding some sort of visual obstruction to the windows will solve the problems of bird feeders being placed near windows.

Zone 1: Move feeders to within three feet of the windows, too close for birds to collide, or more than thirty feet away (distant enough for birds to recognize the glass). Window stickers, external screens, or tape can be applied in patterns that are spaced no more than two inches apart (birds will fly through wide gaps). You can also use window film that is visible to birds but not to people. Some birds that witnessed a collision may never return, but protecting current visitors, and still attracting new ones, requires making glass visible and safe.

Stressed Bird Populations

Sometimes low feeder activity reflects ecological challenges outside your control. Birds are being affected by habitat loss, changes in climate, and lower insect populations critical for winter survival and migration shifts. Some species of birds that were common backyard visitors are experiencing range shifts or significant declines in populations. Redpolls, crossbills, and evening grosbeaks are examples of irruptive species that move south only when northern food crops fail. So their absence doesn't mean your feeder is lacking!

Birds may alter their migration patterns seasonally, sometimes staying further north due to mild winters. If it seems like fewer birds are coming to your feeders, it could be due to construction and pesticide use in the area. These are things that are certainly out of your control, but you can do your part to limit the impacts. Focus on creating a small habitat, and coupled with a nice feeding station, this will support whatever birds are in the area. You may not see immediate results, but every safe feeding station, coupled with patches of natural habitat, will have a positive impact on the environment and the birds conservation efforts support.