You\u2019re not alone in asking this question! Everyone is seeing fewer birds at their feeders right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t worry! A slowdown is normal for this time of year and temporary<\/em>. Traffic at your feeder is likely to start picking up as we get further into Autumn. However, your fresh bath continues to be necessary for all wild birds whether seed-eater or non-seed-eater!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Hummingbird migrants are still coming through so keep feeders filled and nectar fresh. Keep them up until two weeks after your last sighting. (Feeders do not keep Hummingbirds from migrating!<\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are several factors overlapping right now to explain why your feeders aren\u2019t attracting as many birds. It’s all about timing and seasonal events.+<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Thank you for supporting our efforts here at the store, but most of all, thank you for supporting wild birds.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n Debi, Mike and The Backyard Naturalist Team<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Feeder activity is down and everyone’s asking: “Where are my birds?” You\u2019re not alone in asking this question! Everyone is seeing fewer birds at their feeders right now. Don\u2019t worry! A slowdown is normal for this time of year and temporary. Traffic at your feeder is likely to start picking up as we get further into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":12606,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,119],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feeding-wild-birds","category-goldfinches"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebackyardnaturalist.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebackyardnaturalist.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebackyardnaturalist.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebackyardnaturalist.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebackyardnaturalist.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12603"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thebackyardnaturalist.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12603\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12609,"href":"https:\/\/thebackyardnaturalist.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12603\/revisions\/12609"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebackyardnaturalist.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebackyardnaturalist.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebackyardnaturalist.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebackyardnaturalist.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Why this is normal:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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It\u2019s harvest time! We\u2019ve entered the peak of Nature\u2019s food production. Plants are going to seed and berries are still abundant. Insects have not yet gone dormant. Your birds are very happily eating food provided by natural habitats and the native plants and insects in your garden.<\/a>This year, because we\u2019ve had a recent long stretch of warm, dry weather, it\u2019s possible there is even more food than usual.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
All those juvenile birds are now winging their way alone and feeding independently. If you\u2019re missing their squeaky voices and enthusiasm at your feeders, you\u2019re not alone!<\/li>\n\n\n\n
Some of our favorite birds have quietly left the area, heading south to their winter homes. It\u2019s always sad to see them go, but this year we are feeling even more bereft.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nHow we can help sustain wild bird populations, at home and at work:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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It\u2019s estimated that up to a billion wild birds<\/em> per year die after crashing into glass. See The Cornell Lab of Ornithology\u2019s recommendations \u2018Why Birds Hit Windows\u2014and How You Can Help Prevent It\u2019.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n
The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center<\/strong> lists this as the No. 1 human-caused reason for the loss of birds<\/a>, aside from habitat loss.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nBackyard by backyard, all our micro-habitats are helping to make a difference.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n