I have felt "abandoned" by the birds for months now - big reduction in frequency of need to refill feeders -- like, nothing for weeks.  Even went out and bought all new seed and thoroughly cleaned the feeders thinking there was something wrong with my offerings of mainly sunflower seed and some more expensive "special mix" concoctions that seemed to appeal even less than the black oil.

A few Black-capped Chickadees - not nearly as many as usual, Blue Jays, Red-breasted Nuthatches, less-frequent White-Breasted Nuthatch, Tufted Titmouse, Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, no Mourning Doves until mid-March, occasional sprinkling of Dark-eyed Juncoes and, a few times in March, a couple of American Goldfinches.  Usually, each winter, 1 or 2 Chipping Sparrows visit from time to time but have seen none this year; no Pine Siskins either.  Almost never get Redpolls anyway.  Even the regular visits of Ruffed Grouse to my crabapple tree have seemed less this winter.  Some years, we have had 2-3 simultaneously "tight-rope walking" the finer branches seeking the last of the little apples.  On January  26th, a gang of robins with a few Cedar Waxwings and 2 Goldfinches blasted through.  In mid-December, we were delighted by two pairs plus a single (unusually light-red yet definitely all-red) male Cardinal - they hung out 3even during snowstorms in the lilac bush near sunflower feeder for extended periods mid-December and much of January; then, pretty much vanished but, whaddaya know?, a single pair is here again right this minute.  Haven't seen a single owl all winter.

Connie Snyder

 No Purple Finches, no Pine Siskins, no Common Redpolls. No Evening Grosbeaks (for years now). The level in my thistle feeder never changed since I put it up. I did go through quite a bit of black-oil sunflower and my third feeder with a mix of sunflower, cracked corn and millet was emptied regularly. This was owing mostly to Blue Jays, which at times numbered over twenty. A smaller group of Mourning Doves and the American Tree Sparrows kept the ground below the feeders clean. I also kept two suet feeders going. Gray Squirrels outnumbered Red Squirrels for the first time. Kind of a boring and light year as well.   Jeff​

On 1 April 2017 at 00:19, Blake Allison <000000085d6e0931-dmarc-[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Sitting tonight in the kitchen filling out the on-line form for my 20th week of the 2016-2017 Project FeederWatch season, I was struck by how light feeder activity has been this year. Through the vernal equinox, I tallied only 15 species. Seed consumption was much lower too.

Anecdotally, I have heard from birding colleagues and my purveyors that it has been a light feeding season.

What feeder experiences have other observers had?

Blake Allison

Lyme, NH 03768-3322

To post messages, send e-mail to: [log in to unmask]edu Set your e-mail application to PLAIN TEXT ONLY to post messages. To contact the list owner: [log in to unmask]rtmouth.edu To unsubscribe: E-mail this command to [log in to unmask]u UNSUBSCRIBE UV-Birders To change your e-mail address: E-mail this command from your old address to: [log in to unmask]u CHANGE UV-Birders [new e-mail address]

Web based archives and subscription management are available at: http://listserv.dartmouth.edu/Archives/uv-birders.html

To post messages, send e-mail to: [log in to unmask]edu Set your e-mail application to PLAIN TEXT ONLY to post messages. To contact the list owner: [log in to unmask]dartmouth.edu To unsubscribe: E-mail this command to [log in to unmask]edu UNSUBSCRIBE UV-Birders To change your e-mail address: E-mail this command from your old address to: [log in to unmask]edu CHANGE UV-Birders [new e-mail address]

Web based archives and subscription management are available at: http://listserv.dartmouth.edu/Archives/uv-birders.html