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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ruff" data-source="post: 3446352" data-attributes="member: 114987">After years of watertight service, the squirrel proof metal feeder of mine most favoured by the smaller birds I feed, the only one I keep filled over the summer, has developed a leak somewhere, causing the black sunflower seeds to sprout in one spot and creating a blockage. Up till now, I've always been able to clean it in situ but the day before yesterday I had to take it down, dump out the contents, and clean it inside and out. Subsequent internal drying required that it stay down and partially disassembled on a nearby table and interesting things started happening. The finches and chickadees that are constant visitors kept arriving and practically landing on the feeder perch that wasn't there anymore before pulling off and landing elsewhere nearby, then returning and fluttering in the spot, as if thinking they must have missed the thing somehow. One or two visited a feeder that's been inactive for the summer but that I filled in compensation, but most of them just left again. Following those observations the first morning, I went away but when putting the feeder up again this morning I found that it had been pretty thoroughly gnawed over by the local squirrels- they chewed up much of the cloth tape I've installed inside over the years to hold in extra aluminum barriers covering the tiny but vulnerable spaces the squirrels had found (I'm sure this was simple frustration because the thing was after all completely open and empty, I mean I assume it doesn't mean they're planning a later assault <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> ). Anyway, now the feeder is back in its ancient spot, but the birds are staying away, only one or two visitors in the past 2 mornings. They'll all return of course, but clearly it'll over time. I find all this interesting because it says a lot about how and why birds use feeders; I'm getting the impression that most of them have automatically decided 'well that strange metal plant has stopped producing seed this year, time to find another source of calories.'</blockquote>

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