I have found 9-pound bags of a mix of mostly millet with some sunflower seed and, I think, safflower seed, at a dollar-type store here called Big Lots. $7 per bag. Birds gobble it up in winter, but in the winter they'll eat anything; in the spring they are picky, kicking out the milo for the pigeons and doves, so I stop feeding them and concentrate on hummingbirds and, this year, suet for Ladderback and Downy woodpeckers. Also I have nyger thistle feeders (both metal mesh feeder and sock feeder) out for our sweet, tiny lesser goldfinches. To complete my first post in this forum, I spotted and got pictures of a male Northern Cardinal this morning, a rare sighting for our area (Albuquerque). A similar male bird (the same one??) was reported a few miles further north back in February. I also photographed a rare Vermillion Flycatcher in April. Maybe more birds are moving into my state -- and I'll have figure out how to feed them if they visit my apartment complex :)

Thanks for the response, Loris, and so glad you enjoyed my article! I agree, the young cardinals are noisy, but then all the baby birds are when they want food! I love it, though, because we have our windows open, and as soon as I hear them squawking, I can rush over and watch. Today there was a squirrel doing contortions trying to leap from our hammock to our mixed seed feeder, and it was so funny watching him. We have that feeder strung on a string in the very middle of the back yard, so they can't jump onto it from any trees or straight up. And the squirrels don't seem to care about any of the other seeds, other than the one for sunflowers, but we finally learned at got one of those spring ones that close up if something too heavy lands on the perch. The few squirrels that originally tried it must have passed the word on to the rest, hardly any squirrels try to get seeds there any more. Happy Spring--and right around the corner, Happy Summer! Darlene

Well, this is my first post to this forum, and I'm glad it is just a couple steps over from the Gardening Forums! You folks further north than Mobile Alabama can look for a big flock of goldfinch to show up, because they left here last Friday (for the most part) all fat and sassy. I've fed the birds all last summer and all this winter, and somehow they spread the word until we had a huge flock at our feeders in a residential surburban area between Mobile Bay and Dog River. I know it was several hundred coming and hanging out in our leafless river birch and vine-covered privacy fences. Black oil sunflower seed consumption for January was MORE than 4 35-lb bags. We have cardinals here who never migrate, and with mature trees and huge azalea and camellia shrubbery all around, they find cover and nesting spots. One cardinal nested just outside my study window in a camellia, so I watched the male feed his babies....never saw the female do that, she was suspicious of ME. And for about 2 weeks now, the pair of bluebirds have been keeping an eye on their nest box, so I'm gathering fresh pine needles for them to have an easy job of building a new nest. We also have hawks here. And owls. And cats, which I hiss at and they run--my two dachshunds know the hiss denotes a CAT, and they go running to add to the pandemonium. If you don't have large shrubbery yet, think about growing some vines over an arbor, even annual vines can give shelter, shade, and sometimes food. Hyacinth beans, scarlet runner beans, morning glories, sweet peas, green (veggie) peas are all good annuals. The sound of running water, or a bucket dripping into a birdbath, that will give them a reason to come around when it is hot and dry. I try to locate my enticements where I can see the activity from inside. I'm hoping to again host a nesting pair of Carolina wrens for the 4th consecutive year in a pig flower pot (containing a spiny aloe vera) sitting on the deck railing right outside the back door. So far the "Pig Family" has raised 5 x 3 = 15 babies in that pig pot. Apparently they feel secure because other birds do not tolerate our closeness so well. Instead, the Pig Family fusses at US for intruding on their property. Love the birds. Love gardening. They go well together.

I'm glad your bird problem turned out to be seasonal but just in case you ever face this problem again (or any bird infestation problem) I thought it might be helpful to just mention a different angle on this. The problem is not that the birds are pooping (or whatever they're doing) in your pool. That is simply a symptom of your real problem: that your environment is attractive to birds. If you really want to keep birds from being destructive to your property you have to make it so that your land is a place they don't want to hang out on in the first place. There are a lot of different approaches to this but yes, stopping the food supply is one of them. Another would be the mylar balloons someone else mentioned up above. There are also specialized bird scare balloons with 'eyes' that follow the birds wherever they fly as well as holographic tape. These incorporate movement so they are usually more affective than static decoys. There are other senses to attack as well: taste/smell, touch, and hearing. Birds hate methyl anthranilate (a chemical derived from concord grapes that has long been used for grape flavoring)--it gives them a similar sensation to what we feel when we encounter bleach. This comes in commercially available sprays. Also, there are sticky gels, netting, or spike strips that keep birds from roosting on certain surfaces. Lastly, there are sound devices that utilize recordings of predators/distress calls that scare birds away. For a partially or fully enclosed area you could use an ultrasonic device as well (one that can't be heard by humans but is annoying to birds and bats). Make sure that you switch up whatever you use from time to time. If you use balloons, move the location (but always keep it near where the birds are nesting). If you're using a sound device change the interval between effects, try to randomize the effects being used. Also, using the products together in a synergistic way will create a more effective and longer-lasting reaction. I'm glad to hear that no one has mentioned killing or injuring the birds...don't do that. As mentioned before that would be reacting to the symptoms rather than truly solving the problem. Furthermore, it would be very easy to accidentally tamper with one of the MANY birds protected by the Migratory Bird Act of 1918 (and then you'd be in big trouble). Just a side note: be careful when cleaning up the bird poop. Birds can transmit over 60 diseases to humans. Some of them are fatal. Bird dropping particles can be unknowingly inhaled and lead to serious health problems. Good luck in your future bird encounters! Here is a link that might be useful: click for examples, case studies and FAQs about bird pest control