for about 15 minutes this morning, the sparrows became enamored of my asparagus patch, which just started going to seed. lots of them picked at the ground, but some of the more devil-may-care sparrows hovered & pecked seeds off the fronds mid-air. they are awfully cute.

Sounds like a good idea, glad to see city officals caring about wildlife.

I have lots os Squirrels in my yard but ever since I set up two feeding stations for them in two different trees they don't bother my bird feeders. I put a mixture of Song Bird food & Squirrel food in their feeders & also have a couple of the holders that hold an ear of corn. Don't think you could put a lesser quality of food in their feeders & expect them to stay off the bird feeders if something better is offered there. It doesn't seem to take much to keep them happy & full, after all they are on the bird feeders because they are hungry just like the birds. I was surprised, they don't eat as much as I thought they did when they were on my bird feeders all the time. I found this recipe on the Garden & Flower Crafts Forum for making a Birdseed Wreath, plan to make some for Christmas gifts. I'm sure if you have a mold you could make any shape you'd want. I plan to use Songbird mix [sunflower seed, shelled peanuts, Safflower seed, dried raisins & dried cherries] in the wreaths I make. Here's the recipe if anyone is insterested, copied from this thread Birdseed Wreath Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups water 4 1/4 ounce pkgs. Knox unflavored gelatin 8 cups birdseed Boil 1 1/2 cup water. Empty the 4 packages of gelatin into 8 tablespoons of cold water in a large bowl. Let the gelatin sit for 1 minute. Add the boiling water and stir for 2 to 3 minutes or until the gelatin has dissolved. Stir 8 cups of birdseed into the gelatin, mixing thoroughly. Let the mixture set for a few minutes, then stir again. Repeat this process a few times allowing the seed to absorb the liquid. Spoon the mixture into a greased bundt pan and put in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours. Remove the wreath from the mold by inverting the pan and tapping along the bottom. The pan may need to warm to room temperature before the wreath will come out. Allow the wreath to dry overnight or longer if necessary. (I found it needs to be on a cooling rack to let the air circulate.) Use several strands of raffia to form a loop to hang the wreath.

Yeah, I've often thought that many (but not all) of the so-called "serious" birdwatchers I have known are deluded when they style themselves as "scientists". The vast majority wouldn't recognize true experimental design if it jumped up and bit them. Many (again not all) of these folks have encyclopedic knowledge when it comes to bird identification, which is no small thing - but that doesn't make one a scientist. Nor does it give one carte blanche to become a bird-botherer. I prefer to do my watching in my own yard, and my listening, and all other birdly activities. Mostly from behind my patio door. I like to plant bird-friendly (and butterfly-and-bee friendly) plants where possible - which is no excuse for my backyard neighbor who planted trumpet vine along the fence, very far up a steep slope from HIS lawn, but leaving me to have to constantly root up the invasive vines all through MY back yard. Has he never heard of cardinal climber??? *sigh* As for feeding the birds - according to actual ornithologists, given that you are feeding appropriately (eg sunflower seeds, not bread crumbs, kind of thing) it does no harm and may do a bit of good in times of stress. Clean water is equally and sometimes more important. I'll not argue about the ecological soundness or lack thereof of the bird seed industry as a whole - but frankly, unless you're cobbling your own shoes from leather-providing animals that you raised on your native pasture; and are weaving your own cloth from the fiber you spun from your own flock of sheep or from the flax you grew and retted yourself, then wove that on the loom you built from wood you cut down on your own wood lot; AND you are making your own pottery cookware from clay you dug yourself - I don't think there's really all that much to say on this issue. The environmental impact of manufacturing the computers we are all using to access this forum on the Internet, and the network of manufacturing, mining, and transportation that supports all that (not to mention terrible working conditions for the workers who assemble the things) almost doesn't bear thinking about - but in any case, the use of birdseed pales in comparison. OK, I'm being a bit facetious - but in the general scheme of things there are far worse things we do on a daily basis than buy a 50 lb bag of BOSS to feed the birds. Most of them involve our ubiquitous use of cars. The number one thing you can do to save the environment (and improve your health) is to leave the car home at every opportunity and walk or ride a bike to get around as much as is possible. This will, btw, also go a long way towards improving the general health of the birds as well. Cleaner air is good for us all!