You may end up having to wrap the railings. Sucks, but it would be the least destructive for both bird and railing.

This is fun! So glad you are all trying to find ways to have more wildlife in your gardens. A few thoughts. 1. Vaseline on the poles...works until the weather gets too hot, then it gets gloppy, goopy, full of buts, and finally slides right off. (At least, that was my experience. 2. Slinkies are easy to attach. First, open the top ring of the Slinky. It has a little fastener holding the last loop closed. Just push it with a screwdriver or other tool until the last loop opens up. Slide the Slinky over your pole and into the position you want. Slide a hose clamp over the pole, push the final loop of the Slinky through the hose clamp, and tighten the hose clamp against the pole. Let the Slinky hang free at the bottom. The more it wiggles, the less likely they can climb it. Mine haven't even had the nerve to TRY yet. (I'll post a close up tomorrow so you can see just how it works.) For a $2.00 investment, NO SQUIRRELS! Wooohooooo! 3. Anna, you probably don't want to lure owls (or any predatory bird) to your garden if you are trying to feed birds there. It will frighten them away. If you have a large piece of property and can locate the owl box a LONG way away from your feeding station, that would be fine. Otherwise, I'd rethink that one, if I were you. Wood duck boxes are great if you have a pond or lake nearby. Other birds that will nest in boxes include bluebirds, wrens, titmice, great crested flycatchers, woodpeckers and more. Each requires specific dimensions and hole sizes, and specific locations, heights, etc. All of that info can be found online. 4. Tannatonk, as I said in my posts, I always throw down plenty of cracked corn on the ground for the squirrels and doves. But I try to keep the squirrels out of my feeders, and usually my baffles have worked. Now the Slinky is working well, too, SO FAR. I also feed safflower in the feeders that aren't squirrel proofed, as they don't like it. And no, I have never fed a red-bellied woodpecker by hand. Titmice and some other small birds, yes, but not woodpeckers. Let us know if you succeed! Good luck! Today, I had about 8 indigo buntings at once. In addition to the four adult males I've been seeing, there were 4 first spring males (immatures), and 1 female. Hmmm...that's NINE, isn't it? The painted bunting seems to be gone, and I never saw the rose-breasted grosbeak again, but the indigos are so much fun. They fly fast back and forth between the feeders, and often feed on the ground, like a flock of bright blue sparrows. Marcia

The decals from windowalert.com will help a lot. Although they need replacing every year or two depending on sun damage. Also make sure there are no bird feeders or anything else that will attract them.

Finches get their color from their food rather like flamingos-different food of course. If they dont get the right amount or type of carotenoids it can change their color. I also have trouble telling the House from the Purple Finch. One of them has a female with a light eyebrow but I can never remember which one. Then there is the more stripped stomach. There is one chowing down at the suet feeder right this moment.