You can always try hanging the feeders independent of the trees. A post set into the ground with hooks for the feeders or the shepherd's crooks they sell specifically for this purpose would prevent any damage hanging feeding appliances directly to a tree might incur. As to the pros and cons of feeding birds.......I agree with Dan on this one. Expanding development has restricted/removed many of the natural habitats and food sources and encouraging birds to the garden is overall a very good thing - they are the best natural insect control available! Plus, they are infinitely entertaining. Planting to encourage habitat and to supplement food sources is desirable, but nothing wrong with feeders either. They can bring the birds up close and personal :-)) If you want songbirds, try a "no-waste" mix. Even if it gets scattered on the ground, it gets eaten too fast to hang around to attract rodents. And sapsucker damage to trees is generally more cosmetic than particularly harmful. Since they have a 'preferred' tree menu, you can always avoid attracting them by not planting the trees they like. And as they tend to limit their diet to insects and tree sap, with supplementation from fruits and berries - the seed feeders are unlikely to create additional problems.

Greetings Laura, Briefly, after the first good frost, cut off all your leaves and spray the entire pseusdostem with COPPER based fungicide then wrap the stem in burlap. Then I would build a simple cage a foot or two around the stem and fill with DRY straw or other types of mulch. Afterwards, cover everything with plastic or a tarp to keep everything dry. In regards to keeping a potted plant outdoors, I would strongly discourage this as potted plants are more susceptible to the cold even if you mulch heavily. If you like I could show you some pics of my crude wintering process. Regards Phil

hi lori i used to live in brantford...now i'm just north of montreal...i have grown brugs for a few years now.. different kinds..different colours...love the scent.. i have a few that get about 10-14 ft...very nice... what i do in the fall,just before first frost..is cut down almost all of them to about 4-6 inches above the soil line.. .the ones that are in or near bloom i place infront of a window until things begin to fall then trim them back aswell.. .all leaves are stripped and i trim some of the green tips to prevent bug infestation.... then the cuttings go into pails of water about 2-4 inches deep... they root rather easily...i change the water or add more weekly... they stay there all winter until around april the are potted up and placed in front of window or given to friends... the original plants get placed in a dark corner in the basement and i water a cup a month... they are an easy plant to grow and share... hope this helps and good luck diggy

This one is tougher. The presence of the bright eye ring allows one to rule out Veery and Gray-cheeked Thrush. That leaves Swainson's Thrush and Hermit Thrush. I don't see a lot of rufous in the tail of this bird but it is sort of obscured. The uniform coloring on the back, the lack of buff-brown flanks and the presence of what appears to be a dark moustachial stripe extending back from base of the bill leads me to think this is a Swainson's Thrush. That is my best guess based on the photo. BN