We find that lots of birds love the peanut suet. There aren't any seeds in it (they can get those at the other feeders) and they gobble it up. The catbirds, cardinals, mockingbirds, woodpeckers (red bellied and downy), nuthatches, titmice/mouses, and chickadees come to it a lot. We often see hummers feeding at the flowers in our gardens, but not much at the feeder so far. They usually eat from the feeder more in late summer and early fall when they're fattening up to head across the Gulf. (How do dey do dat???)

Hi Konrad, Kinda sad to lose your RBNH nest... but this is nature at work I guess. Yes, we lost 1 bluebird egg to a HOWR 2 seasons ago. We saw him fly to and into the nest box, and come out with the pierced egg still impaled on his beak! We were waving our arms and shouting at him, as he dropped it on the ground and flew off. It all happened in 30 seconds or less. We discouraged him with a squirt gun for days and the parent blues dived bombed him mercilessly whenever he came near. He finally stopped coming around, and I'm happy to say the other 3 eggs hatched and fledged successfully. Hope your Nuthatches try again for you, Kenn Here is a link that might be useful: Latest Slideshow

Leslie, I find nest box traps work better in the early spring and summer; I run the bait traps durring the wnter, when I notice EHSs coming to the feeders. Of course, I safely release any native bird that wanders in. For some glorious reason I had only one male EHS this winter. I feed only black-oil sunflower seed; all the native birds love it and it's the least favorite of the EHSs. That's keeps them out of the area too. I bought my neighbor a 50# bag so she'd quit putting out the white and red millet that attracts nothing but vermin. She's delighted with all the song birds she's attracting now. There are probably dozens of native sparrows that are wonderful creatures, to be protected in every way. Like so many concerned blue bird and purple martin "landlaords", the sparrows that I trap (and the only ones that it is legal to trap) are the non-native, human-introduced, English house sparrow. Like so many introduced species, they are destroying our environment. I love the Chipping Sparrows, Song Sparrows, White-Crowned Sparrows, White-Throated Sparrows, Harris Sparrows, Lincoln Sparrows, Fox Sparrows, etc. and try to bring new birders' attention to them and all their charms and benefits. I also try to point out the fact we call EHSs "sparrows" is a misnomer. They are actually a weaver with bill designed to kill other birds, which I have seen him do far too many times. There's nothing like checking your martin colony and finding 14 hatchlings with their heads cracked open. After that, is was very easy for me to practice smart pest control. Have your Purple Martins returned yet? I'm still waiting, but I'm having to form a new colony now, so it will take more patience.

An 'overpopulation' wouldn't be there long. They would move on to adequate food. When it's gone at your house, they will find another garden. I agree you are overreacting. Just enjoy them, thank them for removing whatever bug might cause you trouble later, they aren't hurting anything. If you're lucky, maybe a pair or two will stick around and nest there. When I've had chickadees nesting in my yard, I'm amazing at how many times during the day they will go to the nest with chicks, carrying caterpillar/worm/larval type things....and likely each one of those components of the multiple daily meals would be otherwise feasting on leaves of my plants.