Do you think they ate them all, or scared them away?

Seems to me I've heard others making this same observation. I've seen birds though - as recently as yesterday.

I've seen a few birds. Mainly what I've seen are the big white cranes and then some tiny little birds.

We have days in which I don't see birds or squirrels and then suddenly they are back. This time of year I see flocks of birds so I wonder if your missing birds have joined a flock and may be in another vicinity.

Maybe. But it has never happened before that I see NO birds.

During the last couple of months our yard and feeders have had few birds and I also wondered at the cause. Perhaps a hawk--we do see them at times. The birds have slowly started coming back--maybe yours will too.

A hawk or owl would likely scare them into hiding. I've seen it happen here in summer. It gets silent, and not a bird to be seen.

I was in the upstairs bathroom this morning, primping for a breakfast meeting, and the sounds from the song birds were everywhere, with the precious little Carolina wrens leading the chorus.

It sounded like spring. CLICK HERE if you want to hear all of the different sounds that those birds make all year long. Just scroll down towards the bottom of the link and click on each song, call, chatter, etc.

could possibly be another bird scaring them off like posters above have suggested. Some weeks ago we had crows visiting our bird bath in the back yard and all the other birds we normally see just disappeared. I kept scaring off the crows (since they are so noisy and annoying) and eventually they got the message they weren't welcome and now the other birds have returned! I did have a hawk visiting my yard at one time and it didn't seem to deter the other birds which is strange (in fact I know the hawk was catching some small birds) but with the arrival of crows they all just vanished (and these were birds that we've seen here daily for years).

The Hawks the large owls will definitely cause the smaller birds to find new safer territory. We had a family of Hawks in the very top of one of our giant towering Pines. I used to let my little dog go into the atrium to play in the sunshine. It is fully enclosed except for the top being open to the sky. One day I saw her yelp and run under the chair and hide. I wondered what caused that. I went to look and there was a huge hawk perched on the edge of the atrium roof line, as I walked towards the glass door it swooped down into the atrium, I screamed and slammed the door open, went running into the atrium. The hawk suddenly did a mid air turn in the atrium and zoomed out of the top. I was shaking. My little dog was huddled up in a ball under the chair shaking terribly. I don't know how she knew that she was in danger but she did absolutely the right thing. I don't know if that big hawk could have gotten to her under there. I have a feeling she might have had close calls with one when she was a puppy before we got her. I realized that the hawks nest was directly above the atrium at the top of that pine tree so it had a perfect view of her in there. I don't let her in there alone any more I go sit with her.

So definitely hawks are very threatening. My neighbor had a large number of her big goldfish and koi disappear from her pond right beside her back patio. One day she saw a very big owl swoop in snatch a fish and fly off. That was what happened to the fish. She had to set up a wire barrier to protect the remaining fish.

I have seen lots of birds, in fact it was almost the bird movie the other night at the grocery store the trees were vibrating with birds and they were everywhere in the parking lot, kinda scary. The tops of the cars all had birds on them. And they weren't scared at all we could not shoo them off the car to leave. They rode along till we left the parking lot. Very strange.

I have no proof, but it seems to me we see fewer and fewer robins, cardinals, etc. every year. We used to have robins that overwintered in the creek bed. I'm not seeing them. There were always a couple pair of cardinals around in winter. (Now *I* am not here all winter, so I don't know if they are here before I'm home in late winter/early spring.)

After the big bird flu years ago, it was years before we saw birds start to repopulate in our area. Crows and blue jays were even slower to come back.

We're having unseasonably warm weather right now. I'm still seeing birds at my feeders but not like I would if it was cold.

I'm still seeing birds here in southern Colorado.....

We had a lot of chickadees and titmice in the feeder outside my office today and always have the Carolina Wrens in the backyard. I agree with the others, a hawk was lurking around or possibly had already gotten one of your songbirds and they were all hiding.

They're attending football games.

Lucille, that is very odd to not see any birds over several days. Here when a hawk shows up, and it is often, all the birds scatter, but even if he is lucky enough to get a small bird, the feeder birds return within a short time. Like in minutes, not days or even hours. Many times I have watched chickadees flitting back and forth from nearby shrubs to the feeders while the hawk watches from a tree just 30 feet away.

Also a family of 3 crows frequent the feeders and the birdbath while the other birds are eating and they pay no mind to each other. The crows do at times try to intimidate the squirrels, but don't bother the other birds while feeding.

I have had days when very few birds were seen. Sometimes, it because I did not get up early enough to view the morning feeding, but there has been other mysterious times when none are around. If there is a hawk or owl sitting in a tree nearby, the songbirds will avoid the area. Sometimes in late fall, migratory birds are still on the move. A flock that you saw for a few days move on and in a day of two, are replaced my new arrivals. This goes on until the population becomes stabilized for the winter season. Also, if the vegetation has not been completely killed, on a warmer than normal day, the birds will forage natural offerings. If someone in the neighborhood puts out feed that is preferred by the birds, your feeder will go unused for a few days.

My feeder gets the heaviest use when the ground is covered with snow and temperature below freezing. Right now, most of my birds are yellow finches, house finches, nuthatches, the smaller wood pecker, chickadees, and mourning doves. A pair of cardinals may show briefly during the day, but are seen most often at dusk after the other birds have settled in for the night. The cardinals tank up for the night and will feed until dark. I do have some juncos. These will peak later after the ground is snow covered.

What's unusual this year is that we still see sand hill cranes in the fields. This is a new addition for this area. A little as 3 years ago, we'd never see any at this time of the year. We'd hear them passing though during migration flights and then they would be gone. A breeding population is establishing in this area and some of those have not left for the winter. We do have large flocks of Canada geese that have started to winter over in this area, and it gets bitter cold before the winter is over.

When we lived up north in the cold there was definitely a period a bit earlier than this time of year when the birds seemed to temporarily disappear. As bird lovers we feel it, and there are definitely fewer birds than once. Perhaps we best keep feeding and hoping and enjoying those that are still with us. Pink

I'm in Long Island NY (northeast US) . We used to get birds all year long. Now I notice them only in spring, when they are mating, building nests, etc. This year we even had a nest with three baby robins. Now it's fall and I hardly see any birds. I put out seed and stale bread all year round. I asked a local Nature Expert. He says they are more outgoing in spring, with the mating season. By fall they are thinking ahead to winter, left for warmer climates, growing new feathers, and not out in the open as much

Jwood, I can understand that in your location. But it is warmer here in Texas, and in previous years there were always plenty of birds to eat up the seeds I put out for them.

Strange also, although I've seen a couple of squirrels, there are fewer of those and they are not pigging out at the bird feeders.

It may not pertain to any of the specific situations described here but otherwise deforestation in Central and South America is affecting numbers of birds returning to North America.

Lucille your post has been in the back of my mind. I walk the dogs in different parks almost every day and I live in a "fringe" area that usually has tons of birds. I have noticed less birds lately at home and in the parks. Maybe I just didn't pay attention to birds this time of year or maybe something has changed. Also noticing less squirrels.

Have your birds returned yet Lucille?

Also resident bird populations in the East may have been reduced by recent hard winters.

We have tons of birds here in Ohio and the Robins are here and it's DECEMBER 15TH!

I actually saw 2 birds at the feeder for a couple minutes, then they left and did not return. No other birds. Few squirrels, but I did see a couple days ago a grossly obese squirrel waddling across the electric line, he has probably been sneaking around and eating all the stuff the birds usually eat.

Could it be weather-related (barometric pressure, etc.)? I had several days when there were few, if any, birds. Shortly after, we had 3 days of steady rain.

Do you have close neighbors who have suddenly put out new bird feeders? Or filled empty feeders with especially appetizing seed (sunflower, safflower, niger, etc.)?

Is there a stray cat hanging about in your yard?

No birds except the two, rain or shine. Fewer squirrels. No stray cats. No neighbors with any seed.

The hawk/owl explanation was good but unless there is a hawk/owl nest I'm not seeing on my property (not possible) it does not account for them being away and staying away this long.

Any new businesses in the area that may be making a noise that they dislike?

No, nothing like that.

I'm starting to think of more unlikely explanations. The city is pretty good about keeping mosquitoes down, I wonder if someone diluted the spray incorrectly that the truck comes through and sprays the neighborhoods sometimes?

If for some reason the local birds did get done in, hopefully birds from neighboring towns will move in. I miss having them, I enjoyed seeing them at my feeders.

Very odd......I hope they're not dead from a poisoning. Not good!

We have a great horned owl hooting out in the woods at night, red tailed hawks screeching during the day..... and little birds galore.......nothing going on here.....

How far are you from the airport where all of the pigeons were poisoned? That made the news in July 2014.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/2014/07/16/birds-poisoned-houston-airport/12744889/

I am very far from there. Poor pigeons :(

Possibly a hawk in the area. We have a quite large red tailed hawk here and the birds are very cautious with good reason.

when lived at the house, noticed when the hawk used to sit on top of this one tree but it got cut down and there wouldn't be any kind of noise out there or sign of birds, so there is something that they see but you may not. kathy