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.

my young travellers palms have greyish brown leaf spots...these result in holes in the leaf...also have dark brown patches on my giant bird of paradise...any answers? Image link:

Hmm, if anyone mentioned this, I missed it. Norwegian has fantastic deals, but only one way! Coming back is usually so expensive you're no better off than if you'd flown a regular airline. I've had pretty good luck flying Norwegian over and coming back on Icelandic (which seems to have their good one-way fares mostly to the US). Also, you have to accept goofy flight plans with these budget airlines. To fly Norwegian to Paris, for instance, I had to fly to Copenhagen, have a couple hours layover, and change planes for the last leg to Paris, instead of having a non-stop. ETA Oh, and if you ask for a drink of water, it's a $4 bottle on Norwegian. At least Icelandic has staff handing everyone a bottle of water as you board.

Yes, rabbits are cute and all that. But they're wild animal. While I'm sorry about the situation, I was glad to read that what threatens them is NOT a result of human activity. I trust nature in these situations. There really isn't an alternative but to allow it to run its course to whatever outcome there is. An aside. I know that the New Yorker is a long-established, well-respected and upmarket publication. Every encounter I've had over the years leaves me with the impression that its style is to produce articles that seem to be 2X or 3X or more too long than would be needed to adequately cover the subject matter. I get bored before getting to the end and that's what happened to me with this linked article, I couldn't finish it. New Yorker's loyal readers, and I know there are a lot of them, must like the style or demand the lack of conciseness but I find it off-putting. A favorite story a propos the aside. A university professor gets a call from his department chair: Dept Chair- "Fred, Prof Anderson has taken ill and I need to find someone to cover his 90 minute time slot in tomorrow's seminar schedule. I hate to hit you with this at such a last minute, but might it be possible for you to fill in for him" Fred - "Yes, no problem. I'm happy to help out and can handle that easily" Dept Chair - "Oh, and one other thing. In two days, there's a visiting group of professors from Oxford coming for an orientation. Prof Anderson was going to give a 15 minute presentation to them. Can you handle that too?" Fred- "Sorry, no, that would be quite impossible. I can give a 1-2 hour presentation at any time with ease but if you want me to do a good job with a 15 minute presentation, that normally would take me 7 days or more to prepare.