Something ate all of my aronia berries last year for the first time ever. Thanks for the reminder. I'll need to pick them. My boys got into trouble. I'll have them pick them. Even better. I would imagine that they would store pretty well. I usually make juice with them: Part Orange juice and part aronia. It's fantastic. John S PDX OR

Reg, I haven't tried your feeder, but if rats are being attracted to the old one, birds don't like the new one, I'd go for Plan C. We had a bit of a temporary rat problem here too from birdfeeders and agreed as a neighborhood to stop feeding birds for a year (while trapping). Yuch. Oddly, we seemed to have just as many birds in our Spring and Summer nest boxes as years when we were feeding - go figure. Gardengal, finches and siskins loved those thistle socks in my yard - then I realized I was creating a different type feeding station for hawks when that wasn't my intent. I can't seem to win when it comes to trying to supplemental feed birds :( But with no feeders, nesting boxes + bird baths and water available, a mix of shrubs and perennials, we have swallows, chickadees, hummingbirds, robins, finches all nesting where we can enjoy them...not that I don't still chase the occasional wandering cat.

Neither of these is a native shrub and while the birds may occasionally eat one, they are not the preferred berries. Serviceberry (Amelanchier) is a favorite, but I suppose it depends on where you live.

Hey, I've got a Bluebird pair nesting in my backyard this year, and they aren't following the "rules" either. One - My back yard could be described at best as an "open woodland" with numerous large canopy trees, plenty of evergreens, shrubbery, and tangled thickets, intermixed with some lawn, gardens, and a couple overgrown meadow/weedy areas. A very mixed habitat. While numerous Bluebirds visit daily during the winter to eat the home-made peanut butter suet, they usually disperse by Spring and I never in a million years expected any to nest here. On the plus side, the next door neighbor has a large lawn he mows and there is a meadow across the street, so they probably hunt there, but I often observe them perching and hunting in my yard too. Two - Even though I rushed to put up a traditional Bluebird nestbox mounted on a pole w/baffle, the Bluebirds have chosen to nest in NATURAL CAVITIES in the dead pine snags in my back yard. They have had 2 broods and chose 2 different natural cavities for each brood, while ignoring the nest box. One cavity was about 20 feet up, one about 10 feet up. Guess they didn't read about safety rules, proper hole size, and predator guards. :) I am very excited because their 2nd brood fledged about a week ago, they disappeared for awhile, and today Mr. and Mrs. Blue showed up to repeatedly retrieve some suet nuggets and fly off to the large Pin Oak in the front yard where I'm guessing the fledglings were hanging out! (Also heard some cries coming from the tree.) Momma Blue peeking out from her first nesting cavity -