Yes, it's reasonable that house finches and pine siskins are around your area, and that they spend the winter. My sister has had house finches at their place in the Saskatoon area, year-round, for the last 15(?) years, likely more (and breeding records a few years after they started showing up). For the first time, we've had house finches here for a sustained period and they nested successfully in our neighborhood - will have to keep an eye out to see if they winter. Regardless of the mixed opinions the birding world has of their spread, it sure is nice to have colorful birds around that sing year-round, not just in the courting season. Pine siskins kind of come and go - they are around all summer and most winters here, but we didn't notice any last winter. Chickadees are always reliable! You didn't mention them, but I'm sure you have them. You can also expect redpolls at some time during the winter, especially if there is a lot of snow in the north, and they are pushed south to feed - keep an eye out for hoary redpolls among them (extremely short-billed, "frosty" birds). When a flock of redpolls shows up, you'll go broke keeping the niger feeders full, LOL! Siskins also tend to favor niger, so I'm surprised they're not pigging out. Also, evening grosbeaks - they seem to be especially attracted to lilac seeds (lots of lilac hedges in small towns in Sask!), and will eat sunflower. Other likely possibilities are pine grosbeaks, red crossbills, white-winged crossbills, particularly if there are any groves of spruce around - these tend to be roaming, and will come and go. Re. other regulars at your feeders, you can probably expect to see white-breasted or red-breasted nuthatches or both, and downy and hairy woodpeckers are a given. The odd flicker that winters over (quite common here) may also show up. They all like suet and peanut/peanut butter feeders. Blue jays also like peanuts...and if you put out unroasted peanuts, will bury them all over (no big deal and which we actually found kind of fun - it caused me to learn what peanut plants look like, LOL!) We haven't really had great success with putting fruit out in winter - though my sister finds it to be wildly popular in spring with the migrating songbirds when late storms hit. (She's also have had great results with fresh fruit and melon through the summer for orioles, robins, cedar waxwings, catbirds, warblers.) By the way, most of these "nonmigratory" birds don't have distinctly different plumages between adults and immatures (unlike, say, warblers and some of the other summer migrants) - so identification will be a little easier for a while. Female and immature house sparrows can always be distinguished by their, shall I say, lack of distinguishing characteristics? They are large, have that distinctive conical bill shape, and otherwise are just kind of...grey-brown. With more observation, I'm sure you'll be able to pick them out of any...

There is no surefire way to keep birdseed from sprouting. Some people sterilize bird seed by heating it on a cookie sheet in a 300 degree oven for 30 minutes, but that is a lot of work to do on a consistent basis. Some people rake up the spilled seed once or twice a week with a Shop Vac. You can buy the sunflower chips (shelled, broken sunflower seeds) and they won't sprout because they have been "damaged" by being broken. They are more expensive than mixed birdseed, but there is no waste. You can rake the area under the feeder once or twice a week to break up the sprouts before they are well rooted. Sometimes ground-feeding birds eat the seed spilled onto the ground before it sprouts--it just depends on how many ground-feeding birds you have hanging around your yard. At our house, birdseed and hen scratch don't get a chance to sprout because the doves (and cottontail rabbits) eat it all. There are many plants you can incorporate into your plantings to attract birds. Many of them will attract butterflies and hummingbirds as well. TREES: Trees like oaks, cedars, elms and hackberrie provide food, cover and nesting sites for birds. NATIVE PLANTS are the ones that most attract birds since these are plants they already use as a food source. These include trees, shrubs and vines like junipers, yaupon hollies, possumhaw hollies, viburnums, Mexican plums, rough-leaf dogwood, elderberries, sumac, Virginia creeper vine and red mulberry. Pretty much any tree or shrub that produces berries or other small fruit (like crabapples or persimmons) will attract birds. Blackberry and dewberry brambles attract birds, as do fruit-bearing trees like cherries, peaches and plums. To Attract Hummingbirds: You can attract hummingbirds using hummingbird feeders, but you have to change the nectar about once every three days to keep it from fermenting and harming the birds. They also are attracted to plants. Here's some you can plant that they like: Red-flowered yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora) American Cross-vine (Bignonia capreolata) Trumpet Creeper (Campsis radicans) Desert Willow (Chilopsis linearis) Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) Red-flowered Morning Glory (Ipomoea sp.)(annual) Cypress Vube (Ipomoea quamoclit) (annual) Purple Horsemint (Monarda citriodora) Wild Bergamont (Monarda fistulosa) Spotted Beebalm (Mondarda punctuata) Tropical Sage (Salvia coccinia) (usually annual, may reseed)(aka Texas Hummingbird Sage) Autumn Sage (Salvia greggii) False Indigo (Amorpha fruticosa) Heart-leaf Hibiscus (Hibiscus cardiophyllus) Scarlet Hibiscus (Hibiscus coccineus) Standing Cypress (Ipomopsis rubra) Drummmon's Phlox (Phlox drummondii) Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja indivisa) (spring wildflower) Lantana (Lantana horrida) Many birds are attracted to composite flowers that provide seeds, including sunflowers, zinnias, Mexican sunflower, purple coneflowers, safflowers, etc. After they bloom, you don't deadhead them if they were planted for the birds. You leave the flowers on the plants so the birds can "harvest" the seeds as they dry. Don't forget to provide some kind of water source for the birds--a birdbath, a mister, a dripper, etc. Different kinds of birdseed attract different birds. To attract goldfinches in the winter months, put out a goldfinch feeder filled with thistle seed. Sometimes you can attract orioles by putting out oranges, orange-flavored nectar or grape jelly. Dawn

If there's that much waste then you may want to think about changing to a more efficient feeder first. If we feed the birds then eventually, every one of us will have the same issue. I for one, changed to a deeper feeder and then modified the bottom seed tray to be even deeper than the original manufactured design. Now, about the only seed debris I have is from sunflower shells and those are not bad at all. In any case, your ground cloth idea would probably work but do you want to be constantly sweeping/cleaning IT off just as you do now? If you feed the birds then it IS always an issue but I know of no good way to train the birds to not to be quite so messy... Steve in TX

I started reading this thread just out of curiosity, and to see if I might learn something new. Susan, please don't misunderstand, but your post made bird feeding sound like rocket science! ;-) I kept reading and saw Stargazzer's comments and that is my philosophy exactly: One thing you need to know is we feed birds for our pleasure. I feed the birds for my pleasure. I hang two feeders, one a large heavy wire cylinder type and the other is a Finch feeder. I buy BOSS for the wire type and Niger (thistle) for the other one. The large one hangs from a tree which is mulched all around, so not killing any grass. If you have Goldfinches in your area be sure you get a feeder that is for Goldfinches. It usually has a yellow top, and the package will show the GFs hanging upside down to feed. (The perch is above the hole.) Again, that is for my pleasure, but also keeps other birds from devouring the expensive Niger. House finches, etc. can't do that little acrobatic stunt. I don't put out any bread or scraps of any kind; that would only attract more grackles and other "bottom feeders.") I don't feed in the Winter, because of my wobbly knees and legs, which could cause a fall in the snow and ice. I attract several kinds of birds including those pesky grackles, which I despise the way most folks despise squirrels. This year I am seeing Red Wing Blackbirds, which I haven't seen before. Very amusing though to see a grackle trying to hang on to the side of the big feeder, with wings flapping. Because I'm in a newly developed area, we don't have squirrels because the trees aren't big enough to attract them I guess. Doesn't stop the birds though. Don't take bird feeding too seriously! Just enjoy! Hang some feeders and see what you get. Fine tune as you go, Sue