Are these birds that you've seen before, or are they a different type? Have you read Daphne DuMaurier?

Surprisingly, after a conversation with a co-worker today I Googled this very thing. It appears they stay in a group to keep safe from predators. This link will give you more information.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/755251/Revealed-real-reason-birds-flock-huge-numbers

I would think either a wish for bugs or as a dry perch would answer it. Hang some strings of tinsel (you know, the long kind that look like lines of bottle brushes) 6 inches above the wood and you'll probably discourage their landings. Or hang other shiny things over the spot that will move in the wind. They even sell shiny pinwheels that the wind will turn. You can stick some in a few cracks, those would work too.

Lars - I have not read Daphne DuMaurier. I will have to look her up. Are you in southern CA getting hit by this storm like us on the Central Coast?

Giirambles - thanks for the link. I will check it out.

Elmer - I thought about getting a bunch of pinwheels at the $1 store. Not familiar with the tinsel you referred to.

Daphne DuMaurier's The Birds....

If you suspend or other wise hang strings of this stuff horizontally, so that it moves in the wind, not too far above the top of the wood hunks, I'd bet they won't want to land. Like this:

Are you in California? They could be bushtits, little round birds that flock. They like suet.

bushtits

Love the name. Never heard of them.

Depending on how old the wood is it could have tiny bugs and or small fungi both of which birds eat. Just buy something and cover the wood up because even if there were no birds sitting on the wood they do fly over the wood and some release manure while in the air.

caflowerluver, I am in Los Angeles, and yes we have had almost constant rain since yesterday. I'm going to move some of my orchids to a drier spot tomorrow, and I hope they are not too waterlogged already.

I have read several of Daphne DuMaurier's novels (including Rebecca) but I especially like her short stories. The Birds is in one of the short story collections I have, but my favorite short story of hers is The Blue Lens. My mother had some of her books, and that's how I got started reading them - the first one was The Scapegoat.

Hanging aluminum pieplates over and near the wood, especially if the wind can move (and rattle) them may help.

ole joyful

I read bushtits and butshits. Well then. hahahahah

Aluminum pie plates? Is this something people have supplies of?

I have seen CDs used to discourage birds.

Elmer, probably not most people, but a gardener would likely save them for such a purpose.

I think lots of people buy pies in aluminum pans and save them - or bake pies in disposable pans to take to others or potlucks, so, yes, some have a supply.

Thanks ladies for the info. We're neither gardeners nor pie bakers and rarely pie buyers - when we have one, we toss it (recyclable aluminum) when done. I understand better.

Vineyards use a reflective mylar tape to scare away birds. Do a search on Amazon for mylar tape and you'll get a lot of results.

The species of bird would help a lot in determining the reason for their behavior. Are these the same birds that were in your birdbath photo the other day? If not, can you give a description of their field markings?

I came back to explain, in case these are the same birds in your KT birdbath photo, because I don't know when I will be signing in tomorrow.

If they are, they are pine siskins. Pine siskins feed in flocks during the winter, and they migrate to take advantage of food sources that are available. This is an irruption species, which means the flocks can have irregular migrations of vast numbers, covering a larger than usual area, in certain years. This tends to happen when the usual feeding areas have a poor crop year.

During irruption years, you can see these birds migrate to areas where they have not been seen since the previous irruption (there was a very large one in the winter of 2008-9, for example). Perhaps it was not raining during their previous migrations in your area, so the sheltering behavior may have gone unnoticed. Or it just that this flock decided they like your woodpile, and other flocks favored other sheltering locations.

I don't know if siskins are regular visitors to where you live. But there has been talk about some of the seed-eating finches having an irruption this year. So if they are not usually in your area during the winter, that may be why you are seeing bird behavior that seems different from other winters.

I'm in the southernish CA area and we've noticed over the years that when there is a variation in the weather patterns, particularly during cold weather, we will get birds coming down out of the mountains and hanging around the house until the weather warms up in the mountain regions and they go back home. We have a couple of phoebes hanging around right now and they won't stay off some solar lights that we received as a Christmas gift :^) We get so few unique birds out our way that we are generally happy to see something new. My guess is that they are just looking for a place to hang out until they can go home in a few days. You've gotten good advice about how to deter them. FWIW, bird poop is usually pretty easy to wash away and they probably haven't moved in permanently.

Oh, also, the fires/burn areas can change bird habits from what I have heard, so depending on where you are in relation to where there have been fires, that can have an effect on where birds end up. About 15 years ago we regularly had large groups of hummingbirds that would migrate through. We'd hang out huge feeders so they could stop and feed on their way through. Then we had a few large fires to the north and that seemed to change the migratory pattern and we haven't had any large groups since.

You have wood stacked and think there are not bugs???? There are.

We have a northeastern bird called a tufted titmouse.

Those birds have found perches befitting their needs and better yet, its out of the rain. I assume that some of the wood had been split, and there may be small sticks in the mix. Birds like to perch on objects that fit their feet. Small round limbs and thin edges of split wood provide the desired mounts. A bird can fall asleep while perched without falling off. Ever wonder how they do this? It the structure of their legs. The tendons that operate their claws pass over the back side of the leg joint. When they sit completely down and fold the leg joint into its roosting position, the tendons tighten and cause their claws to close producing a grip that will hold the bird to a branch or edge. That perch must be properly sized for the bird to be comfortable for a long period. It is my guess that your wood-pile provides such perches. The solution is to cover the wood with a tarp to eliminate the perches.

On the plus side, depending on the species of bird, they may be cleaning the wood of insects.

Thanks everyone for the information and tips. The birds look like Chickadees, very small with B/W markings. I have tried to take a picture but they fly away too fast.

I don't know if Central Coast (Santa Cruz) area is their normal territory. I don't want them to go away from my yard, I love all birds, just not poop all over the porch. I think they are coming there to get out of the rain and because easy to perch on the split logs and small branches used as kindling. I might try something with the aluminum pie pans I have.

I didn't recognize the name, Daphne DuMaurier, but have read most of her novels and have seen the movies based on them many years ago.

If you have some old unused cd's, drill a hole in the top and attach a string and hang them all along the porch. It will deter the birds. We did the same thing on our carport at our last house. Works great.

Maybe put a tarp over the wood to keep it clean and remove it when they move along. Clean wood and shelter for your visitors ( if they would even perch on plastic).