My suet feeder went from ignored to mobbed in 3 days after moving it 6 feet

Had this finch mix suet block hanging near my big oak for weeks with zero takers, then I slid it over to a post near the sunflower feeder and suddenly woodpeckers and chickadees are fighting over it. Anyone else had birds totally ignore a feeder just because of where it sits?

2 comments

2 Comments

ray_carr13d ago

Man, that is so frustrating! I had the same thing happen with my oriole feeder last spring, stuck it in this perfect spot near the flowers and nothing for weeks. Then I just nudged it maybe four feet closer to our old lilac bush and boom, they showed up the next morning. It's like birds have this invisible map in their heads and if you're even a little off the route they just pretend the food doesn't exist. Makes you wonder why they're so picky when a full meal is sitting right there. Glad you finally got the crowd though, that first woodpecker hitting the suet is such a relief.

thea_chen13d ago

Four feet? That's wild... I actually think it's less about being picky and more about safety. Birds have to balance eating with not getting eaten themselves, so a few feet can mean the difference between "safe spot" and "too exposed." My chickadees totally ignore a feeder if it's more than six feet from a bush they can dart into. And finches? They'll starve before landing on a perch that wobbles even a little. Makes sense evolution-wise, but man is it annoying when you're trying to help them out.