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That neighbor who told me to stop cleaning my feeder was right
My neighbor Carol kept telling me to stop scrubbing my tube feeder with soap and water every week. She said it was scaring off the finches because the smell lingers. I ignored her for 2 months until I noticed I went from 15 goldfinches to maybe 2. Finally I just rinsed with hot water and let it air dry, no soap. Now I'm back up to a dozen birds in 3 days. Anyone else had a feeder that got too clean and lost birds?
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sageburns21d ago
Did you switch soap brands right before the birds dropped off, like a new scent or something?
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lindahunt21d ago
Hmm, I actually see it a bit different, @sageburns. My soap has been the same for years - a plain unscented bar - and the birds were still coming around just fine until I moved the feeder 10 feet to a different tree branch. That seemed to rattle them more than ANY new scent ever could. I think sometimes we look for complex reasons when the simple answer is just a small change in their routine.
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