Claire - Did you get a chance to contact Trevor about the Christmas Bird Count? We had some fun birds in Manomet...Brown Creeper, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Eastern Towhee, Yellow-breasted Chat and three Northern Orioles coming to a feeder, which were very unusual for this time of year. These weren't in my yard, but in my count area.

What cool birds you have. I love the siskins!

Lisa

Lisa: I did contact Trevor and I gave him my counts. Except for the Pine Siskins, I saw most of my regulars, which are nice birds, but not at all unusual. I expect other people saw siskins too. They seem to have happily settled in, glad to have an unending supply of thistleseed. I got a fleeting glimpse of a Yellow-rumped Warbler but not long enough to be absolutely certain.

Last year I had a Red-breasted Nuthatch all winter, and I've had Eastern Towhees all winter in the past, but not this year, at least not yet.

The day of the Christmas Bird Count (Tuesday) was cold and windy enough, can you imagine holding it yesterday with the snow and wind? I had to be in Central Plymouth in the morning and just barely got out of there before the roads got really nasty.

Claire

Hi guys, great to hear there's lotsa bird activity going on in your area! Our Christmas count in on Sunday - which is my usual PFW count day. I wonder if I can use the same data for both counts.

Claire, funny you should mention the Pine Siskins! I was just watching a little mob on the tray feeder (which is full of BOSS), usually made up of House Finches and Goldfinches, and noticed some birds mixed in that looked a little different. They have brown striping on the stomach, similar to a House finch, but more distinct striping on the back, like a Gold finch. And yellow highlights in the wings. After a little research, I looked more closely and one fluttered its wings, saw much more yellow, and that confirmed it - Pine Siskins! Yippeeeee a new bird! :)

Another interesting development in the little bird world here. Last Sunday, a male Bluebird appeared on the suet log that has 2 bands on its legs. I posted on the Bluebirds forum asking what is going on with this bird. It turns out that Banding birds in this country is done by a few select groups of people and they are required to have a Federal (and sometimes state) permit. I am in contact with a woman who bands Bluebirds, and she lives pretty close to here. How fun!

This is a bit dark, but these 3 guys are Pine Siskins. You can see a bit of yellow highligh on the wing -
{{gwi:1057795}}

Here is "Bandy" -
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Terrene: I'm using my CBC counts for one day of PFW also, I don't think there's any reason not to. When I mentioned it to the CBC coordinator he had no problem with it.

Pine Siskins here also show a flash of yellow in the wings. I figured other people must be seeing them, although maybe not recognizing them.

Are they going to band more of your local Bluebirds? Or try to read the bands on Bandy? It would be very interesting to know where he's been.

Claire

Hi Kids,

Claire & Terrene, I am happy to see some 'real-time' pics of Pine Siskins. I am not sure if I have seen them here at our feeders but I now know more of what to look for. I do have some new birds that I am working on their IDs...could be the Pine Siskin. I have been looking closer at the American Goldfinch as they come to the feeders. So many birds are the same size and very close to the same coloring...like the Pine Warbler that I had last year but did not realize it until the end of March.

I just entered a back log of count data over at PFW. I have been seeing a full compliment of birds over the past few count days which has been lots of fun and keeping me busy. Now we have snow on the ground so the ground feeders are easier to see and ID. Still no White Throated Sparrows. Lots of Song Sparrows.

sooey

I figured other people must be seeing them, although maybe not recognizing them

Yes, I think they showed up a couple days ago. When I started to notice a funny looking little sparrow in the "mob" (20-30 birds) that was on the ground - House Finches, Goldfinches, Juncos, a few Sparrows. But they were moving around too much to tell.

Not sure yet what the whole story is with "Bandy", but he was likely banded by a woman who completed a banding project in a nearby town. "Bandy" is a goofy name I call both the banded birds I've ever seen on the feeders. The other was a male Cardinal that hung around a couple years ago. I like to make up silly names for the birds, but they're not very original. ;)

I saw the siskins first on December 24, but just took a photo and decided to figure it out later. I think this is two siskins on a sock on Christmas Eve.

When it got to PFW count days, I decided it was time to ID the bird.

I also have mobs of small birds on the ground, and medium sized and larger ones too. With the snow cover, I think I'm getting birds that normally would stay in the woods. A rough count gave me more than 50 at one time, fighting the winds. I miscalculated the amount of bird seed I had, so I was out on New Year's Day buying more.

Claire

Hi guys, lotsa bird action the last few days! Did the Christmas Bird Count yesterday, and the usual PFW days yesterday and today. Saw 18 species total in 2 days, the most so far, including 5 Bluebirds, tons of Pine Siskins, and a couple of Red breasted Nuthatches.

Re: "Bandy" the banded Bluebird. I emailed with the lady who banded him during a project she worked on in a neighboring town. Bandy was one of the nestlings in her very first brood, banded during the summer of 2007. One of the bands is the standard metal Bluebird band, the other one was the colored band she used to identify individual birds (his was white). She was happy to hear he was around and doing well and I told her I'd keep an eye out for him to keep her posted. He comes to the suet log every day, so far.

Talk about "mob" - this morning there were 60+ Pine Siskins in the feeder area today!! At least 50 on the ground and quite a few more on the small BOSS feeders and in the trees. When I entered "60" (a conservative #) in the count data, I was flagged - they needed confirmation on the amount! Something about "the number is much greater than what is normally reported in this area" blah blah. Well, I have never seen so many birds of a single species at the feeders before.

Here a picture of the mob - this is mostly all Pine Siskins, with a handful of Goldfinches. They are picking thru the spillage from the BOSS feeders.
{{gwi:1057798}}

Here is the small ceramic tube feeder with BOSS - 2 Goldfinches on left, Pine Siskin on right - it fits only 2 small birds, but apparently a 3rd one was trying to fit in - he is quite acrobatic. :)
{{gwi:1057799}}

I've never participated in FeederWatch but just wanted to say that we're enjoying Pine Siskins here, too (northwest CT, just north of Waterbury, near Litchfield) for the first time this year -- they love the thistle feeder but do seem a bit bullying to the goldfinches, who yield perches to them readily. But they are beautiful birds and most interesting additions to the winter scene. Does anyone know why they have come south this particular year? I gathered it had to do with seed crops in Canada (that they come south when those are poor?)

terrene,
Loved the photo with the "acrobatic" goldfinch! Made me laugh out loud...he is quite determined to get a foot hold in there!

Emily

Terrene: That hanging goldfinch looks like a refection of the standing one - great photo!

I have many more birds than usual today, nothing like 60 of one species, but still many. More than a dozen Pine Siskins and more than a dozen Goldfinches. When the first few siskins came, they coexisted with the goldfinches, but now they're flocking separately.

I have three thistleseed socks up now; two of them in a dedicated thistleseed area. Doves and sparrows and juncoes all feed under the socks where the seed drops, and the Blue Jays don't chase them away. I watched two Blue Jays stomp into the area, then one of them ate a few of the thistleseeds and they left in disgust.

The first year I did PFW I had enormous numbers of Blue Jays and Cardinals, 30 to 40 each, and I always got that please confirm flag. Now I just get it for the Yellow-rumped Warblers.

For the first time today I had two Carolina Wrens at the suet, and at least one, probably two Yellow-rumped Warblers.

And six of the turkeys came back today.

Ctlady: there was an article on ebird Ron Pittaway's Winter Finch Forecast 2008-2009 that talks about the irruption of winter finches. The poor crop of spruce cones in the boreal forest seems to have sent the siskins south.

Claire

On Tuesday, my second PFW day, I saw 28 Pine Siskins - the most so far from me. This was flagged by the computer (which had no problem with 20 Mourning Doves).

The six turkeys have been here every day for the last three days. They really look out of scale under the tube feeder. I'm waiting for one of them to realize it can reach up and eat out of the feeder.

After they had their fill in the front yard that day, they moved around to the back and started to settle down for a short siesta.

It's important to take a warm drink -

And to rest on a spot where the leaves are exposed (no snow).

I wonder how long they'll stay this time. I went out and bought a 50 lb bag of cracked corn ($10/bag) in case it's a long stay.

Claire

Terrene: do you still have a mob of Pine Siskins? I still have a few, but the big flock seems to have moved on. Maybe looking for that elusive bountiful spruce forest.

The suet feeder on my wisteria is getting a lot of action. I seem to have two Yellow-rumped Warblers fighting over it; this is one of them. Someone on the Birdwatching forum called them "Butter Butts", and it is kind of appropriate. I can't decide whether "Butter Butt" is less disrespectful than "Yellow-rumped".

The Red-bellied Woodpecker usually visits the farther away suet feeder, but today it was here.

I keep my photos filed in specific folders, but sometimes I slip up. I downloaded the Red-belly photos to the Woodpecker folder, and then went to check them. To my shock, I discovered this June wisteria photo (and 5 or 6 other wisteria photos) in with the woodpeckers. It was a real head jolt, both because it brought back summer, but also because this photo shows the exact location of the suet feeder, except for the leaves and blooms.

The Wisteria folder is right next to the Woodpecker folder, and I must have gotten sloppy downloading back in June.

Is it almost June yet? Are we almost there?

Claire

Pretty Wisteria! Sorry Claire, it's not June yet. :( We sure are getting clobbered with cold weather and storms this winter. Yuck. I am going to be really ready for Spring this year.

No more mobs of Siskins since Monday that I've noticed, however there are always a few, and occasionally up to approx 20 of them out there at a time. Btw, I like that eBird website that you linked to.

This morning I was a little late filling the suet log, and wasn't even 10 feet away from the feeder and 2 female Bluebirds were on it eating nuggets. Apparently they wait in the trees for me to fill the feeder. Also saw 2 Tree Sparrows, and a female Purple Finch this morning.

That's all the news that's fit to post at the moment! :)

These are terrific photos! I watch the birds on our feeders but don't take pictures, really should. Especially today when the 50 or more house sparrows, our ravening horde, suddenly got silent then all flew away at once. And a hawk came in and landed on the tree. (sparrow hawk? broad-winged? Don't know--)

So the eternal food chain was visible in my back yard: the sparrows eat the sunflower seed, and the hawks eat the sparrows.

Butter Butt...I like it. I just had a Butter Butt on my deck. They love the suet, both the processed and the raw. I toss finch mix on the deck and between that and the suet that falls from the feeders above, I get YRW, Butter Butts from now on, Carolina Wrens, Song Sparrows, and Juncos, right outside my slider. Still no Pine Siskins at our feeders. I have looked and looked and looked...nothing.

Claire...the wisteria is beautiful. *sigh*

sooey

Sooey, that sounds nice, watching the ground-feeding birds right outside your slider. And you have a nice variety.

My ground feeders include Juncos, White Throat sparrows, Goldfinches, Pine Siskins, Cardinals, and occasional Song sparrows, Tree sparrows, and Mourning Doves. Other birds of course check out stuff on the ground sometimes.

As for those little Pine Siskins, they are pretty adaptable and have even checked out the suet nuggets in the tray, but only to pick out the sunflower seeds. They aren't particularly skittish birds either. I wonder why they haven't found your feeders Sooey. From what I've read they move around alot targeting abundant food sources and eat a lot of tree seeds. I'll be curious to see if they show up.

Carol: That hawk was probably a Cooper's Hawk or a Sharp-shinned Hawk - they're the usual scourges of little birds around here.

Sooey: I'm glad you also have Butter Butts wintering over (I've decided I like that name too. Proper nomenclature is very important, but you've got to make exceptions sometimes; I really dislike the name Yellow-rumped Warbler).

Re Pine Siskins: I found a new website Bird Sightings: The Voice of Audubon that lists current sightings, and 26 Pine Siskins were seen in Harwich on January 7 or thereabouts. Is there a spruce forest in Harwich that's keeping the siskins from checking out Brewster?

Terrene: My Pine Siskins are getting rather aggressive - I got buzzed twice when I went to refill the thistleseed socks. Usually I just get buzzed by chickadees, and they seem to do it with a sense of humor.

It's really frenzied out there today with the snow and wind. These four shots were taken in rapid succession as the goldfinches and siskins worked the socks.

It's snowing again now, we had a period of rain which turned the ground cover to slush. By tonight it'll probably be ice. Luckily I'm not going anywhere today. Except out to the feeders and birdbaths.

Claire

Pine Siskin Alert!!! I am happy to announce that today, at our sunflower tube sat, a Pine Siskin. Very close to the same size as the American Goldfinch. The biggest difference being the spots on head, back and chest. Just one of the gang. I am sure of my ID but, there was only one. The day was gray and wet so more may have been on the ground that I did not catch. I will be on the lookout for more tomorrow. My PFW count days are now Wednesday & Thursday so I hope they are still around mid week.

One bird that I have not seen as much this year as last, is the Brown Creeper. I have seen him only a few times this season and not in at least two weeks. I am wondering if the tree spraying we had done this past summer to kill the Pine Beetle has caused a change in the tree surface, killed something that the BC liked. I guess I better go to the Bird Watchers Store tomorrow, ask a few questions.

sooey

Congratulations! I'll bet there will be more siskins in the next few days, now that they've found you.

Let us know what the Bird Watchers Store say about the Brown Creeper.

I see that you have PFW count day creep too - I usually start out with Monday and Tuesday, and for whatever reason, I'll be out of the house most of one day so the count will be delayed to Tuesday and Wednesday. Then Wednesday and Thursday....

Claire

Claire, I'm glad I am not the only one with 'creeping' PFW days. I thought I was all set with Mon & Tues as my count days. Then, Thanksgiving happened with company and a house full of folks who just don't understand why I would need to hop from one window to the next, always with my field glasses agound my neck. Christmas and New Years did not help one little bit.

Glad I'm not the only one.

sooey

sooey: I got in an ethical dilemma recently with count day creep. It's perfectly legitimate to say that you can't properly count on a certain day, so you'll skip that day and shift the two day count. But suppose you carefully counted for two days, and got reasonable counts, but hadn't yet entered the data.

Lo and behold, on the third day an interesting bird or birds showed up. Do you throw out the data you collected, and shift the count days to include the interesting bird(s)? Or do you curse softly and stay with the data you have, which are an accurate representation of those days, but don't include the interesting bird(s).

As an ex-research scientist, I cursed softly, stayed with the original two days count, and added a comment on the PFW site.

I take this citizen scientist stuff seriously.

Claire (who is known to overthink issues)

My wisteria is becoming another major staging area, besides being a suet feeder holder. This morning a Common Redpoll appeared and perched for a long time (a long time for birds, that is - long enough for me to get my camera, focus it and get a few shots).

And a little later I went to check the wisteria view, and two American Tree Sparrows were feeding on the Miscanthus just outside the window.

Today is one of my PFW count days - good counts this week. The Cooper's Hawk obligingly just swooped past my computer window (just missing the birds at the thistleseed).

Claire

Hi claire. I know exactly how you feel about the ethical dilemma with count day creep. So often I have been tempted to toss out a two day count just because the next two days in the week have offered lots of interesting birds in wonderful numbers. But, just like you, I take this seriously. It's at exactly those times that I need to stop 'over thinking the issue' and remember that the folks at PFW know what they are doing. *sigh*. Some non count days get so bad that I have to just walk away from the window. Isn't that a bit sad?

Don't you just love that little Redpoll? The red on his head and that yellow beak...just wonderful. I also love the yellow lower beak of the Tree sparrow. Again, great pics.

sooey

sooey: data is data - if it was properly collected, you can't just throw it out because it's not what you want.

One good thing about the PFW site is the "comment" link on the data entry page. It's a great place to add sightings that occurred out of phase with your count days, or to elaborate on something you saw. I used it a few weeks ago to comment on why I reported only patchy snow, when every place around me (like Lisa's yard) had at least 10 inches.

I just had a lovely fantasy of reporting a real sighting of an Ivory-billed Woodpecker in Plymouth, MA by leaving a comment on the PFW site. Not a sick joke, a real sighting, with photos.... All I need to do now is see it.

Claire

Claire...exactly. Data is data. Even if not one single bird is seen, it's still data. *sigh* I've never used the comment link at PFW. I'll check it out.

sooey

Hi guys! I understand that urge to fudge the data so you have a more exciting count. But I have a strong scientific streak, and feel as you both do, that to manipulate the data just isn't scientific. What do you think about this though? My regular count days are Sunday-Monday, and that hasn't crept. This past Monday, 2 Red-breasted Nuthatches appeared on the feeders a few hours after I had already finished counting. Would it have been okay to extend the count hours and add them to the list? I didn't do it though, because I had already entered the data.

Speaking of data, have you guys spent any time exploring data on the PFW website? It is quite fascinating, especially the Feederwatch Map Room. I love to look at the little dots that represent the sightings at different feeders. It gives you a nice visual sense of where the various species of birds hang out.

It was especially fun to check the Yellow Rumped Warbler, and clearly see that this species "hugs the coast" during the winter in New England. And see the "Dots" that represent both of your feeders!

Terrene: When you say you had finished counting already, is that because you always count during a specific time period, like 10 am to 3 pm or whatever? Is there an important reason why you stop counting at a certain time?

When you talk about extending the count hours do you mean counting later in the day? or just 3 hours rather than 1 hour?

I think what I would have done is email PFW, tell them the situation, and ask them what they want. Maybe it matters to them that Red-breasted Nuthatches have appeared in your area. Or maybe not. I would say that this is their call, and we shouldn't be going crazy guessing. The main point of the exercise is to give the ornithologists data that they can rely on and that they couldn't get themselves.

PFW does have a procedure for changing counts - I think they have you delete the whole two-day count and re-enter the revised data.

In my case, I start counting early in the morning while I feed the cat, and continue sporadically until it gets too dark to identify the birds. I glance out every once in a while, and if I see birds, I count them. I check when it's getting dark because that's when the cardinal count is highest.

Thanks for reminding me of the Feederwatch Map Room - I haven't looked recently, but will.

Claire

Hi Kids,

I do not have any set hours during my count days. On a count day, my count starts when I get up and I go right through until dusk/dark. The Cardinals and Mourning Doves are always the last birds of the day. I try to start my count days with at least 1/2 hour that is just birds. After that, I watch in 5 - 15 min snippets as I go about my day. If it's a day with a lot of bird activity, it will hold my interest and the day is gone before I have done much else.

Terrene, Clairs advice is good. I would check with PFW and go by what they say. And, let us know. I haven't looked at the PFW map yet this year but found it very interesting last year. All those dots and all those birds. It's fun to know that we are a part of it.

Enjoy!

sooey

Hi Claire and sooey, that is interesting, so if you watch off and on all day until dusk, do you consider that 8+ hours? My typical count for the week is a few hours on Sunday and Monday ams. Total hours is usually 4-8 hours for the "cumulative time watching count site". The Sunday of the Christmas Bird Count I counted 8 hours, but typically would not have time to watch for an entire day.

Monday the 5th is when I saw the pair of Red Breasted Nuthatches in the later afternoon, but I had already stopped counting and entered the data for that week's count in the morning. I think I will email PFW and ask them if it's okay to add the RBNs to that count (and increase the # of hours).

Hi terrene. I will usually check off the 1-4 hours on a count day. For me, if I can say that I have spent 4 hours watching, that's a good count day for me. I only count the time that I have been doing nothing else but watch the birds. I don't count the time that I have been at the sink doing kitchen clean-up but happen to look out the window when I see or hear activity. I only count the time that I am watching birds and only watching birds. That is not to say that I do not count the birds that I happen to see while doing dishes, but, I do not count that as time. So, 1-4 hours is usually what I feel is correct. I can't really say that I time myself but, I do keep track of my time...make any sense? On high activity days that I am at the windows a lot through out the day, I might go 4+ hours. On those days I will check off the 4+ - 8 hours but I can't say that that is my norm.

Do any of you go by sound? If I hear the Cardinals, very late in the day, it will draw me to the window. I hear them the most at dusk and even after it is so dark that I can no longer see color. If I hear them and, can tell how many are out there, mostly 1 - 3, I will count them. Anyone else?

sooey

Hi Kids,

I just read my post above and it sounds like I am only counting on one day. I count for two days but count it as 'cumulative'. I should also say that If I have high bird activity on both days of my count, it will go into 4+ hours. But it has been my experience that out of my two count days, one of them will have more activity than the other...both as far as the birds go and the time I can give to it. Yesterday was the first of my two count days but I had other stuff that needed to be done in the house. I figured that yesterday I spent only about 45 minutes watching. Today I have more time to spend so today will be a least 3 hours. It will be under 4 hours for my 'cumulative time'. Two busy activity days would be in the 4+ range. I find that weather plays a big part in the bird activity out there. Yesterday there was not much to see but today we are having snow which always brings lots and lots of birs to the feeders. Today is a good PFW day.

sooey

terrene: Like sooey, I only count the time actually spent watching the birds. For me, this is usually 1 to 4 hours (estimated); just spread out over the whole two days. I spent more time for the Christmas Bird Count, which was one of my two PFW days, so I called that 4 to 8 hours total.

Most of my productive counting is done in the early morning hours when the birds are feeding after a long night. I'll often look at my tally sheet around 10 or 11 am and see that most of the regulars are there. There's another burst of activity after I refill the feeders in the late afternoon. I do this so that there will be plenty of food in the morning and I won't feel pressured to get out there early.

The rest of the day is for stragglers and fine-tuning the count.

sooey: I don't really hear the cardinals in the winter - my windows are pretty tight. The Mourning Doves are a different issue. They come at dusk, but they're so wary (I think because of the hawks) that I usually don't see them. Often I'll see 2 or 3 at a time during the daytime, but when I go out to refill the feeders I'll hear that squealing sound of a flock of panicky doves taking flight. If I look up fast, I can get a rough count of the flock, maybe 10 or 12.

The other birds that come at dusk with the cardinals are the native sparrows, but these are really hard to identify - little brown birds in the shadow of a big shrub.

Claire

sooey: The turkeys also have a sound component - I've heard the gobble sound files on line, but my turkeys seem to speak a different dialect. When I refill the feeders, I'll sometimes hear a yoyking sound, but won't see a turkey anywhere. I think they're in the woods watching, and that's a "Dinner's ready" call.

In a few minutes there'll be a clucking sound behind me, and there's a bunch of them milling around waiting. That seems to be a "Be careful, she's probably not dangerous but you never know" call.

terrene: PFW is very responsive to emails, and they love to see digital photos. I regularly pester them with naive ID questions and they're always kind answering them. Sometimes I feel my questions are on the level of "Is this a Herring Gull or an American Crow? How do I tell the difference?"

Claire

terrene: It also makes it easier if the birds are lured into feeding in a spot easily visible while you're doing something else. Like sooey, I look out while doing kitchen cleanup (always happy for an excuse to postpone washing dishes).

The thistleseed crook is right outside my computer window, so I can easily see if something interesting birdwise is happening there.

Looking at previously downloaded photos of birds eating thistleseed spill under the crook:

Something interesting on the socks:

Photograph it, download, and view on computer:

The worst part is when something interesting happens in the middle of the download, and you're stuck with a camera being drained and temporarily unusable.

Claire

Hi guys, thanks for your feedback. I wrote PFW and asked about the RBNs. They responded saying it was not necessary but "if you want to report them, you certainly can. In that case, you will need to change your effort data to indicate that you also watched your feeders in the afternoon and to adjust the time watched if needed."

I have tended to watch in shorter chunks of time and tried to watch pretty diligently. Not that I'm standing there looking out the window every second, but I do try to check every few minutes or maybe more. I would rather do it in a more relaxed and cumulative way, as you guys do.

Counting shouldn't be a burden. Why not try it the relaxed way a few times and see if the species and number of birds in your yard is significantly different from the concentrated effort.

If you're in this for the long haul, and I think you are, you might as well keep to a pace that doesn't cause burnout.

Claire (who used engage in endurance bicycling events)

To continue with my current fascination with the thistleseed socks (I'm not sure what I'm going to do in the spring when the hummingbirds come back - that's the hummer crook), I saw these three species on a sock yesterday. An American Tree Sparrow, two American Goldfinches, and two Pine Siskins.

All the other sparrows eat thistleseed happily on the ground, but never go on the sock. either this tree sparrow is a daredevil that likes swinging above the ground, or it thinks it's a finch.

Claire

Forgot to mention - if you're thinking about buying a black thistleseed sock - the birds here don't particularly like it. They much prefer the softer white ones. I don't know if it's easier to get the seed out of the holes or if the fabric is more comfortable to hang on. For whatever reason, there will be 8 finches fighting for space on the white sock and one on the black one.

Claire

Hi Claire,

Do the squirrels bother your thistle socks? I went through several last year because the squirrels kept eating through them.

I had 6 Pine Siskins on the sunflower heart tube feeder Thursday. It seems that they are here to stay.

sooey

sooey: The squirrels have never bothered my thistleseed socks. I have the two on the hummer's crook and another hanging right next to the tube feeder. A squirrel will sometimes get onto the tube feeder, but not touch the sock hanging next to it on the same crook.

I have a lot of thistleseed spill on the ground and I've never seen a squirrel eating it.

Maybe there's just so much other seed on the ground or in hangers that they like better. They will go out of their way to eat the suet.

Claire