Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/98836
Sarasota News Leader December 14, 2012 Page 73 Dear Otus, Dear Ed, After my wife and I returned to our Sarasota home early this fall, we put out birdseed as usual. The first day, we saw cardinals, blue jays and a few other birds. However, none showed up on subsequent days. Fearing a problem with the seed itself, my wife hauled the bag back to the pet store where we had bought it, and management gave her a new bag. We put out feed from the second bag, but we still have not seen any of those birds we enjoy watching each winter. Did we get a bum rap with bad seed the first time around? Do birds actually let each other know what yards to avoid? What can we do to entice the birds back to our yard? We miss seeing them. Let me understand this correctly. For many years you have had great success in attracting birds to your feeder. You scrub the feeder thoroughly every couple of weeks to keep it clean and mold-free; you buy fresh seeds from reliable pet centers; provide a water basin for the birds��� thirst as well as a place to bathe; and you create a safe and attractive environment for them by planting bushy, thick shrubs close to their feeder so they can dive into them the instant the shadow of a Cooper���s Hawk signals danger. And you have always shooed away your neighbor���s cat (but never turned the hose on it). Ed In fact, you have done everything right and Sarasota the proof is that the birds immediately visited This blue jay enjoys a morsel from a feeder. File photo