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Where are the birds? Although the weather is still warm, the days have begun to grow shorter in the autumn. Plenty of rain has kept the grass greener than usual during the hot summer. Birds appear to be flying around the green spaces, but suddenly the birds are missing from your feeder. When was the last time that I had to refill the feeder? The joy that the birds have brought during the winter, spring and summer is somehow missing. Even the persistent white-winged doves and house sparrows are absent.

The feeder had been full of birds. During the winter and spring, birds crowded the feeder to gain extra calories needed to survive cold winter nights. During spring and summer, the local residents such as cardinals, blue jays, chickadees, house finches, and an occasional summer visitor such as a bunting or tanager brought joy to your back yard. And the added joy during the summer when the fledglings began begging their parents for food at the feeder!

Had I bought bad food? Did the birds finally have enough of your neighbor’s constantly barking dog? Did they tire of watching out for the neighborhood Cooper’s hawk? Since I forgot to clean my feeder last month, have I spread a plague that devastated the bird population? Did aliens take my favorite birds to enjoy on their planet?

Those who have enjoyed the hobby of feeding birds have learned that backyard bird activity often decreases during the East Texas autumn. During this presentation, we will discuss why bird feeding activity appears to decrease in September and October, other factors that can affect feeder activity, and how you can adjust your hobby so that you can continue to enjoy nature in your backyard when birds are not as active at the feeders.