When I added a new suet feeder to my garden, I expected the usual customers to find it fairly quickly. Instead, things got a little weird.
The feeder was hung in a new location, and for a while, there was surprisingly little activity. The first regular visitors were actually blue jays, unusual guests on my property, where a pair of territorial ravens usually keep them away. Blue jays are beautiful but they can be little punks picking on the smaller birds.
courtesy of Timothy Kindrachuk
After a few days, I moved the feeder closer to my birdbath, where my other feeders and smaller birds are more familiar. Almost immediately, the neighborhood changed. Chickadees returned, woodpeckers discovered the new food source, and the usual garden visitors began working the feeder into their morning routines.
Of course, not everyone plays nicely. Some birds share, some wait their turn, and others seem determined to shoo everyone else away.
The feeder may be new, but the bird politics are exactly the same.
For now, the balance has been restored, and I'm enjoying watching the usual customers discover their newest snack bar.
The suet feeder was provided to me to try in my garden by Kingsyard, I know they’ve got a 10% off discount code for new customers!