Viewing post #2032805 by CrazedHoosier

Hamwild said:It will just take some time. I'd say, leave them up for a few months if you have to (with winter coming, they will be looking for food). But, they should show up eventually.

I think our attack was a freak accident (we had two juvenille doves that weren't as fearful as they should have been). Some hawks or other birds of prey do eat birds, but in the couple years I've been feeding, this has only happened once. We have a kite, three types of hawks, and an owl pair. So, with those odds, I think that was a rare occurrence. We've never lost a squirrel either.

I've seen red shoulder hawks staring at my grandparents' bird feeders, but they never seem to engage in the chaos below. I think it's super cool seeing sort of the food chain or micro niche form once you start feeding birds. The birds start coming and knock seeds to the ground, the squirrels and chipmunks get the seeds, and maybe sunflowers grow. Then you may get butterflies and hummingbirds, and from that you get praying mantis, ants and wasps. Eventually, you'll get a big hawk that stalks everyone! Anyway, you get to see all of the different things attracted, and at times interact with and even better their lives. That's what mainly attracted me to bird feeding. I like birds a lot, but seeing how something so little can impact so much in nature, is just the coolest! Sorry for the messy rant, I'm just excited to maybe see some birds soon.