Another "have you noticed" post specifically about the lack of birds this winter

[kcbc2010]

A friend of mine asked me this question. I have no useful information to give him because I haven't noticed one way or another because my immediate area just isn't good for birdwatching. I am hoping that someone on PA could confirm this phenomenon or add to the discussion. I'd like to give him some feedback if I am able. Thanks.

"All the birds in my parents neighbourhood in Kalamazoo MI have disappeared. It has a lot of winter bird watchers and friends of my mom and dad worried. The Nature Center asked if a hawk has been seen. None has but that is the only explanation available so far. Has anyone else observed a strange disappearance of birds this Winter?"

[pyrangello]

The only thing I've noticed here in northern Michigan is the morning doves all disappeared, I have feeders out everywhere and I'm getting finches,cardinals,bluejays and some woodpeckers but the doves are not around. I would say I did have a hawk for some time picking off the doves but havn't seen that hawk either. Still have eagles, hawks and blackbirds flying around when I am in town.

[ghostrider]

yes, My old jobsite, with my only awake co-worker, we had a huge bird problem last year, making balconies a mess for our tennants. This year , we have noticed they are all gone ... for the last three years it has been an ongoing problem we always struggled to manage. cardinals, sparrows, crows, pigeons, and now the last six months or so , nothing. I mean none ...Our squirrels are gone to ... we pay attention to nature everyday...our pecan tree didn't drop one pecan this last year, before we always were cleaning that area like cleaning behind the birds ...

[WhiteFeather]

Birds havent changed here in NY. I always look around in my environment for any changes.
Pigeons are plentifull. Hawks and Perugine Falcons i see at times. The standard ny brown finches are plentifull. Many wild turkeys located near a hospital in the huge flatland here in Staten Island NY are still plentifull. I havent seen any changes here. I did notice some budding on trees and hydrangea bushs though.

[Freed Fox]

I am not in a particularly great place for birds either, but even so I've noticed this too. I spent my entire childhood here, and I would often hear a certain bird call in the early morning. I would even say most mornings, at least when it was temperate. In the past year I don't think I've heard it more than a couple of times.

[kaon]

Birds havent changed here in NY. I always look around in my environment for any changes.
Pigeons are plentifull. Hawks and Perugine Falcons i see at times. The standard ny brown finches are plentifull. Many wild turkeys located near a hospital in the huge flatland here in Staten Island NY are still plentifull. I havent seen any changes here. I did notice some budding on trees and hydrangea bushs though.

I have actually noticed a few more cardinals this year in my neck of NY. The blackbirds are still abundant and they are consuming the seeds that I put out much to the chagrin of my cat. I have also noticed a healthy population of crows in a nearby town where my office is situated.

Haha. The turkeys are well fed in S.I. huh?

[toad]

What, maybe they have all come to my house, but we have an abundance of cardinals, bluejays, grossbeaks, nuthatches chicadees, turkeys even and doves etc..

[sunnyrap]

They may be following the most beneficial weather patterns...which have been amply messed with. In any case, we have abundant birds of all kinds and sizes here in the west edge of the deep South piney woods belt. I was surprised to see the small colorful birds that usually don't show up until well into Spring around here all over the place NOW. And flowers blooming as if it is April. Weird.

[ozarkflyfisherman]

I live in St. Louis, I put out 2 feeders on my front porch this winter. They are alive and well, including the Doves. We have a Red Tailed Hawk that likes to take a squirrel every once and a while. I don't like to see it, but thats what hawks do.
I flyfish in the Ozarks every other weekend in south/central Missouri. Bird population is strong.
The weather in the Midwest is always changing...such is life.

[Sidney]

I am not too far from ozarkfllyfisherman and the birds are good here at my home(many feeders) especially the bluebirds. that said, when i go to the nearby woodlands state park, heavily wooded, no birds. I mean none. I might hear/see one or two birds in the forested areas. That tells me, they are not finding the food they need in their natural environment, but flock to peoples feeders.

We need to look at the numbers of birds in natural areas,not where there are feeders. That IMO is the telling information as to environmental effects on the bird population.