There is nothing in aluminum itself that would be harmful to birds. Because it is a soft metal, however, it bends easily and could be crinkled if a squirrel were to land on it. Including a screen beneath a feeder will help reduce the amount of debris that attracts squirrels when it falls to the ground.

Avian influenza is a highly infectious disease affecting many species of birds, including commercial, wild and pet birds. It may also affect people and other animals in certain circumstances. A Type A influenza virus causes it.

Sometimes it takes birds quite a while before they use a new feeder or bird bath. If after ten days, no birds are visiting, think about moving the unit to another location in your yard. I don't have any suggestions. Hopefully, this bird will quickly pass through whatever season is causing this behavior or move to another location. Even if you succeeded in chasing the bird out of a particular tree, it would probably choose another location equally close.

Maintaining a clean bird feeder or bird bath is generally safe, unless these are attracting rodents or raccoons. It is always best to wear protective gloves when handling or cleaning these items to avoid contact with bird droppings or contaminated water in a bird bath. Always wash your hands with soap and water after doing these chores. The likelihood of getting a pet bird that is already infected with avian flu is very low. It is illegal in the U.S.

The same thing everyone wants in a good restaurant... a place to relax and enjoy a good meal. Mounting or hanging usually provides protection from curious cats. After that, good service and plenty of mixed seeds such as thistle, millet, safflower, dandelion, primrose, goldenrod, and sunflower will attract songbirds as well as cardinals, blue jays, and morning doves. Click here for more information about types of feed.

The key factor in the location of the feeder is to challenge the squirrel to get to it. One option includes using a 10' high free standing pole away from squirrel launch pads, such as fences, sheds, roof tops, trees etc. Keep in mind that squirrels are able to jump about 4' vertically. Another suggestion is to grease the pole so they are unable to get a grip to climb up it.

Public health and wildlife officials say small birds elsewhere have been infected by the H5N1 virus. Small birds also can carry bacteria that are harmful to people. Bird feeders aren’t recommended because birds don’t need extra food in the summer and the feeders attract bears. When it comes to H5N1, however, health and wildlife officials say bird feeders are unlikely to pose a significant threat to homeowners.

If this is the first time you have a feeder in your yard, you may need to wait several weeks for birds to discover it. It may help you to put a shiny pie pan with some seed in it underneath the feeder to attract birds flying through your yard. Black oil sunflower seeds are a favorite among most birds. Water is also a natural attractant.

The best thing to do is to stop feeding the birds temporarily. Remove the feeders and throw out all of the seed. Thoroughly wash your feeders as suggested in Tips for a clean feeding station. Remove all debris from under your feeder. Do not touch the sick birds. Refill all of your feeders and resume feeding.

Make sure you have the correct feeder. Example, it is difficult to get Cardinals to come to a tube feeder. Tie a small piece of tin foil on your feeder so it glints in the sun. The birds will have an easier time spotting the feeder.

Birds with summer ranges normally far to the north of where most A.T. hikers live are often found in the mountains, where the altitude makes the climate resemble that of Canada. Insect-eating birds such as whippoorwills, flycatchers, and swallows rarely show up in back yards but are common along the Trail. The songs of deep-woods birds such as the ovenbird, kinglet, veery, pewee, and red-eyed-vireo will provide an ongoing chorus for summer hikers.

the present time, the risk of becoming infected with H5N1 virus from bird feeders is low. Generally, perching birds (Passeriformes) are the predominate type of birds at feeders. While there are documented cases of H5N1 causing death in some Passeriformes (e.g., house sparrow, Eurasian tree-sparrow, house finch), most of the wild birds that are traditionally associated with avian influenza viruses are waterfowl and shore birds.

There are so many solutions depending on your situation, but the best overall way is with a squirrel proof birdfeeder such as the "Absolute Squirrel Proof Feeder" by Heritage Farms and the "Yankee Flipper" by Droll Yankee.

Feeder placement depends on the birds you hope to attract to your feeding station. As much as possible, it should resemble the way birds feed in the wild, so keep colors neutral, put some feeders almost at ground level and others as much as six feet high. Another consideration is traffic from squirrels and other four-footed visitors.

You may want to move the feeder to a different part of your yard or closer to a protective shrub, especially if you have hawks in the area.

According to the World Health Organization, the avian flu in wild and/or domestic birds has spread from Southeast Asia to South Asia and Pacific countries, to Africa and the Near East and to several countries in Europe. Forty-three countries have reported infected birds as of April 19, 2006.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) website (http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/subjects/en/health/diseases-cards/special_avian.html) provides information about how to assess whether a bird may be infected with bird flu. You can also visit the Department of Agriculture for general information on Avian Influenza (http://www.deptan.go.id/) or the Directorate General of Animal Health of the Department of Agriculture at (http://keswan.ditjennak.go.id/).

You're not doing anything wrong. It takes time for birds to locate a new feeding source. A spell of bad weather always drives birds to concentrate at feeders. Try putting your feeder in a new location far from your house and the portion of your yard where you are active. Put the feeder in or near a tree that the birds regularly use.

Birds will come to balcony feeders, but it may take a while to attract them. Much depends on the surrounding habitat. If there are lots of trees and some water, your success rate will be higher. City dwellers may have to content themselves with sparrows as their primary visitors.

It probably is more important to the birds what kind of seed is offered than what type of feeder is being used. Generally, use low platform feeders to serve mixed seed to sparrows, doves, towhees and other species that prefer eating close to the ground. Hanging feeders filled with sunflower seed will attract cardinals, nuthatches and chickadees. Put Nyjer® seed in a tubular style, hanging feeder for the finches.

To discourage House Finches, remove the perches from your feeders. For Blue Jays and large aggressive birds, the Havahart Squirrel Guard (model 2105 ) is an ideal feeder. It has wire mesh surrounding the seed reservoir that prohibits larger birds from flying through the mesh openings and eating the seed. Blackbirds and Sparrows love cracked corn, refrain from offering the seed. Do not put mixed seed in your feeder to prevent Doves and Sparrows from feeding. Check out the Bird Seed Chart (www.

Tube wild bird feeders are very popular with most backyard wild birds. They provide some of the most productive bird watching hours. Goldfinches will use thistle seed feeders. Most backyard songbirds will be happy to use your standard tube bird feeders that are filled with sunflowers or seed mixes. They come in a great variety of styles and prices.

Avian influenza is spread directly from bird-to-bird through secretions and feces, and indirectly through contaminated feed, water and equipment. The CFIA reminds Canadian bird owners that following strict biosecurity practices may protect their birds from AI. Biosecurity refers to measures that protect the health of livestock by preventing the transmission of disease.

There is minimal risk from consuming the infected eggs or infected meat provided it is well cooked. The danger is greater if the human beings come in contact with their droppings by inhaling them or by coming in contact with any material that is infected with the virus. At present there is no risk of transmission of the disease from another infected person since human transmission of the disease is not known to date. There is no evidence that bird flu is a food borne disease.

The symptoms in birds vary from a mild illness barely noticed (sometimes expressed as ruffled feathers or reduced egg production) to a "highly pathogenic avian influenza", which is extremely contagious and rapidly fatal for the birds.

Documentation is a difficult burden sometimes (see the two essays on documenting birds linked under Submitting Records). It involves trying to get images or recordings of the birds you see, trying to take careful, even exhaustive notes on the rarer birds you see, and submitting these to a Committee.

Blue tits and great tits are the most prolific users of bird boxes in domestic gardens, although the RSPB has recorded over 60 species of birds know to have used nest boxes. Robins prefer open fronted nest boxes (hidden in vegetation, such as ivy) and it's possible to either buy or fabricate nest boxes for house sparrows, and other species including house martins, swallows, starlings, kestrels and owls. This site restricts itself to nest boxes for small garden birds.

There is no single best feeder for bird feeding. A well-rounded feeding operation will include a platform feeder, a tube feeder, a hopper feeder, a suet feeder, and a peanut feeder. And don't forget the bird bath! The seed-drilling culprit is a weevil that lays its eggs on developing sunflower seeds. The hatching larvae consume the kernel and then drill exit holes through the shells.