Irene writes,

>At my house, the chickadees take black sunflower seeds and stuff them
>between the planks of my house and the houses nearby.

The chickadees at our house have spent the past month storing sunflower seeds
in a dying hawthorne tree that we have considered (at one time) spraying with
dormant oil, as recommended by the garden centre. The tree loses virtually
all its leaves in July. It seems to be a really attractive tree for the birds,
and it sure makes summer bird-watching easy. Does anyone know how harmful
dormant oil sprays are to birds (if their cache has been exposed to the stuff)?
Looking at the label on the bottle we've bought, it contains a mixture of
98.4% mineral oil and a lime sulphur solution.
Thanks in advance for any info or advice.

Victoria Otton
otton at cs.sfu.ca