In a message dated 10/04/2000 5:17:15 PM Pacific Daylight Time,
Issymacds at aol.com writes:

<< Do you leave the feeders, #50
of sunflower seed, the recipe for hummer food, suet, binocs and a birdbook,
hoping it "takes" before the #50 is gone? I'm serious! Anyone out there
got
any ideas?
>>
Having spent 20 years in the Army, I did a lot of moving around, and I fed
the birds everywhere I lived (to include overseas...Germany, Korea, and,
once, inadvertently, in Saudi Arabia, when a horned lark flew into my tent
and stayed for several hours, where she ate the most unlarky type foods like
MRE crackers and bread.)

I would assume that you will probably sell to non-birders. While our numbers
are growing, folks like us are considered "peculiar". So.........

Start tapering off NOW. Even if you're moving in the spring, (I have no idea
when you plan to leave) start tapering off the feeding now. This will allow
the migrants to realize that the food is getting scarce and they can still
migrate in time with the others But many species, like house finches and
juncos, stay all year long.
This will mean that you will be birdless all winter, but it's for the best.

Start by taking down your feeders..if you have five up, take one away today,
and then another in two days from now, etc. Stop feeding all suet, fruit,
etc. Just leave the seed feeders up.
Gradually reduce your numbers of feeders to one. You will notice that, over
time, the number of birds will begin to decrease as the birds find themselves
fighting to eat. They'll move on, I promise. Then, begin allowing the one
feeder to get empty. Instead of filling it daily, fill it only every other
day, then once every three days, until one day you just leave it empty for a
while. You'll still get hopefuls, but don't give in.

To make you feel a little better.........most seed eating birds are
'accustomed" to a food source playing out. That's why they migrate......most
birds species can take the cold and wet, but they fly south to where the food
supply is constant throughout the winter.
You may want to let the buyers know that you fed the birds and how many
species you got (wow.......54.........send them my way, eh??). Maybe you'll
be lucky and get a bird feeder as passionate as we Tweeters are.

But honestly, if you leave the buyers a bag of feed and a feeder, if they
aren't interested, they'll dump the seed in a pile (which means rot,
salmonella, and rodents) or worse, they'll feed only in fits and starts,
which merely torments the birds.
I cannot tell you how frustrated I feel when I see people put out a
hummingbird feeder (with red food coloring), fill it ONCE and leave it there
all summer, never changing it or cleaning the feeder. Then they wonder why
"the hummingbirds didn't stay."
Or far worse, and I am ashamed to admit it's my father who does
this..........he buys a certain amount of feed in August, and when it's gone,
that's it. It may be that he runs out of feed in January (in the middle of a
frozen and snowy Michigan winter) but if he runs out, well, tough luck,
birds. He won't buy more feed until May. "They shouldn't eat it so fast" is
his rationale.
Please don't berate me.......my father is that old fashioned type of guy who
thinks women are stupid and worth only for child bearing and cooking.
Sigh.......now you know why I live in Washington.

And.........the nicest thing is, the birds remember. We had to rent our house
out while we spent years overseas, and none of my renters fed the birds.
After an absence of several years, we returned and moved back in, and I put a
feeder up. Within two days I had house finches, and by the end of the second
year, all my original species were back.
I hope this helps.

Michelle
MBlanchrd at aol.com
Oly, WA