We live on Decatur Island, in the San Juans. We have kept a bird feeder, filled with black oil sunflower seeds, and enjoyed watching birds emptying the 10# capacity feeder every one to two weeks.

Over the past several weeks, there have been virtually no visitors to the feeder, despite adding a suet cake. Several nearby friends have also noted this phenomenon. While I've certainly seen some seasonal variations it's never been so profound. We have seen some birds in the area but in reduced numbers. Past visitors were chiefly finches and nuthatches.

I should add that this change coincided with my finding a dead finch, seemingly trapped in the feeder. I now wonder if the cause was infectious.

I will certainly appreciate any observations or reports of similar regional phenomena.

Thanks, Arnold Frank