Bird Watching: I need some suggestions ..., 1 by beckygardener

beckygardener wrote:
I have a single bird feeder in my backyard. Just the one. I feed the birds in the hanging feeder and have 2 dishes on the ground to feed the ground feeding birds and the squirrels. I have a resident Red-shouldered Hawk (possibly a mating pair) that lives within a few residential lots from me. I hear and see a hawk flying the skies above me all the time. I have also photographed this bird sitting on the very top of my bird feeder. Well, today I walked outside to fill the feeder and dishes and saw the Hawk sitting on the top of my 6' privacy fence. I suspect this bird was waiting for squirrels.

I want to move the feeder away from the picket fence (see second post photo) as the squirrels jump from that fence into the upper bird feeder. Where would be the best place to relocate it in my backyard? My dh suggested we move it closer down the slope of the backyard to be more centered and away from the the picket and privacy fences. I want to protect the birds that come to the feeder and the squirrels as much as possible from being easy pickings for the hawk(s). I feel like I am setting them up for easy pickings for this Hawk to nab them where the feeder is currently located. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Here is a photo of the Hawk sitting on my fence just to the east of my bird feeder. This was taken earlier this morning. Beautiful bird, but I want to give the other birds and the squirrels a fighting chance of survival at the feeder.

This message was edited Nov 20, 2010 12:19 PM