Birdhouses don't attract most birds

Q: I love having goldfinches around and really would like some of them to raise their families in my backyard. What kind of birdhouse should I buy?

A: It would be futile to buy a house for goldfinches because they will not use it. This is a hard and fast rule in the bird world: If birds build their nests in cavities, there's a good chance they'll use a nest box (aka a birdhouse). But most birds are not used to exploring dark, enclosed spaces, and will only use nests they build themselves in shrubs or trees, and this includes goldfinches. Only about 10% of birds are cavity nesters/birdhouse users, and these include chickadees, bluebirds, tree swallows and house wrens.

Balcony pests

Q: I live in a downtown condo and have a big problem with pigeons who want to nest on my balcony. I like pigeons and find them beautiful and calming to watch, but they're too messy. We've tried shiny streamers, but they don't seem to work, although a fake owl works better. Any suggestions?

A: Pigeons are pretty cool, but they're their own worst enemy in confined spaces, since they poop a great deal and leave a big mess. I looked online to see what might be worth a try, and came across many different kinds of bird spikes. These could be installed on your balcony to deter pigeons from landing there. Many cities use spikes to discourage pigeons and other birds from nesting on public buildings. The spikes don't harm birds but do keep them from landing.

Readers: Any other suggestions?

Wide open spaces

Q: A large flock of geese spent most of a windy day on our iced-over lake in late winter. I wonder what appealed to them out there?

A: If you've ever seen a fox or coyote try to sneak up on a group of waterbirds, you've seen how well this out-in-the-open-strategy works for geese. Sitting on ice far from shore, they can see the approach of predators and have plenty of time to escape into flight. When they become hungry, they'll head inland to feed.

Hawks and their prey

Q: I sometimes see both a Cooper's hawk and a sharp-shinned hawk hunting the birds in my backyard in the same week. Are they hunting for the same birds?

A: Good question, and I turned to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Project FeederWatch data for an answer. Both of these hawks specialize in hunting birds and their ranges overlap (they can be found in the same area). Turns out that their prey overlaps some, too: Although Cooper's hawks are much larger than sharp-shinned hawks, both focus on small songbirds. Ground-feeding birds are more vulnerable to these hawks and their favorite seems to be the dark-eyed junco.

"Juncos are like the popcorn of the avian world," says Eliot Miller, a researcher at Cornell Lab. Still, sharp-shins generally go after smaller birds, including finches and sparrows, and Cooper's hawks often target larger birds, like doves, starlings and blackbirds. Birds that don't feed on the ground, such as chickadees and nuthatches, are usually able to flee to safe perches if a predator is around, and are less frequently preyed upon.

'Frozen' woodpeckers

Q: I happened to look out at my suet feeder one afternoon and noticed two woodpeckers, apparently asleep while hanging on the basket. They stayed motionless for at least half an hour. This is something I've never seen before and I wonder if they were napping.

A: Truth to tell, the world is too dangerous a place for birds to let down their guard to nap or rest out in the open. It's likely that an unseen hawk was around, possibly hiding in shrubs or a tree. The woodpeckers, with their slow, undulating flight, know they could never outfly a hawk, so their survival tactic was to freeze in place. If the raptor didn't see movement, it would likely fly away sooner or later, and the woodpeckers could resume feeding. This happens often in my backyard, where both Cooper's hawks and sharp-shinned hawks stop in frequently, looking for a meal.

Helping hand for robins

Q: Our robin pair returned this spring, and they're getting started on their nest, it seems (I see them carrying grass in their beaks, etc.). Is there anything I can do to help them along?

A: There are several things you can do to be a good host for robins. Number one is have a birdbath and spray it out often to keep it clean. Robins are thirsty birds and they like to bathe, especially during the messy time of nest building. Another thing is to create a space with open soil in a garden bed and keep it damp, so the birds can pick up mud to make their nest's base. And finally, avoid using broad-spectrum pesticides like Roundup on your lawn and gardens (see more here: www.xerces.org/pesticides/understanding-pesticides), as these are toxic to birds, especially those, like robins, that spend a lot of time searching for food on the ground. And one more thing: Please keep your cats indoors, as felines take a terrible toll on birds.

Blue jay blues

Q: I don't enjoy blue jays and would like to keep them out of my yard. Do you have any tips?

A: I doubt whether there's a way to keep blue jays out of your yard entirely. They're omnivorous birds, meaning they eat a wide variety of foods, from seeds to suet to insects and on and on. You might cut down on blue jay visits by not offering foods they relish, such as peanuts and black-oiler sunflower seeds. They don't seem to be big fans of safflower seed, so you might offer these to your other birds. Another way to deal with your blue jay "problem" would be to learn to appreciate these big, brainy birds. Sure, they're loud and sometimes seem to bully other birds, but they're also extraordinarily beautiful and are very family-oriented (toward their own family, that is).

St. Paul resident Val Cunningham, a member of the St. Paul Audubon Society, writes about nature for various publications. She can be reached at valwrites@comcast.net.