DEAR SUN SPOTS: Does anyone have an answer as to why the birds who always come to my feeders have disappeared?
My first thought was that my resident hawk down the road may be keeping them away. My second thought was that mildewed seed (after all the rain we’ve had) has killed some of them as I recently found two dead finches. I cleaned all the feeders, soaked them in bleach and water and refilled them. I’ve only seen a couple of finches since this all happened, a woodpecker only once, and a couple mourning doves, which are usually plentiful. The crows didn’t even show up when I put out some bread.
Also, I’m noticing there are no squirrels or chipmunks here and they usually come first thing in the morning. Does anyone know what’s going on? Is avian flu getting more of these birds? — Pauline, Lewiston
ANSWER: I haven’t noticed any changes over here. However, when researching this for you, I read that birds are affected by many, many circumstances, including wildfires and smoke, additions of communication towers, and wind turbines, light pollution, cold snaps and heat waves in other parts of the country and Canada, and the use of pesticides.
Did you know that millions of birds die because of cat predation? I can’t help but wonder if someone in your neighborhood has a new kitty or is letting a pet out that had been kept inside in the past. Or perhaps there is a feral cat (or more than one) in the vicinity.
The hawk could be responsible or there may be another predator in the neighborhood. That could also explain the lack of squirrels and chipmunks.
This is a helpful article: “Sources of Bird Mortality”: https://web.colby.edu/mainebirds/2023/07/16/sources-of-bird-mortality/.
You may also want to contact the Maine Audubon at 781-2330 to share more specifics with them.
DEAR SUN SPOTS: A few weeks ago, the Sun Journal had a picture of an ongoing foundation repair. If I remember correctly, this photo was with an article regarding the heavy rains we put up with this past summer.
Could you find out who was doing that repair, or maybe your readers have hired or know of someone doing that kind of work. My project would involve putting a sealer on the outside of the foundation as well as drainage work. — Andy, no town
ANSWER: Oh dear, the wet basement saga. So many of us Mainers have this issue and it’s not fun at all. The best thing I can do for you is give you contacts from the Rolodex. These contractors have their specialties and base their scope of work and pricing on individual issues rather than on a general fix.
In the Rolodex, I have Basement Improvements, LLC (https://thebasementimprovements.com/). There is an online form or you can reach them at 346-5780.
Allstar Pros (https://allstarpros.com/) is another option. Contact them online.
Others are Bdry (https://bdrymainenh.com/, 282-0718), J & N Foundations (https://jnfoundations.com/, 576-1461), and Powell & Sons (https://powellandsons.com/).
Keep in mind that many contractors nowadays prefer you go to their websites and fill out the online form for initial contact. So many of these companies no longer have office help and the contractors are swamped with taking care of business out in the field. So be patient.
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