House Finch as Canary

There is one constant at my feeders, and that is the House Finches. I can count on a good number of them to eat gluttonously day upon day throughout the year. So what does it mean when on a given day they hardly show up at all? Such was the case yesterday. I was startled to find almost no sign of seed consumption during the day. It was not any hotter than usual (95)...that's way too usual this year, by the way. I can't believe the birds were edgy about a tropical storm more than 600 miles away. Perhaps there was a predator about. We have had problems with a Cooper's Hawk, and Red Tailed Hawks have been observed this summer. In that case the Finches served as a sort of "canary in the mind" alerting me to some real problems at the feeders. Hopefully this one will blow over soon.