And the Totals are In!

For three years I have undertaken a wonky yet fascinating exercise in recording the amount of product that I put out for our birds.  And the 2013 numbers are in!  Last year our feathery friends consumed 4,972 ounces (310.8 pounds) of sunflower seed and 95.6 pounds of safflower seed.  I thought it interesting that this was a decline from both 2011 and 2012, dropping 6% from last year in the case of sunflower and 1% in the case of safflower.  The difference is probably not a great one, amounting to less than an ounce per day.  My "megatube" feeder on the left of the photo holds 48 times that amount!  And I don't think we have really that fewer number of birds.  Similarly, suet consumption was also down, from 85 cakes consumed in 2012 to 61 this past year.  The difference?  not a lot on a per-day basis.  I suspect we had fewer marauders as I don't remember seeing as many big birds there, especially the larger woodpeckers.  And when we get right down to it, I saved money and yet had fine bird company all year.  Can't beat that!