Birds really flock to you shaw, but does that bring predators to the birds also? I had to take my feeders down years ago, all the spillage attracted, raccoons, squirrels, skunks, opossums and even less desirable animals. Feel cheated - wasn't like that in my city days. Saw a Blue Jay once...
Our suburb is pretty much surrounded by Forest Preserves so a lot of birds pass through- and some stay. We have Gold finches all winter and the males have kept pretty decent color. Cardinals always around, I've seen red headed woodpeckers, downy woodpeckers, flickers, - once a group of Bob...
Blue Jays are starting to show up here, I understand many were victims of the avian flu, over the past few years.
I used to use a thin string and tie a peanut to one end and the other high on some branch. Then sit and wait. A blue jay would come over, eyeball the situation and then pull up...