Your new feeder has been empty for three weeks. That's normal.

Field notes

We put up two feeders and a bird bath and then watched nothing happen for the better part of a month. If you're in the same position, here's what's going on and what actually helps.

Two to four weeks is ordinary

Birds are suspicious of new objects in a familiar landscape. A feeder that appeared overnight is, from their point of view, a thing that wasn't there yesterday. They need time to decide it's safe.

Longer than that isn't unusual either, depending on the season — which brings us to the bigger factor.

Late summer is the worst possible time to start

August is the deadest feeder month of the year. Natural food is everywhere: insects, seeds, berries, fruit. There's no reason for a bird to work out how your feeder operates when the whole yard is a buffet.

Many species are also mid-moult in late summer, which makes them quiet and secretive. They're around; they're just not interested in you.

Feeder activity picks up sharply through October and peaks in winter, when natural food runs out and a reliable food source becomes genuinely valuable.

The fix that works: move it closer to cover

This is the single biggest change most people can make. A feeder standing alone in open lawn gives birds no escape route, and they won't use it.

Ten to twelve feet from a shrub, hedge or tree line is the sweet spot — far enough to see a hawk coming, close enough to reach safety. If you can't move the feeder, add the cover instead: a brush pile, a potted evergreen, even a few large branches leaned together nearby.

The other fix: scatter seed on the ground

Throw a handful of black oil sunflower on the ground beneath the feeder and across the tray tops for a week or two. Birds forage at ground level first and then notice the feeder above it.

This is usually the thing that finally breaks the ice.

Check your seed

Sunflower seed that's been sitting in summer heat goes rancid, and birds will flatly refuse it. It should smell nutty. If it smells musty or sour, replace it — you may have been running a perfectly good feeder full of food nobody wants.

Also worth avoiding: cheap mixed seed heavy with red milo and wheat. Birds kick it out looking for the good stuff, and you end up with a mess on the ground and more House Sparrows than you wanted.

Add water

A shallow bath with moving water is a stronger draw than food in a dry summer. Birds locate running water by sound from a considerable distance, and a solar fountain costs very little.

Then stop fiddling with it

Every time you walk out and reposition something, you reset the clock on the trust you'd built. Fill it, step back, and leave it alone for a fortnight.

Ours took about three weeks and a move closer to the shrub line. The goldfinches came first and are now daily. Eleven species on the ledger so far.