Fall feeder care shares something with fall lawn care. We always need a reminder that this is an important time of the year to give the lawn some extra attention. The same is true for our feeders. Even if we have been feeding birds for many years, there are things we might forget.

One of these involves the placement of our feeders.

For one reason or another, I’ve moved some of mine twice within the last several months. Our old plum tree has been the primary feeding station for decades. It’s outside the kitchen window in front of the table.

The bird-watching from this vantage point has produced countless special experiences. This spring the tree needed a heavy pruning because it was beginning to grow against the gutters on our house. We might as well have taken it down as far as the birds were concerned.

All of their protective cover was gone, along with the branches they land on many times every day. We moved most of the feeders around the corner in front of the windows over the kitchen sink.

As this is a busy work area, I’ve enjoyed the move. Previously, we had one feeder in this location. Now there are three, and they contain the lard/oatmeal mix.

The area has become a woodpecker hangout. It’s more to their liking than the other location, and this is probably due to the approach this site affords.

A large dogwood and a small woodshed roof let them work their way to the tree holding the feeders. Pileated, flicker and downy woodpeckers visit this area several times every day.

The feeders also receive heavy use by the bushtits, chickadees and nuthatches. Considering the popularity of the site, this is where these feeders will stay even though the pollarded plum is bursting with new growth.

Those feeders that will be returned to the plum are under consideration. The location continues to provide good bird-watching because the birdbath that holds a dripper still resides there.

When the feeders were being moved from beneath the old plum, not all of them moved around the corner of the house.

Two seed feeders were moved to the backyard. A 20-foot-long trellis was built in this area. It’s a good place to grow clematis vines, and it backs up against a heavily wooded area with plenty of cover.

We decided to hang feeders from the trellis. Black sunflower seeds are in a tube feeder, and Niger thistle seed is offered in a sock feeder. The action has been nonstop.

Not only do the chickadees and nuthatches make trips to these feeders, but the goldfinch action all spring and summer was the best we’ve ever had. We watched the house finches park their youngsters on the top of the trellis while they brought seeds to feed to them.

Spilled seed under the trellis attracts the towhees, juncos, jays and sparrows, and the bushes growing in the area provide the cover they need.

Now that the plum is almost its old self, will the feeder arrangement return to its former self. I don’t think so. It will continue to exist but will be scaled down. The new or enlarged feeding areas will remain as they are. They’ve enlarged our bird-watching pleasure, too.

Even if you haven’t drastically changed a popular feeding area, you may want to consider trying some new locations. This is a good time of the year to do so.

Write to Joan Carson, PO Box 217, Poulsbo, WA 98370. Include a self-addressed, stamped envelope for a reply.