but a green plant wont necessarily attract them ... so last night.. i shut down the computer.. and head off for an adult libation ... and out of the kitchen window.. i see the poppies blooming wildly ... a gift from a friend last year ... the annual type.. 4 inch giant RED blooms.. hundreds of them .. so i step on the back deck .... and i am contemplating my navel.. and the libation.. and the general happiness .. when i come to realize there is this insanely loud hell-a-ba-lou going on ... and its 3 cardinals arguing about who knows what.. in the trees in a 50 foot radius from the poppies ... what i am trying to express to you.. is that attracting the birds is a different project from the greenery you want.. IMHO ... unless you can grow some dwarf wind proof sunflowers.. which will attract them, later in the season ... i will leave you in peace now .. before i irritate you by answering your question, but not in shrub form .... good luck ken ps: is there anything red on your roof top, that is already attracting them???

I don't think your area is too open for song birds. How long have you been feeding in that location? Deep snow cover will push birds south, even if they winter in your area. Your hawk doesn't sound like an Accitper, the lean Hawks that routinely attack feeders. In my experience, Accipters rarely perch in the open, like on a barn for more than a brief amount of time. They are usually inside the tree canopy. Killing a weasel also suggests its more likely a Buteo Hawk, the big stocky hawks that mainly feed on rodents. Buteos are usually on open perches, along the higways, on telephone poles, on buildings, etc. Accipters usually need the element of surprise to catch a healthy adult bird. In the summer time, adult birds will usually mob them and pester then until they leave the area. This time of year, all the song birds are adults and wise. Accipters usually rely on the stealth, below the horizon attack this time of year. They fly really close to the ground and charge into areas they anticipate birds to be and grab any bird that doenst flush in time. I've seen them make attacks on my feeder when its empty. They build up speed and come around the corner the house ambush the feeder. They will make a J turn around the feeder pole and almost touch the ground (right where the Doves would normally be). They do this even without any birds present. Even using this strategy, I've seen doves escape, usually losing a few feathers. Being out in the open makes its hard for the Hawk to get the element of surprise with lots of eyes watching and no terrian to take advantage of. Now, in the summer time with fledgings everywhere, Accipters can catch them without the element of surprise. If you get alot of accipter attacks, you can try a decoy. Since the hawk usually goes for the last bird to move when attacking. Purple Martin landlords use these to reduce the chances for success. But I don't think your lack of birds is related to the hawk. I've seen our birds spot an accipter 200 yards away and freeze. A Buteo hawk could be perched 50 yards away and they would be indifferent to it, except when nesting.

Ack! dlm, I forgot to post back. First, my gray is a Dove Gray (light). In darker areas it's a mid-level, maybe a battleship gray? Charlie's soap powder form, diluted in water, scrubbed, let it sit, scrubbed again, wiped. Probably got it up to 60%. Then I did a different section with diluted Charlie's soap and Oxyclean scrubbed in on top of that. Let sit maybe 20 min, scrubbed, 'rinsed'. Much better. Not 100% like the light Dove gray at outer perimeters of floor, but easily 80 to 85%. Close enough you have to really be staring at it to see the difference. (Can't get a pic to show it well, shadows from vanity are throwing off grout.) So I'll clean it good that way & immediately seal, and I'll be happy. :) If you want to check it out, I don't know how close this is to you, but if I'm downtown & need some CS I get it Be By Baby (Wrigleyville area). Easy metered parking on side street (I always find a spot - a miracle!). Or you can go to CS website, maybe there's a dealer near you. (Not me, it's either downtown or mail.) I also get through Amazon. Free super saver shipping + $11.50 or so is a good price. (Think it's about $14 at Be By Baby). I wasn't impressed with their bottled spot treatment. For the price I just put a scoop (abt 1TB) of powder in a spray bottle, make my own, works just as well.

Oh I sure hope ALL of the redwinged blackbirds come to stay with you for a while. They've been with us for two months, stripping our feeders, hundreds upon hundreds of them blackening our trees and yard. We've gone through soooo much seed and our poor little regular birds don't stand a chance. When all converge, it reminds us of the movie "The Birds". They are so noisey. They loved our beech trees when we lived in Ohio. They will return to us again in the fall.