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There do not appear to be any birds in my neighborhood, none at all! I have just moved here (Austin NW suburbs) and really miss the wildlife I had in my old home garden.
I have fed birds in various places I have lived but there were always some in the trees to start with! Maybe they are all away for the winter? There are quite a few squirrels tho...A friend who lives less than a mile away has all kinds of birds in her garden, but she does back to a creek (I don't).
I have various feeders, suet, seed etc and a water basin.
There is no construction going on, and the backyards around us are all large with plenty of mature trees, shrubs etc.
Well, if you've got the "big three"--food, water, and shelter, you should eventually get birds (unless there is something very unusual going on . . . like a hawk's nest in one of those mature trees ;-). Maybe it's just taking them a little while to find your place.
I too think it just may take some time for them to find you.
I have local hawks, a falcon that comes by on occasion ... and i still have birds and squirrels.... though the majority of birds are House Sparrows (non-native) and Starlings (non-native)
I have Robins in the warmer months, and a pair of cardinals that hang out all year, along with mourning doves.
Can you identify your trees and shrubs? Are they native to your area? If your neighborhood is filled with non-native plantings, it's possible the plants don't fully support your native birds.
Are there a lot of neighborhood cats? One hunting cat can wipe out a lot of birds and keep others at bay.
The natural food supply for many of the birds we normally have is very low. The trees aren't loaded with cones so we have no crossbills. Whatever the pine grossbeaks normally eat must be low elsewhere. I've had them here all winter for the first time in the ten years I've lived here. I haven't seen an American goldfinch since summer but there are robins all over the place. It's an odd winter for birds here.
I had a similar problem when I moved into my camp up north. I travel with parakeets and my birds really like to be outside. So I hung the cage outside in the shade. Birds were attracted to my birds. So every time I changed their seed cup, I tossed the old seeds on the ground with a bit more fresh seed and within a week, my parakeets were being kept company by the local wild birds and squirrels Then I started hanging wild bird feeders nearby but only the squirrels used them - the wild birds preferred to go after the remnants of parakeet seed on the ground near the cage.
I winter in WV and do the same thing with my parakeets - hang the cage on the T-post of my clothesline and wild birds are attracted to the sound of my birds. They don't speak the same language, but they are a curiosity to the wild birds.
Parakeets are a social bird, so I would suggest you buy two birds rather than just one, if you want to go that route. Get a roomy and stout cage for them, a cuttle bone, mite box (hangs on the side of the cage), provide a little bit of grit and then change the seed and water every day.
In this picture, I go overkill on securing the cage to the corner of the deck so windo or a bump won't jar the cage. I added natural branches to the cage because parakeets love to chew on wood. Mine went nuts over the natural branches, hollowing them out. I also provided a tupperware dish of water for them to bathe in.
The clothespins are holding a piece of plastic trash bag over half of the top of the cage and along the back which provides them with a wind break. Doesn't matter that wild birds can't "see" my birds - they can hear them. It would work even if you had them on a screened porch. Just make sure they are not in direct sunlight and you'll be good to go.
When the temperature drops below 30, bring them indoors.
Birds attract other birds better than anything else.
I too have birds, I have a conure and a cocatiel that are kept in large cages outside. At one time I had a large aviary with over 70 budgerigars aka parakeets. When I move here 8 years ago, there were 15 large pine trees on the property and a host of sparrows, tit mice, chicadees and siskins, plus the guardian crows and occasional raven. We have removed the pines and I have a yard full of sparrows, black birds, bronze headed cow birds, grackles, starlings, siskins, warblers, finch's and crows nearly everyday. I had a dozen gambrels quail one summer, three ducks once and when I had the pines, a group of three peacocks and a peahen occupied the trees and our roof for about two weeks. I have a coopers hawk that inhabits my yard every fall and winter and have video of it six years ago and photos from each year since. I put out up to 50 pounds of bird seed each month and planted butterfly bush's, shrubs, small trees and flowers to keep them supplied with nectar and an insect source. I also never use any kind of pesticide, herbicide or chemical on my yard. Birds will avoid your yard if you use any of those. I let the birds take care of the bugs and spiders about my property. I pull the weeds and give them to my chickens. In the mean time, go to a bookstore and look up your local birds and get some tapes or CD's that feature birds singing and play that out doors. It is also a good idea to add some bird box's for the small birds.
Some simple bird feeders for Suet and seed has attracted birds to my garden in Connecticut several varieties of woodpecker, Cardinal, Oriole and more.
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Some thoughts......
