Will birds ever return to my front-yard feeders?

DEAR JOAN: I have been feeding birds for 10 years in my front yard. I have two bird feeders.

For years I would refill them at least once a year. Quite a while ago I stopped refilling due to my health. When I refilled them several months ago, I knew it might take a bit of time for the birds to return. They didn't. I emptied all the seeds out and washed the bird feeders, and after they dried I refilled them. The birds still didn't return.

I then bought a different kind of birdseed and a new bird feeder. I filled the new one and one of the old bird feeders with the new food, but the birds have still not returned.

A couple of days ago I saw two birds but they have not returned. Do you have any suggestions?

�� Margo, Orinda, Calif.

DEAR MARGO: I'm going to suppose you didn't mean to say you refill your feeders only once a year. Either your birds eat very little, or you have gigantic bird feeders.

If nothing else has changed in your yard, there's no reason the birds won't come back. In your absence, they must have found some other food sources, but keep the seed out and keep it fresh and dry and they'll soon find their way back.

Talk with the folks at your favorite wild bird supply store about what kinds of food you can put out to attract specific birds.

DEAR JOAN: You might want to give your readers a heads up as deer rutting season is starting.

Readers should pay attention to big bucks, giving them a lot of space and making sure their pets do not get mixed up with the rutting bucks.

I've been woken up a couple of times at 0-dark-thirty in the morning to the sounds of antlers clashing and head butting together.

Brian Murphy, Walnut Creek, Calif.

DEAR BRIAN: Good to know. We should avoid the deer and also be careful when driving, as the bucks have other things on their minds and might not notice a car coming at them.

For those having wildlife issues of another sort _ an increase of skunks in the yard _ there's a reason for that. The young skunks born earlier this year are now old enough to venture out on their own. They're still learning the ropes, so be careful when letting your dog out for a late-night potty break.