Dear Bird Folks,

Now that the weather is finally getting better, should I bring my bird feeders in for the summer?

– Tom, Harwich

No Tom,

Didn’t I just answer this question a few weeks ago? I’m not sure. I guess I’m going to have to start reading my own column. Don’t you dare bring your feeders in now. May is the best month of the year when it comes to seeing different birds in your back yard. You never know what weird bird will make a surprise visit to your feeders. Birds like rose-breasted grosbeaks, blue grosbeaks, indigo buntings, scarlet tanagers, summer tanagers or any of the many brightly colored warblers could stop in your yard during May migration. Some of the birds that I just mentioned aren’t necessarily attracted to your feeders, but the feeding behavior of resident birds may help to attract them. Even my sterile yard in East Orleans has had some real cool birds in May.

So keep those feeders out for a few more weeks, Tom. This is the month that we all have been waiting for. You never know when you might get some strange visitors. When I say “strange visitors,” I’m still talking about birds and not your wife’s cousins from Ohio. They usually don’t show up until August.