Hi @ksteem
Yes, birdfood can go rancid and then the birds won't touch it. If it gets damp in the feeder it might also start growing mildew which they will avoid. I'm not sure if this was the case with yours. If you suspect that, then it's best to wash them out with warm water and an animal friendly disinfectant or you may have a repeat of this with the new food, especially with mildew spores.
The bird photos are lovely, are these Tits? I don't know the birds in your region that well, so please excuse my ignorance.
I would still love to see a Cardinal, such lovely looking birds.
I bought some bird food yesterday for our birdfeeder, this post has just reminded me to go fill it up. Should be nice for Lory to do some bird watching with the binoculars from the verandah.
Have a great weekend.
We did have some pretty good rainstorms in the late fall and that side not as protected as the other, could very well have gotten pretty wet. I'll give it a good cleaning to be sure. I'm no expert, just learning but I think these are Chickadees.
They are very cute little birds, they remind me very much of the Longtailed Tits I used to see in the UK. Very acrobat little birds. We don't have a South African equivalent I don't think.
I'm keen to hear about the comparison between the two feeders now that you've cleaned the non favourite out and moved it to a better location.