I have the same thing with my new SBEII. I called cs to see what was wrong and they said it was normal. The SBEI I used to own didn't do it. I'm just gonna take their word for it.
I'll try to send some water your way. Our hole is 15ft high with water. Hopefully it will go down about 10ft or so within the next 3 weeks. It has rained about everyday for the last two months here.
Hey Tank, just wondering how the heavy metal patterned. I'm thinking about giving them a try. I hope the tube I sent you is not the reason for no birds.
I have the ext. long range Pattern Master and love it. As a matter of fact I have 2 of them. I'm willing to part with one of them. Both are one season old. If interested just let me know.