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Bird Feeder Basics
The fastest way to a bird's heart is definitely through
it's stomach. Put up a backyard bird feeder and birds will certainly
come to feed in your yard. Where you live
determines what you'll see because of differences in birds' range and
habitat preferences.
As word spread about your feeder, the kinds of
birds and the size of crowd will increase. Even if you live in the city
where it seems pigeons and house sparrows are the only birds on earth,
you'll get surprise visitors that find your food or stop in on
migration.
When you shop for bird feeders, you'll find your
choices are almost limitless. You may wonder how to decide what to buy.
Here are some hints.
Ease of use - The most important factor in choosing a feeder is how easy
it is to use - for both the owner and the birds. You want a feeder
that's easy to fill and that holds a reasonable amount of seed.
If you
are just getting started, look for a feeder that displays seed in full
view because birds are attracted by the sight of food and by the sight
of other birds eating. An open tray is great for starters.
Make sure your bird feeder has plenty of room for birds to eat without
protrusions or decorations getting in the way. Birds also like a feeder
with a raised ledge or perch that they can grasp while eating.
Size - When birds come to a bird feeder, they want food, and they wait
it fast. Choose a main tray feeder that's big enough for at least a
dozen birds to eat at once. Supplement that with hopper- and tube-type
bird feeders. Domed feeders are great for small birds like chickadees.
Feeders inside wire cages give small birds a place to eat and peace
without competition from starlings or other larger birds. Once you have
one or two large bird feeder you can add as many smaller feeders as you
like.
Quality - Make sure your bird feeder is well made. A sturdy, simple, but
beautiful feeder costs more than you'd think. Expect to pay $30 - $75
for a feeder that will last for years.
A must have for any backyard is a simple wooden tray feeder. It's big,
it's easy to fill, and it accommodates several birds. The other feeders
pick up the overflow and they can be stocked with treats. Cardinals,
finches, jays, grosbeaks, bluebirds, blackbirds, nuthatches, chickadees, titmice, and buntings all prefer an open tray
feeder.
The only birds reluctant to use a tray feeder mounted on a post
are ground-feeding birds. A very low tray on stumped legs will
accommodate these birds, which include native sparrows,
quail, towhees, and doves. You can put any kind of seed in a tray except
for small Niger, lettuce, and grass seeds, which are prone to blow away
or get wasted. Platform feeders are also good places to put out
doughnuts, bread crumbs and fruit.
Platform feeders with a roof are often called fly-through feeders. One
problem with tray feeders is that plenty of seed gets kicked to the
ground. Adding raised edges to a platform feeder transforms it into tray
feeder.
Tray feeders can be hung. A popular hanging model, the Droll Yankees X-l
Seed saver is protected by a dome to keep seed dry and prevent squirrels
from raiding. This feeder works especially well as a mealworm feeder.
Hopper-style bird feeders with plastic or glass enclosures that dole out
seed as they're needed, are an efficient choice because seed is used as
needed and large amounts aren't exposed to wet or snowy weather, or
kicked out by scratching birds.
Many birds, including chickadees,
nuthatches, titmice, cardinals, jays, and woodpeckers, eat eagerly at a
hopper feeder. Make sure the tray of a hopper-style bird feeder
has enough room for more than two or three birds to gather and eat, and
check to see if the feeder will be easy to clean if seed spoils in bad
weather.
Be especially careful if you mount your hopper feeder
permanently in the garden. If the hopper or frame blocks the tray, the
feeder may be very hard to clean.
Hopper feeders are not always rectangular. They can be many-sided or
tubular, resembling a gazebo, lantern, or silo, and may be called by
those names. A popular round hopper design is the Sky Cafe by Arundale,
a hanging feeder made entirely of
clear polycarbonate.
The hopper and feeding platform are protected by a
large, steeply sloped hood designed to detour squirrels. The idea of a
large dome above a feeder to protect it from squirrels is incorporated
in a number of feeder designs, including Droll Yankees' Big Top.
One of the most significant innovations in hopper feeders has been the
"squirrel-proof" models created by Heritage Farms, such as The Absolute
II. Birds must sit on a rail to reach the seed tray.
The rail has a
counterweight that can be adjusted so that a squirrel's weight or that
of a jay or blackbird will cause the shield to lower in front of the
tray.
Perfect for holding shelled peanuts wire-mesh feeders are fun to watch.
Blue jays, woodpeckers, and chickadees can cling to the mesh and pick
seeds out one at a time. Squirrels can pick seeds too, but one seed at a
time can be painfully slow.
Wire-mesh
feeders work equally well dispensing black oil sunflower seeds and most
other larger seeds. Small, round millet grains pour through the openings
and are not a good choice for these feeders.
Most commercial wire-mesh feeders are tubular, but some are shaped like
hoppers and may be attached to a platform where birds can perch to feed,
rather than having to cling to the mesh.
Mesh bags, often called thistle socks, are also available for dispensing
Niger seed. Refillable socks made of fabric and disposable ones made of
plastic are available. Squirrels or rain can quickly ruin thistle socks,
so hang them in a protected place.
Years ago, before the fancy screens and storm windows, many people
simply scattered a handful of crumbs or seeds for the birds on their
windowsills. You can mount a simple shallow tray feeder on the outside
of a window, mounting it like a window box (but higher and closer to the
pane). You can use wooden or metal brackets that attach
below the sill or on the sill.
Perfect for kids and indoor cats - many
window feeders attach with suction cups. Typically made of clear
plastic, models by Aspects, Duncraft and K-Feeders are among those
available.
The most popular window feeders are made by the Birding Company. A
one-way mirror allows the feeding activity to be observed while keeping
the birds from being disturbed. The feeders need to be placed in a sunny
spot for the one-way mirror to work. The feeder can be cleaned and food
replaced from inside the house.
Simple tube feeders are a perfect example of form matching function.
They're self-contained, so seed stays dry; they hold a good quantity of
seed, so they don't need refilling too often; and they can accommodate
several birds at one time.
Not all tube feeders are created equal
though. You should invest a few extra dollars in the more expensive
feeders such as Duncraft or Droll Yankees. The tube itself is sturdier,
the feeding holes are designed better so there's less spillage or feeds
as birds eat, and the heavier metal used on top and bottom makes the
feeder much more stable. Being heavier they don't swing as easily in the
wind scattering seed on the ground.
Tube feeders are welcomed by goldfinches, purple finches, pine siskins,
chickadees, and house finches, who seem to know they can eat in peace
there without being disturbed by the bigger birds.
The size of the hole
(port) determines whether you have a
feeder that should be filled with Niger, birdseed mix or sunflower
seeds.
There are two styles of tube feeders. One is designed with small feeding
ports for the tiny Niger seeds; the other has larger ports for such
seeds as black oil sunflower, safflower, or mixed seed.
Not all tube feeders are cylinders. There are tube feeders with three,
four, or more sides. It is the idea of feeding ports built into the
elongated seed container that makes a feeder a tube feeder.
Droll Yankee feeders have a lifetime guarantee. Other variations
include Perky Pet's Upside-Down Thistle Feeder. Perches are placed
above the feeding ports so that seed can be accessed only by finches
that can feed upside down, a design that excludes house finches.
Two or three tubes are sometimes ganged together, as the Opus Top Flight
Triple Tube Feeder. With a total of 12 ports, it can feed more birds
than a single tube, and it also has the option of being filled with a
different seed type in each tube.
Most tube feeders are made of transparent plastic, but Vari-Craft makes
particularly attractive tube feeders of white PVC. Ports are made of a
hard plastic. A squirrel-proof model is available with stainless steel
ports.
Most tube feeders can be fitted with round trays underneath that catch
spillage from birds like finches, which are notoriously messy eaters.
The tray serves double duty as a small platform feeder for such birds as
cardinals and doves, which benefit from the slung seed.
Tube feeders are sometimes placed inside a wire-mesh cage for protection
from squirrels. Cages also keep large birds like grackles from perching
on a tray and reaching up to the feeder ports.
Sweet sugar water, or nectar, is a huge draw for hummingbirds. Put up a
nectar feeder and you're practically guaranteed to get hummers. The
birds search for red and deep orange-red flowers, and anything that
color will bring them in for a closer look.
Your nectar feeder may also
attract other birds with a sweet tooth, including orioles, house
finches, and woodpeckers. In the wild these birds would satisfy that
craving with real nectar from flowers, or a sip of sugary tree sap or
fruit juice. The sugar boost gives them quick calories and the energy
needed to live.
As with other bird feeders, look for a nectar feeder that's easy to fill
and easy to clean. Make sure you can remove the base to clean out the
feeding holes. Bee guards of gridded plastic over the feeder openings
are a necessity unless you like to watch constant battles between wasps
and hummingbirds.
Suet feeders are not nearly as complex as some seed feeders. They
can be as simple as a mesh sack - the kind often used for onions and
potatoes. Toss a chunk of raw suet in an empty mesh sack and hang it on
a tree trunk or from a branch or pole.
(Bird
Feeder with a difference)
English garden style bird
feeder from Opus.
Birds love to dine in this elegant stained glass beauty. Treat
your back yard visitors to a
dining experience that will have them return again and again. Real
stained glass graces the top of this feeder, which is made of heavy
duty steel with a decorative rust resistant finish. This colorful
heavy glass top adds to the elegance. Cage construction helps
discourage squirrels and bigger birds. The feeding ports are
die-cast and can feed up to 4 birds, and a it has a lift off cap for
easy feeding.
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A popular way of presenting suet is in homemade suet logs. Perches are
not necessary and if used will attract grackles and starlings.
Woodpeckers and small clinging birds can get a grip on the rough wood.
Stuffed with suet, these logs have woodpeckers as regular visitors.
Standing dead trees can be drilled and filled like giant suet logs. If
meant to attract woodpeckers, a suet feeder is likely to be found most
quickly if it is attached initially to a tree trunk. Once the woodpeckers have found it, the feeder can be moved to other spots and
the birds will follow.
Suet cages are sometimes combined with bird feeders. Health
Manufacturing makes a beautiful redwood hopper feeder with suet cages at
either end, the Classic Suet 'n Seed Feeder. Woodlink makes a similar
model with a copper roof.
Author: Louise Desmarteau
About the author:
Louise Desmarteau is the Owner of
http://www.birdshopper.com, an online
e-tailer offering the highest quality wild bird feeders and birdhouses
on the market today.
Bird Shopper's staff are very knowledgeable and can
assist you with any questions you might have in selecting the products
that are right for you.
Visit
http://www.birdshopper.com today.
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