How To Choose A Bird Feeder

You are looking for a bird feeder for your pet, you want to provide food and water for birds without outside influences. The ideal bird feeder is sturdy enough to withstand winter weather and squirrels, tight enough to keep seeds dry, easy to assemble, and easy to keep clean.

To attract a variety of birds to your yard, we have come up with several ways to choose bird feeders and offer several different types of feeders that provide a variety of feeds.

1. Types of bird feeders

Input tray

This species attracts the widest variety of seed-eating birds, including pigeons, starlings, house sparrows, raptors, and native sparrows. However, they do not protect from rain and snow. But without good drainage, seeds can be moist enough to germinate, and wet seeds also promote fungal and bacterial growth. Because bird droppings can quickly prepare the soil for seeding in the feeder.

Mostly, good feed trays have a screened bottom, rather than a solid, to promote complete drainage; At the very least, the feed tray should have plenty of drainage holes. Even if there is a drainage system, the bottom must be removable to fit the pipe quite often. It provides just enough seed in the bird feeder for a day or two and shakes off the bottom every time new seeds are added.

Unless you want to build an effective squirrel baffle on a pole or chain, the feeder is limited to squirrels and chipmunks.

Feeding trays placed close to the ground are more likely to attract ground-feeding birds such as warblers, pigeons, jays, blackbirds, and sparrows, along with squirrels, deer, raccoons, and raccoons. other creatures. It is usually mounted on deck railings, posts, or stumps, or can be hung. There are also models with a roof for protection from the weather.

Hopper or Feeder "House"

Most of these feeders protect the seeds well against weather and bird droppings, but if the seeds in the hopper get wet, bacteria and fungi can thrive.

It is very attractive to most feeding birds, including sparrows, jays, wrens, conifers, magpies, sparrows, chickadees, and titmice. Besides, many planthoppers can hold enough seeds for several days, which can be very convenient for the user, but dangerous for birds if the seeds inside get wet. Hopper feeders are difficult to clean compared to tray feeders. The feed hopper is mounted on a pole or suspended.

Window feeder

Often small plastic feeders are glued to the window glass with suction cups, and the base feeder hooks to the window frame, which attracts sparrows, sparrows, warblers, and some sparrows. As it provides a great, close-up view of the birds and the placement makes them safe in all types of feeders to avoid collisions with windows. Some birds eat while standing on seed in a window feeder, there is a risk of food contamination, so seeds in this feeder should be changed daily and kept very clean. This is the type of window design where the most accessible of all the trays is for filling and cleaning.

Tube feeder

Usually, the hollow tubes keep the seeds fairly clean and dry, moreover, they have metal feed ports, which can be somewhat squirrel resistant (though squirrels often chew through the end cap or the plastic tube itself). Also depending on the size of the birds perching under the feeding gates, can attract small birds such as sparrows, magpie, starling, and warbler, and exclude larger species such as larks and falcons. jay.

The birds perched above the feeding gate are designed for upside-down foraging seed-eaters, such as golden sparrows and sparrows. Depending on the size of the feed ports, small or larger nyjer beads can be supplied.

But the seed tube on most spool feeders only extends an inch or more below the feed ports at the bottom. It is also a breeding ground for mold and bacteria. Block the bottom of the hose below the bottom feed ports. Some tube feeders are so large they can hold dozens or more birds at once. If very few birds use it, use smaller models so that the seeds are used quite often.

When adding new seeds to the tube feeder, you should empty the old seeds first.

Nyjer Feeders

Also known as thistle, it is especially popular with American Goldfinches, Pine Siskins, and Common Redpolls. They will come in two forms: tubular feeders with very small feed ports and "thistle" "socks"; fine mesh bags for birds to cling to collect seeds.

Often the seeds in thistle socks can get quite wet when it rains, so it's a good idea to use a large variety when there are enough sparrows to consume the contents for a couple of days.

Some people look underneath the nyjer feeder to see what looks like wasted seed underneath. The outer black part is merely the shell, the sparrows slit through this to extract the smaller seeds inside.

Mostly, squirrels are not particularly attracted to nyjer seeds, so usually don't damage the rather fragile plastic nyjer feeder.

Suet Feeders

They are made of wire mesh or plastic-coated wire mesh, or simply a mesh onion bag. Alternatively, they can be nailed or tied to a tree trunk, suspended, or glued to the face of the feed hopper.

This type will attract a wide variety of woodpeckers, woodpeckers, nightingales, warblers, jays, and starlings. The cage only opens at the bottom forcing the bird to hang upside down while feeding. It's not for starlings, they have trouble perching that way.

As always, some people are concerned about metal feeders, fearing that a bird's tongue or eyes might stick to the metal. However, you can very easily find plastic-covered suet cages.

In very rare cases, the bird's toe gets caught in the net bag, leading to the bird's death if not noticed and quickly released.

On the other hand, some people drill holes in small logs to allow spoons of suet (or peanut butter) flour into the crevices of the bark.

2. Diversity of birds

Blue Vits, Great Vits, Greenfinch, and Sparrows are found using a hanging feeder, Nuthatch enjoys an inverted meal from a peanut feeder. However, birds like Robin, Wren, Chaffinch, and Blackbird prefer to get their food from the ground, flat surface, or feeding table.

Most species will appreciate food as long as they can safely balance long enough to get the food, so the 'funnel' style serves both, like all-purpose foods that contain the entire table. and hangers.

3. Taste test

Offer different seed mixes and fat products in all types of feeders, check which feeds and feeds are most popular with birds. Or have succeeded in introducing new species into the garden. If you know this, you can easily do it yourself by purchasing an extra-large feed system or multiple feeders and stocking up on food to save even more.

4. Material

Several types of feeders are available on the market, which should be considered when selecting materials. Plastic food trays are a low-cost alternative to metal, so are ideal for beginners. However, durability is limited and is not recommended if there are squirrels in the vicinity.

Metal feeders are powder coated, so won't rust and will last longer than plastic replacements. They are highly resistant to squirrel infestation, we recommend a preference for multiple gardens. The intake tubes are made from high-quality UV stabilized plastic to ensure they will not discolor in sunlight. If you're going to invest in bird feeding and care, make sure you have a feeder that's within your budget.

5. Handy bean ring

Unique perching rings allow birds to feed in a natural, forward-facing position. The design gives birds a clear view of their surroundings while feeding, which in turn allows them to feel safer and stay in the feeder longer. During the cold months when birds need to spend as much time feeding as possible to consume calories and energy.

6. Bird feeder size

Based on how busy your loaders are, you might consider one of the larger ones. With increased feed capacity and more perching birds, more birds can be served at once and feeders require less frequent refills. This is useful if you cannot enter the garden for a long time. At the same time, it is also convenient in maintaining food levels during peak seasonal times when birds need it most.

7. Help the little ones

Always try to keep squirrels and large birds from eating all the food or spoiling the feeder when you have a wildlife garden. Using a feeder with a protective guardian cage minimizes the impact of large birds and squirrels, allowing small birds to forage in peace. Often protected bird feeders plus the option of a feeder specifically for squirrel food, will help prevent enemies visiting larger gardens from having bird feeders for smaller species.

8. Feed peanuts safely

This is a very nutritious seed and is full of essential proteins and oils. Especially during the breeding season because young birds can easily choke on whole peanuts. The peanut feeding machine is designed in such a way that the bird cannot get all the peanuts. Foods and snacks that contain peanut flour are a great substitute.

9. Clean the bird feeder

Cleaning around the feeding area is important to avoid spreading bacteria and keep birds healthy. Regularly clean the feeder with a biological cleaner, disinfect it, rinse it, and let it dry before refilling and using it again.

Don't let leftovers rot at the bottom of the feeder, so gauge how much the bird is eating. Choose trays that are easy to remove and clean.

10. Lack of space

No space is too small to be bird-friendly and even patios, patios, and balconies can fit several types of bird food. You just have to try a window feeder to see the birds up close and personal. Or use hanging racks or porch pole systems to hang different types of feeders.

Conclusion

Right now, choose for your bird the right bird feeder to meet their needs. Not only is it convenient for a quick feed, but it also helps keep the cage clean, ensuring your bird is always well fed.