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Types of Feeders
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| At times I think we need to take a step back
and remember that while we as humans enjoy
seeing the birds on feeders, the ultimate goal
is to provide the birds with a safe, sanitary
place where they can enjoy a meal undisturbed by
humans. |
| There is no doubt
that not all feeders are created equally. In
fact, some of them are just downright pieces of
junk that shouldn't even be allowed on the
market. Poorly made, sharp metal edges, poor
drainage, and inferior materials are just the
beginning of what you can find in some stores
and online retailers. Price isn't always a good
indicator of quality. I've seen feeders with
absolutely outrageously high price tags that I
wouldn't use if it was offered to me for free.
Conversely, I've seen cheaply priced feeders
that are well made with quality materials and
serve up seed in a safe, bird friendly manner. |
| It's a fact of life that feeders get dirty and
require regular cleaning. More than any other
single item that distinguishes a bad feeder, the
lack of easy, no tools required disassembly so
it can be washed to prevent diseases is a sure
sign you're throwing your money away. As good as
your intentions may be, you aren't going to be
willing to hunt down a screwdriver and go
through all that nonsense repeatedly to clean a
feeder. Ultimately you'll become discouraged,
stop cleaning it, and that is a disservice to
the birds you're trying to attract and enjoy
watching. Seriously, it's better to just
broadcast some seed on the ground and enjoy the
ground feeders. |
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Feeder Type: |
House/ Hopper |
| Favorable Features: |
Holds large amount of seed, a cover
(or roof) to protect seed; seeds are
dispensed and exposed as needed; large
(undesirable) birds may have limited
usage; used by large variety and numbers
of birds; some houses offer suet holders
which will add more variety of birds
coming to one feeder; feeders with
squirrel proof perches are helpful |
| Unfavorable Features: |
Adequate drainage difficult unless
bottom tray is a screen; wooden hopper,
especially those nailed or stapled
(should be held together with
weather-proof screws) have limited life
span; may be difficult to observe birds |
| Fill It Up: |
Seed mixes, sunflower seeds |
| Birds: |
Birds that fit on the available
perches; sparrows, finches, chickadees,
tufted titmice, cowbirds, grosbeaks |
| Find It Here: |
Hanging from tree branches and hooks
; mounted on poles and deck railing;
devote a feeder with a rather large
landing and sitting area which can be
placed away from feeders devoted to the
smaller birds; can hang additional
feeding tray under house feeder that has
just perches |
| Final Thoughts: |
Early on we had
a birdhouse shaped like a lantern. It
looked pretty and the small birds
enjoyed it, but so did the squirrels.
The lid was easily removed by the little
furry guys. What made it a two person
job to fill it was the finial on the
bottom, which did not allow it to sit
flat. After moving it several times in
our new yard and suffering through a
rough winter and a wet spring, the
feeder started to fall apart (aided by
our black bear visitor). |
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Feeder Type:
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Platform/Tray/ Shallow dish/
Flat surfaces/ Fly-through (with cover)
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| Favorable Features: |
Easy to observe birds feeding; fast
and simple to fill and clean; fly-through
with covers protect birds and seeds;
threatened birds can fly off in any
direction; many birds can feed at once;
could be low cost to no cost
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| Unfavorable Features: |
Larger birds may scare off little
birds; needs good drainage; open to
squirrels and other critters
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| Fill It Up: |
Any type food: seeds, suet cakes,
seed blocks, peanuts, fruit
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| Birds: |
Almost any bird or critter
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| Find It Here: |
Mounted on post, hanging, placed
near ground or on the ground; can be
mounted under hopper feeder to catch the
seeds for another layer of feeding;
easily placed under shelter
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| Final Thoughts: |
Every yard could
use this type of feeder. Last winter we
even used one as a place to put half
eaten seed blocks and suet cakes. We put
some of flat trays under brush piles for
protection. Hanging them under regular
feeders seems to be a favorite place for
the birds who don't want to wait for an
available perch.
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| Feeder Type:
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Broadcast by Hand |
| Favorable Features: |
No feeder to take apart and clean;
no additional cost; many birds feed on
ground |
| Unfavorable Features: |
Messy; need to rake and scoop old
seed; track seeds indoors on shoes |
| Fill It Up: |
Corn and large seed mixes,
safflower, peanuts |
| Birds: |
Cardinals, mourning doves, juncos,
towhees, blue jays, brown thrasher,
chickadees, finches, sparrows, crows,
red winged blackbirds, cowbirds,
catbirds, starlings, wrens (essentially
any of our birds, except woodpeckers,
nuthatches, hawks and hummingbirds) |
| Find It Here: |
On the ground in sheltered areas and
low stumps |
| Final Thoughts: |
At first we let
the ground feeder birds clean up under
bird feeders. As we tried to entice
cardinals, we added safflower seed by
scattering on the ground. Around that
same time, we were determined to
discourage the larger and pushier,
various black birds from under the small
seed feeders. We started to broadcast
the corn mixes further away. Success!
We got our cardinals and the small song
birds had a little more breathing room. |
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Feeder Type: |
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| Favorable Features: |
Inexpensive; fun project; can be
placed anywhere |
| Unfavorable Features: |
Possibility of bird, creature or
human injury |
| Fill It Up: |
Fruit segments (apple, orange, bunch
of grapes); muffins; bagel (spread with
peanut butter) |
| Birds: |
Baltimore orioles, thrush family
(robins, bluebirds) |
| Find It Here: |
Placed on flat surface (tree stump,
window sill, ground; nailed to post or
building; hung on hook |
| Final Thoughts: |
We haven't had a
lot of luck with this. Our birds don't
seem to care for fruit segments or baked
goods. The board itself doesn't appear
to be the problem. |
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Feeder Type: |
Nectar/ with Perch/ with
Troughs for Jelly and Fruit Segments |
| Favorable Features: |
Hummingbird Feeder: Red with
openings resembling flowers, single
center hanger with nectar in saucer like
( horizontal flying saucer) covered
container (for maximum viewing by
humans)
Oriole Feeder: Orange with troughs for
jelly and orange segments or dried fruit
and blueberries; must have perches or
rings to sit on. |
| Unfavorable Features: |
May be hard to open without spilling
contents; some feeders leaked badly;
some feeders are not as insect (ants and
bees) proof as others |
| Fill It Up: |
Commercial nectar (no red coloring);
home made: boil 1 part white table sugar
to 4 parts water a few minutes, cool,
in clean feeder put only as much as
might be used in a few days, store rest
in refrigerator; clean feeder before
refilling |
| Birds: |
Hummingbirds, orioles, house
finches, robins and woodpeckers |
| Find It Here: |
Place away from seed feeders and
near bubbly water source; place any
additional nectar feeders out of sight
of each other (hummingbirds fiercely
guard their food source from each other) |
| Final Thoughts: |
We have tried
several hummingbird feeders and
recommend saucer style with perches.
Although we have purchased the orange
oriole feeder with troughs, we have to
wait until spring to try it. |
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Feeder Type: |
Tube/ with Bottom Tray |
| Favorable Features: |
Conserves food; protects seed from
the elements; can see contents for
refilling; metal fittings help prevent
access from squirrels; can be filled
with variety of seeds; bottom tray helps
to further conserve seed and more birds
can feed at a time |
| Unfavorable Features: |
May have limited access with only
two perches; may not come
completely
apart for full cleaning; limited
capacity of seeds; screw tops may be
difficult to reassemble at each refill |
| Fill It Up: |
Almost any small to medium seeds |
| Birds: |
Small to medium birds that fit on
perches |
| Find It Here: |
Can hang from hooks or trees; some
come with threaded bottoms to mount on
posts |
| Final Thoughts: |
We have found
that tube feeders with metal fittings,
and a bottom tray that can completely be
disassembled for cleaning are the best. |
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Feeder Type: |
Net Sacks Single/Multiple |
| Favorable Features: |
Low cost; tiny seed makes them slow
to empty; easy for birds to cling to |
| Unfavorable Features: |
Seed is expensive; messy under
feeders; somewhat difficult to refill (
I use a large mouthed glass funnel
originally used for filling Mason jars
when canning) |
| Fill It Up: |
Nyjer seed; loose netting could hold
suet or fruit |
| Birds: |
Goldfinches, house and purple
finches, pine siskins, redpolls,
sometimes juncos, sparrows and mourning
doves |
| Find It Here: |
Hang from hooks; put in areas easy
to clean underneath |
| Final Thoughts: |
Our first sack
of nyjer brought goldfinches almost
immediately. It was as if they were
watching us from the trees ( they do
that now when we do feeder filling
duty). They keep multiplying and never
seem to leave us |
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Feeder Type: |
Wire
Cages/Cling Only/Cling with Ring
Perches/Wire Tubes |
| Favorable Features: |
More birds can feed at a time (not
confined to a perch), those with trays
save seed and can feed even more birds
at a time; lifting lids easier to fill
(although hook and eye closure may
freeze in place in winter) |
| Unfavorable Features: |
Exposes seeds to the elements;
encourages crowding of birds; not at all
squirrel-proof as advertised |
| Fill It Up: |
Fine wire-use nyjer seeds; coarser
wire-use sunflower seeds |
| Birds: |
Goldfinch and other finches, pine
siskin, chickadee, white breasted
nuthatch, red winged blackbirds,
cowbirds, tufted titmice |
| Find It Here: |
Mostly hanging on hooks or trees |
| Final Thoughts: |
We like to use
the kind without screw on lids and with
a bottom tray; birds seem attracted to
these feeders |
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Feeder Type: |
Suet
Cages/Upside Down/Log with Plugs/ Double
sided/with Tail Prop/4 Cake House
Cage/Double Round |
| Favorable Features: |
Multiple cages seem to open easier
than inexpensive single ones; most use
coated wires that repel rust and can be
cleaned; those with tail props are ideal
for larger woodpeckers; |
| Unfavorable Features: |
Wooden parts not easy to clean; some
have lids squirrels can easily remove;
double round cage difficult to clean and
fill; wooden ones attached to sides of
hopper feeders are messy and easily
splintered |
| Fill It Up: |
Suet cakes and suet plugs; can make
own suet product |
| Birds: |
Downy and hairy woodpeckers, tufted
titmice, blue jays, chickadees, white
and breasted nuthatches, catbirds, red
bellied woodpecker, Northern flickers,
grosbeaks |
| Find It Here: |
Most hang from hooks and trees; some
will mount to sides of pole systems |
| Final Thoughts: |
We (birds and
food folks) love the feeders made with
durable, recycled materials; would like
to see a large feeder made to mount
solidly for very large woodpeckers
(reluctant to nail to tree) |
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Feeder Type: |
Solid Seed Shapes/Mount in
Cage |
| Favorable Features: |
Most efficient use of seeds with
little waste; no messy feeder to clean;
can add fun, seasonal shapes to backyard |
| Unfavorable Features: |
Often falls off holder when nearly
eaten; the ones that fit in wire suet
cages avoid this problem |
| Fill It Up: |
Already self contained |
| Birds: |
Downy and hairy woodpeckers, tufted
titmice, blue jays, chickadees, white
breasted nuthatches,wrens |
| Find It Here: |
Can hang or sit anywhere |
| Final Thoughts: |
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The
birds occasionally enjoy eating from
these solid blocks and seem to visit
them for a change of pace and the
challenge of digging out a seed or nut.
They offer great photo opportunities,
because they pose longer while working
at separating the treat.
Dinner
bell- a post with a cover and seed tray
on bottom; specially made round rings
(stackable and short for varying flavors
or taller cylinders) which have a center
hole to insert the post; addresses
previous unfavorable feature. |
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Feeder Type: |
Nugget Holders/Tube/Wire
Tube in a Cage/Woodpecker Box/Foldable
Plastic Feeder |
| Favorable Features: |
Woodpecker box (lid lifts off) and
foldable plastic and chrome mesh are
easy to fill |
| Unfavorable Features: |
The wire tube in a protective
(didn't keep out large birds or
squirrels) cage and chrome tubes did not
come apart for easy cleaning and parts
of the feeder rusted; the green coated
wire tubes have perches with removable,
easy to loose pieces and hangers that
are awkward to replace for every
refilling |
| Fill It Up: |
Peanut nuggets |
| Birds: |
Downy and hairy woodpeckers, tufted
titmice, blue jays, chickadees, white
breasted nuthatches |
| Find It Here: |
All hanging from trees or poles |
| Final Thoughts: |
We did repurpose
the wire cage one as a decorative
accessory (after much cleaning and
scrubbing).
The woodpecker box was ordered online.
It was described with a picture as
having many feeding holes for woodpecker
beaks and two acrylic sides to view
nuggets. The sides with the holes had
ridges routed for woodpecker traction
and were long enough to support their
tails. We were sent a feeder with less
holes and no ridges (however the sides
were left rough). The real difference
was the see-through sides on this one
were really two layers of wire mesh.
This left the nuggets open to the
elements, but also open to the birds for
feeding (an advantage after all).
Another good feature to the box sent us,
is the pitched roof instead of flat roof
of the smoother, fancier box I really
ordered. On another bright side,
although it was not the feeder ordered,
it is being used by the birds and it was
delivered before Christmas. |
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Feeder Type: |
Peanut Holders/Peanut Butter
Products Dispensers |
| Favorable Features: |
Spreading the peanut butter products
is very easy task |
| Unfavorable Features: |
Loading the wreath peanut holder is
somewhat of a challenge (must refill
often), but worth the effort |
| Fill It Up: |
Whole peanuts put in wreath; peanut
butter and a product called Bark Butter
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| Birds: |
Downy and hairy woodpeckers, tufted
titmice, blue jays, chickadees, white
breasted nuthatches |
| Find It Here: |
Holders can be hung anywhere; peanut
products can be smeared on posts, stumps
and trees (not recommended due to
potential damage to bark) or placed in
log or post drilled about 1-2 inches
across and .5 to 1 inch deep or roll
pinecones in mixture and then in
birdseed and hang (decorate holiday tree
for birds |
| Final Thoughts: |
Because our red
and gray squirrels also love these
treats, we offer some peanuts on the
ground to discourage feeder raids. This
has met with only marginal success. |
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Feeder Type: |
Window Mount Feeders |
| Favorable Features: |
Close view of birds eating; helps
prevent birds from flying into windows |
| Unfavorable Features: |
Still a little difficult to take
photos through the plastic; must fill
often. |
| Fill It Up: |
Small amounts of seed |
| Birds: |
Smaller birds (chickadees, tufted
titmice, goldfinches, house finches);
some are made for hummingbirds with
nectar |
| Find It Here: |
Windows that have good bird
visibility and some outside protection
from predators |
| Final Thoughts: |
The cats,
grand girls and the Food Folks have had a
good time watching birds and squirrels
up close. |
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Feeder Type: |
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| Favorable Features: |
Can easily fill by pouring out worms
from original container; can be placed
anywhere |
| Unfavorable Features: |
None |
| Fill It Up: |
Mealworms (larvae of meal beetles
also called darkling beetles); can feed
live (store in refrigerator), dried or
roasted; could also use dish for
cherries and berries, shelled nuts or
even water |
| Birds: |
Bluebirds, purple martins, robins,
wrens, yellow-rumped warblers, and
catbirds |
| Find It Here: |
Hang or place on flat surface
anywhere |
| Final Thoughts: |
Late last summer
was our first and only (so far) attempt
at offering mealworms. It seems we were
much too late for the bluebirds in our
backyard and no one else was interested.
This spring we'll try it at nesting time
and closer to the bird houses. |
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| ...more
at
preferred foods
and
feeders |
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