How to Choose the Best Birdfeeder for Your Yard

Birds, as in all wildlife, cannot exist without the four major components of their habitat. These consist of food, water, shelter and space. Birdfeeders help to provide a supplement to the natural foods that are already available from the nearby flowers, shrubs and trees.

The quickest and most surest way to attract wild birds to your yard and garden is with birdfeeders. These wonderful gifts of life offer many hours of entertainment and relaxation. Being versatile, they can be mounted permanently on poles or suspended from various places by using hangars.

The wild bird species that you attract is dependent on the type of birdfeeder and bird feed that you choose.
You may want to begin by attracting your own native bird species and in time, you'll notice other species that you might not of even known existed!

Birds like to have their own space and they also like to choose their own level of height while feeding. Some will be higher up, while others may remain on the ground.

Sunflower seeds are found to be favored and preferred by the majority of wild birds. Since most birdfeeders are designed to disperse the larger sunflower seeds, they will easily accommodate the smaller seeds such as canola, thistle, rapeseed, safflower and millet.

When you first place a birdfeeder in your yard, it may take up to several weeks for the birds to discover and recognize it as a food source. But once they do, they will tell all of their friends and you'll have plenty of company throughout the day for many years to come!

Quite often, birdfeeders are used more frequently in the winter months than they are in the summertime, mainly because of the lack of insects and other bird food favorites. However, there can be exceptions to the different seasons.

For example, in my particular area in the mountains, most birds are migratory and go south for the winter. Although several different species remain throughout the winter months, the majority of the birds feed extensively from our feeders in the summer months, despite having an ample supply of insects and other natural food sources.

All birdfeeders are designed specifically for different bird types. There are three most common types of birdfeeders. They are the platform, the hopper and the tube types.

Of these different types, there are many varieties of construction such as wooden (redwood, birch, pine, plywood and cedar), metal, glass, plastic and stone. Other, more durable types, are constructed using the plastic tube material, terra-cotta (glazed or unglazed fire clay) and ceramic.

The different types of stone birdfeeders that you may discover are generally made of granite, sandstone, soapstone (a soft stone) and granite.

Tube feeders are hollow, cylinder shaped in nature and are usually made of clear plastic. These have several different perches and feeding ports.
Overall, wooden birdfeeders are the most popular of all feeders.

A suet feeder (fat for energy, supplemented with various seeds) is generally constructed of metal, in a cage like fashion, that houses a block of suet which feeds nuthatches, flickers, woodpeckers and other insect eating species. Suet feeders are ideal for birds in the wintertime, as the pure fat gives them energy to remain active and also helps to keep them warm.

Most birdfeeders are easy to install and the two different types of stationary feeders can be mounted to the top of a pole or attached to a tree. Pole mounted feeders are great because they can discourage bird eating cats from stalking and attacking your feathered friends. One type of stationary feeder can be filled from the top by either a hinged, or a removeable top.

Another stationary feeder is the platform birdfeeder type. These are designed primarily for the ground eating type of birds. Platform feeders are the most widely used, but once again, are easily accessible for cats and also to the squirrels who like to grab mouthfuls of bird feed and then disappear into the trees.

When choosing your particular type of birdfeeder, you may want to keep in mind the squirrels and other bird seed stealing animals. As much as we love the squirrels here and regardless of feeding them their own favorite type of squirrel feed, they still possess the innate nature of wanting to steal bird seed from the birds. By having a squirrel proof feeder, this will at least help to solve the problem.

The window type birdfeeder, made of a plastic or metal mesh and secured to the window, is especially great for bringing birds close to your house. The hanging birdfeeders are very convenient because you can easily place them just about anywhere that you like, but they are also more susceptible to spilling out feed on windy days and should therefore, be checked more frequently.

You may want to clean your birdfeeder more often in humid, or cool, wet summer months. This will help to avoid any spoilage of the bird feed. Also, for the glass type feeders, you may want to clean your feeder with bleach and water. You can use a solution of 1 part of bleach to about 9 parts of water. Do this at least once every month to insure the healthiness of your feathered friends. It is also much more enjoyable watching the birds feed when you have a clean feeder.

In summary, when purchasing a birdfeeder, look for one that is durable, easy to clean, squirrel proof if possible and one that holds a sufficient amount of birdfeed so that you don't have to be constantly refilling it.

Then watch your yard miraculously transform into a paradise of ever changing song, love and beauty!