I’ve been feeding birds and squirrels in my yard since childhood. Now that most of us are in quarantine, I’ve gotten a lot of questions about my feeders on social media, so I thought I would put together a beginner’s guide to bird feeders.
Feeding birds is not only a lot of fun, It has been a sanity-saving ritual to check the feeders and fill them every day. And then I get to sit outside and enjoy the beautiful, spring weather while I photograph my winged visitors.
A Beginner's Guide To Birdfeeders
There are a huge range of feeders and different types of bird seed available. You can start by doing a quick search to see what types of birds are in your area and determining what birds you would like to attract.
How To Choose a Birdfeeder
To attract the widest variety of birds you’ll want to place several different types of feeders in different parts of your yard. You can hang them from a tree, from a hook, or even attach them to a deck.
Let’s clear this up first. Don’t waste your money on squirrel-proof feeders. If squirrels really want to get in your feeders, they will. I find giving the squirrels their own feeder keeps them away from my bird feeders.
Some birds, like doves, prefer ground feeding so a tray works well for them. I find they will also feed on the seed that gets knocked to the ground from my regular feeders.
If you want to attract small birds like finches, a tube feeder works well for the small seed they prefer. I use the very budget-friendly finch sock.
Another really budget-friendly feeder option is a suet feeder. I can’t believe how many varieties of birds I see nibbling at mine from woodpeckers, to robins to catbirds. They are a little messy to refill, but suet is so cheap and can even be homemade.
Birdseed
I use a general seed mix for my main feeder. It’s affordable, and has a variety of seeds for a variety of birds. I dislike that they use milo as a filler because most birds don’t like it and it just ends up all over the ground, but it works for my budget.
For finches I put out Nyjer seed. The seed is tiny, so make sure you use it in there proper feeder!
Almost all varieties of birds love sunflower seed, so that is also a good alternative!
With so much extra time spent at home right now, it’s a great time to establish some bird feeders in your yard! Have fun bird watching!
