Choosing a Window Bird Feeder
Many people enjoy bird watching and being able to enjoy them in both your garden and the area around you can be a relaxing experience. Who does not enjoy peeking out around their curtains and seeing birds flitting around their flowers? A window bird feeder may be a great idea!
Who has the time, much less the patience, to sit around and wait for a bird to fly by? There are many ways that a person who loves to watch birds can attract these friendly creatures to their yard. There are a variety of baths, houses, and feeders designed to make a yard more appealing to birds.
There are many different types of feeders on the market for the would-be bird watcher. Some are on top of poles whose bases must be buried so they can rise from the ground. There are also different feeders that have stands for the ground and feeders that can be hunt in your trees, but the type of feeder most useful for seeing the birds up close is the type that sits or hangs in your window.
These types of feeders are available in many different shapes and sizes, but all of them are basically the same. Attach the feeder to your window and fill it with birdseed so that the birds will come right to you, allowing you to watch them from both inside and outside your home.
Always be sure that the window you are using will be comfortable for the birds, such as one partially hidden by bushes or in an area that very few people go. Be aware that you must purchase suction cups that are strong enough to hold your feeder to the window so that it does not fall while your birds are eating from it.
These types of bird feeders are great to use for the sick or elderly, since they do not need much maintenance and can bring the birds straight to them. They are also nice to use in the windows of small office buildings to help the workers get a small break from the crazy world around them.
Normally, the type of food that is put in bird feeders contains sterilized seeds and grains so that it does not sprout and can normally be found at pet stores, home improvement stores, and many grocery stores in both small towns and large cities.
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Squirrel Proof Bird Feeders - What are the Options?
When anyone sets up a bird feeder in their yard squirrels immediately annoying pests of themselves, stealing all the seeds before there’s any birdwatching to be done. Squirrels love bird seed and thus they can make it difficult to maintain a bird feeder, just about the only solution is to buy a squirrel-proof bird feeder.
People can end up spending a lot of time and money trying to keep squirrels away from their bird seed and there are countless feeders and devices out there devoted to the task, however squirrels are smart animals and many of these fail. When looking at squirrel-proof bird feeders you’ll want to make sure you get a high quality device or else the squirrels will soon break through it.
Many squirrel-proof bird feeders have a dome-like design on top that is meant to enclose the seeds so that birds can reach it but a squirrel cannot. The dome prevents the squirrel from perching on the feeder and causes it to fall right off when it lands on the seeder leaving it unable to get at the seeds.
Other feeders go with a weight device that is triggered once the weight of a squirrel is felt. Once the device is set off the feeder will close off the seed and the squirrel will be unable to reach it.
Another type of feeder will allow the squirrel to perch on it, but once they reach the seed their weight will trigger a device that will cause the perch to spin and fling the squirrel off, this is not harmful to them.
Not to mention that watching squirrels be propelled off the feeder is sometimes even more entertaining than birdwatching. By this point you’d probably feel you’ve triumphed over the little buggers, but you’ll notice that squirrels can be quite tenacious. This is because they’ll figure out that every time they land on the feeder some seed spills out. Given enough time there will be enough on the ground for them to eat.
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photo credit: Gilles Gonthier
Wild Birds You May See in Your Garden
The wild birds you are most likely to see in your garden are blackbirds, sparrows, starlings, blue tits, great tits, robins, doves and greenfinches. You can provide appropriate food to attract the birds you would like to see. Finches for example love the tiny thistle seeds so you could hang a thistle feeder in your garden if you would like to attract finches.
Chaffinches and thrushes are more likely to feed from the ground beneath a bird table and if you live close to woods you may see nuthatches, woodpeckers, marsh tits or coal tits. In the winter blackcaps are becoming increasingly common at birdtables. To attract thrush species such as redwings, song thrushes, fieldfares and mistle thrushes supply fruit or berries on your bird table. Other species you may see are siskins and bramblings, especially in the winter.
You are unlikely to attract insect eating birds such as wrens or treecreepers to your bird table Allowing an area of your garden to grow wild will attract insects which may then attract the insect eating birds. You could also plant some teasels and allow thistles to grow to attract the finches.
Image by ap.
Attracting Finches to Your Garden
Article brought to you by Garden Bird Feeders & Bird Houses UK
One of the species of wild birds that you can attract to your garden, finches are colourful and have delightful songs. The goldfinch is a very colourful finch with yellow patches on the wings and a bright red face. They have long fine beaks which are ideal for eating thistle and teasel seeds.
The best way to attract wild finches to your garden is to hang up a thistle feeder containing their favorite seeds. These types of feeder are designed to hold tiny thistle seeds, usually in a mesh that makes them easy to be reached by the finches with their long beaks. The design also prevents seeds from spilling on to the ground which would attract unwanted birds and predators, such as squirrels. When you buy thistle seed to place in your bird feeder the seeds have been heat treated to prevent them from germinating so if the finches drop them they won’t grow under your feeder.
Finches also enjoy millet and sunflower seeds so you could also put some of these on to a bird table to attract them.
Read more about Finches from the RSPB
Keeping Wild Birds Safe from Predators
Article brought to you by Garden Bird Feeder s & Bird Houses UK
When you hang a bird house or bird feeder in your garden you will need to ensure that it is in a safe place and that predators cannot get to the birds or the baby birds in a nesting box. Predators include wasps, ants, yellow jackets, squirrels, snakes and other invasive birds.
Do not have perches in front of the entrance hole. The wild birds do not need perches and it only supplies an easy way for predators to reach into the box and pull out baby birds.
For a bird house that is mounted on a pole a metal baffle will prevent predators from climbing up the pole. You can also place a baffle on a tree trunk if your bird house it attached to the trunk or a tree branch. A metal baffle is preferable as plastic baffles can be chewed.
To prevent the entrance hole being enlarged by predators fit a metal plate with a small entrance hole to the front of the bird house.
Check regularly in the area around the bird house or bird feeder for ants nests. Kill the ants with a method that is not toxic to birds.
For a bird house or feeder mounted on a pole you could slip a large piece of PVC pipe over the pole before mounting. This will prevent predators from climbing the pole.
Always clean up around a bird feeder regularly to prevent ants and other unwanted pests from congregating around uneaten food.
if you have a cat fit her with a collar with a bell to warn the birds.
Attract Wild Birds to Your Garden
Article brought to you by Garden Bird Feeders & Bird Houses UK
There are many ways to attract wild birds to your garden and we discuss some of them here. Probably the easiest way is to provide a source of the foods they like and somewhere safe for them to eat it. This is especially needed during the winter months when their natural food may be scarce.
Set up feeding stations designed to attract different species of wild birds. If you would like to attract the many species of finches to your garden hang up a thistle feeder containing the small thistle seeds they love. For hummingbirds a specially designed hummingbird feeder filled with nectar will attract these lovely birds. Other types of bird feeder are tube feeders which help to keep seeds dry and window feeders which allow you to watch the birds from inside your home. Hang the feeders in a shady spot with special care to keep them away from predators. Regularly check the food to ensure it is dry and free from mold.
Another way to attract the birds is to provide a source of clean water for drinking and bathing. A simple pan of water can be placed on the ground and regularly replaced if it becomes dirty. Many birds like to drink and bathe at ground level. A bird bath will attract other birds and can incorporate a dripper which attracts the birds through the sound of running water. It will also agitate the water enough to prevent mosquitoes from breeding in the bird bath. To attract wild birds all year around you could use a heated bird bath to prevent ice during the colder weather.
Letting a small area of your garden grow wild and scattering wild flower seeds will provide a natural and safe environment for the birds. If you have a cat fit her with a collar with a bell to warn the birds!
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