Bird watching is such a nice thing to do most especially if you just want to sit down and relax. Watching different kinds of birds in your backyards make you feel a lot better especially after a stiff weekday. This is the reason why most household have their own bird feeders at home.
Various kinds of bird feeders are available in the market nowadays. A window bird feeder is a feeder which you can put on, in or next to a window. This type of feeder can be used in any type of weather. This is usually advantageous to bad weathers because you can just easily refill the feeder without too much of a hassle.
You can purchase different kinds of feeder you want to put in your windows. A platform bird feeder looks like a tray with a raised surface. It is a type of feeder which attracts most of the birds but then without any protection such as baffles, it can be easily attacked by animals such as squirrels.
A hopper feeder on the other hand looks like a house with walls and roof that is why most birds will need to hop on it in order to eat the seeds. This type of feeder benefits the small to large birds such as the jays and chickadees.
A tube feeder is a cylindrical in shape with perches and feeding ports. This is one of the feeders which are squirrel-proof. The suet feeder is wire-mesh bag or cage which attracts the woodpeckers, chickadees and nuthatches. A hummingbird feeder is made up of plastic or glass which looks like a glass or a bottle.
Before starting building or buying your own bird feeder, let us try to have a brief background first about birds and their type of foods. If you are new to bird feeding then most probable than not you're wondering which foods to feed the birds. Aside from the insects of course, seeds are their next favorite.
The most favorite bird seed of all is none other than the sunflower seeds. These seeds get the attention of woodpeckers, cardinals, goldfinches, blue jays, chickadees, purple finches, nuthatches and the titmice. The black sunflower seeds are best for hanging coconut feeders.
Oil seed is the other term for the black sunflower seeds. Birds usually prefer these seeds because of its high oil content. The shells are also soft so it is very easy to crack open. It is also a lot cheaper than the others.
A Niger is another type of bird seed wherein goldfinches love. The seed is color black and very light. You may see a lot of goldfinches feeding at your feeder once you fill it with Niger seeds. The downside of this type of seed is that it is quite expensive.
Another bird seed in which you can buy is the safflower seeds. It is slightly smaller when compared with the black sunflower seed. The good thing about this seed is that squirrels despise it. So you'll be rest assured that your feeder will not be attacked by the pesky animal. The titmice, chickadees, woodpecker and cardinals chew it like a candy.
The white millet is also a bird seed which is cheaper than the sunflower seeds. The juncos, mourning doves and sparrows like these seeds. So where can you exactly purchase all of these? At the pet stores of course and even online.
One thing that you need to stay away when it comes to buying bird seeds is the mixed seeds which you can purchase on most supermarkets. The red millet on this package will just be a total waste because most birds will not eat it rather it will just be thrown in to the ground and then become a fertilizer in the near future.
After knowing which type of bird feeder and bird seeds to use, the next thing you should do is to find the perfect window to place your bird feeder. Select a window in which you usually views in order to appreciate the feeding process. The location should also be easily accessible so that you can clean and refill the feeder at your convenience anytime.
Don't forget to place water near or on the bird feeder since it is also a necessity when it comes to feeding.
