Bird feeders. Bird feed
Bird feeder plans |
Location.
Feeding stations should be located near natural cover. Many birds prefer not to be exposed. Therefore, putting a bird feeding station by a window will attract only especially gregarious birds (such as sparrows and starlings). While the viewer will want to have a clear line of sight to the feeding station, it is important for the station to be near shrubbery or a tree.
After the station is established, it can take some weeks for birds to discover and start using it. This is particularly true if the feeding station is the first one in an area or (in cold-winter areas) if the station is being established in spring when natural sources of food are plentiful. Therefore, beginners should not completely fill a feeder at first. The food will get old and spoil if it is left uneaten for too long. This is particularly true of un-shelled foods, such as thistle seed and suet. Once the birds begin taking food, the feeder should be kept full. Additionally, people feeding birds should be sure that there is a source of water nearby. A bird bath can attract as many birds as a feeding station.
The downside of feeding birds.
Birds are messy eaters. If the feeding station is over dirt or a lawn, whole cereals and un-shelled sunflower seeds will germinate beneath the station, while shelled nuts and cereals will not. Food scattered on the ground beneath the feeding station may also attract rats and mice. |
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Bird feeders. Bird feed
Bird feeder plans
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Bird feeders. Bird feeder plans. Bird feed
Seed feeders are the most common type. These can vary in design from tubes to hoppers and trays. Sunflower seed or mixed seed are popular for use in these feeders and will attract many songbirds such as cardinals, finches, and chickadees. Black-Oil Sunflower seed is especially popular with bird enthusiasts. The outer shell of Black Oil Sunflower seeds are thin and easy to crack. In addition, the kernel is larger than striped or white sunflower seeds. Most bird feeders are designed to dispense sunflower-sized foods, but there are specialty "finch feeders" with smaller openings to dispense the tiny Guizot Abyssinian better known as Niger Seed, which is a favorite of smaller finches. Goldfinches are especially attracted to nyjer seed.
Hummingbird feeders supply liquid nourishment to hummingbirds in the form of a sugar solution. This mixture often is colored red to attract birds.
Some Hummingbird feeders have red accents or red glass to help attract hummingbirds.
Mold tends to grow in hummingbird feeders, so they must be refreshed frequently and kept very clean to avoid harm to the birds.
Ants and other insects are also attracted to hummingbird nectar. Smearing petroleum jelly on the feeder's hangar will prevent the ants from crawling down to the feeder below.
A suet feeder is typically a metal cage-like construction with a plastic coating that contains a cake or block of suet to feed woodpeckers, flickers, nuthatches, and many other species of insect eaters. Suet logs are also very common. These wooden logs have holes drilled out for suet to be inserted. Suet is high in fat which helps to keep birds warm and nourished during the cold winter.
What to feed. Certain foods tend to attract certain birds. Finches love niger seed, Jays love corn, hummingbirds love nectar. Mixed seed attracts many birds. Black oil sunflower seed is favored by many seed-eating species. Different feeders can be purchased specialized for different species.
Squirrels. Squirrels may also help themselves to the contents of bird feeders. There are various anti-squirrel techniques and devices available to thwart attempts by squirrels to raid bird feeders.
Several manufacturers produce feeders with perches that collapse under the weight of anything heavier than a bird. Caged feeders are often designed so that squirrels cannot reach the seed inside, but birds can easily fly through the cage's holes.
Below feeders, baffles can prevent squirrels from climbing any further, however squirrels are very agile and acrobatic and often find a way to overcome devices of any nature.
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A hummingbird feeder is a nice feature
in any garden
There are many free bird feeder plans
available online
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