Blog - General
Dave’s Favorite Bird Feeder
I have various styles of bird feeders in my yard,. After all, to attract the largest variety of birds you must consider the different feeding characteristics of backyard birds. From
woodpeckers to finches and Cardinals, they each prefer somewhat specific styles of feeders.
But of all the different feeders I have, my favorite and most popular among the birds is a Bird’s Choice pole mounted platform bird feeder with removable perforated steel screens for easy cleaning. And to make certain only the birds are invited to feast I have installed a squirrel baffle to keep those daylight robbers at bay.
What makes this feeder so popular among the birds in my backyard is the wild bird feed I put on it. There are two sides to the platform, each with its own removable screen for cleaning. On one side I only put peanuts in the shell. The other side is a combination of shelled peanuts and hulled sunflower seed.
I stock the platform with feed on a daily basis, usually late afternoon to early evening. Birds are creatures of habit and my birds have come to know this is when the dinner table is ready. I only put enough food on the platform for a good evening meal, and what ever is left over from the night before makes a great breakfast snack for them in the morning.
The birds begin to congregate for the late day feast around 5 or 6 o’clock letting me know their ready to eat. The Blue Jays arrive first as soon as my back is turned from the feeder sparring for position and their hierarchy at the dinner table becomes evident. The more dominant Jay gets first choice. Soon the Red-bellied Woodpeckers rush in to grab a peanut and go making multiple trips. The Nuthatches are more interested in the shelled peanuts and hulled sunflower seeds as they hop around the feeder weaving in and out of the larger birds. As the feeding frenzy slows down the Cardinals arrive quickly grabbing a sunflower seed or shelled peanut to go.
I’ll have robins feeding on the shelled peanuts. Mourning Doves collecting hulled sunflower seeds. And occasionally a Norther Flicker will plop down in the tray and feast on the sunflower making everyone else a bit nervous collecting food as he jabs at them with his beak.
It does attract some of the more undesirable birds, grackles and House Sparrows, but with all the activity they seldom get an opportunity to take over the feeder. At times they are driven
off by the more dominant Blue Jays or an aggressive Red-Bellied Woodpecker. When the robins are at the platform getting food they not are very tolerant of the blackbirds while some Mourning Doves choose to ignore them while others will crowd them. Its all just a part of the excitement with this particular feeder in my yard. I know that to my relief, and that of the smaller birds that dart in and out, the blackbirds will be gone well before winter arrives.
It’s a great year round bird feeder creating little mess with the type of wild bird feeds I put on it. Summer rains pass through the steel mesh bottoms and the seed dries out. Winter snows are easily cleaned off with the removable screens. This is the most entertaining bird feeder in my yard producing a flurry of activity at dinner time on a regular basis, or anytime I choose to stock it.