16 Chic + Stylish Bird Feeders
For a month or two, we were all about birds here in the Shmidt household. Benji’s first word was bird (or “buwd”) and he loved pointing them out whenever he saw them. Recently, he moved on to calling to the birds to “come down buwds, play with Bun-jee,” so I thought a bird feeder might be a nice way to entice those birds down and for Benji to see a little more of nature in our city.
And because I’m me, I can’t let myself buy a bird feeder right off the shelf, I have to find one that’s both stylish and practical. Lucky for you, that means a round up of pretty and practical bird feeders along with some tips on what to consider when buying one for yourself.
Here’s a round-up of some stylish bird feeders and further down you can read about what to consider when buying one for yourself.
1. Yellow Metal Tube Wild Bird Feeder | 2. Steel Silo Bird Feeder | 3. Grey and Green Duo Seed Wild Bird Feeder | 4. Window Bird Feeder (This is the one we picked) | 5. Copper Bird Feeder | 6. Glass Hummingbird Feeder | 7. Bird’s Eye Bird Feeder
Think About Space: The amount of space you give to birds on the feeder will help determine who comes to your feeder and how many birds come at a time.
Give It Time: It could take two weeks for birds to catch on to a new bird feeder in the area, so don’t give up hope if you don’t see any birds at first.
Consistency is Key: Birds won’t return to an unreliable source of food, so make sure to keep that bird feeder stocked with seed. Also, if you live in a cold climate, make sure to keep the feeder full throughout winter. Birds may have come to rely on your bird feeder for survival, so don’t let them down.
Squirrels: A few days after Benji said “buwd,” I picked up a disposable bird feeder (it was all bird seed stuck together in a bell shape and on a string) to hang in our backyard. I never saw any birds come to it, but within a few days the only thing left was the string hanging on the branch. I’m 99% sure a squirrel just carried the whole thing away. Watch. Out. For. Squirrels.
Feed Who You Have: If you’ve seen any birds around your home and you know what they are, start out with feed or feeders to entice them (you can find suggestions for how to choose the right kind of bird seed here and the right kind of feeders here). Birds are social creatures, so more species will be drawn eventually and then you can entice more of the ones you like with special bird seed and/or feeders.
Bullies: Larger birds who tend to travel in flocks can turn into bullies at your bird feeders, which means other species might not be able to get in. Here’s a list of birds species that can be bullies. A few of these at your feeder doesn’t mean you have a bully problem, but when the flock grows and one species takes over a feeder, that probably means you have a bully problem. To solve this problem, you can try out different types of bird feeders like cage feeders, weight activated feeders, or feeders with shorter perches. You can find more tips on how to handle bird bullies here.
Hummingbird Feeders: All bird feeders have to be kept clean, but humming bird feeders need to be cleaned frequently or you could make hummingbirds sick. If this happens to birds at your feeder, see if you can find a wild life museum near you that will take them in and nurse them back to health. I do not trust myself to keep a hummingbird feeder clean enough, so I’m staying away from those to avoid sending a plague on the local hummingbird population.
