Bird Food and Bird Feeding Basics

Bird Food and Bird Feeder Basics

by BWD editor Bill Thompson, III

Have you been to a wild bird store lately? What about the bird-feeding section at your local grocery store, discount store, hardware store, or garden center? Bird feeding has gone mainstream, big time. It seems like there are now nearly as many feeder and food types in any given store than there are species to feed in local backyards.

So how do you figure out what foods are best? What feeders go with which foods? Which feeder styles are best for your birds? In this article I will try to outline the basics of bird feeders and bird foods. Remember, every backyard is different, so don't be afraid to take this advice and adapt it to your own needs.

Part I. Feeder Types (see below)

Part II. Bird Food

Feeder Types

Commercial feeders come in four basic types: hopper, tube, platform, and globe. This is an article about basic feeders and foods. (If you want to learn about hummingbird feeders, please see the July/August 2002 issue of BWD, or visit our Hummingbird Feeder Roundup.)

Hopper Feeders

Hopper feeders come in many different styles, but the old favorite looks like a little barn or covered bridge.

Learn more about hopper feeders >>


Alpine Chalet Feeder	Large Hopper Feeder	Aspen Chalet Feeder

Tube Feeders

Tube feeders are long cylinders with perches at the feeding ports, and they are the classic feeders for woodland birds like chickadees, titmice, woodpeckers, and nuthatches, as well as for goldfinches, siskins, and house finches. All these birds are small, and they can perch comfortably on the short perches most tube feeders have.

Learn more about tube feeders >>


Ultimate Feeder	Metal Thistle Haven Feeder	Color Dome Feeder

Platform Feeders

A platform feeder caters to ground-feeding birds such as doves, towhees, and other sparrows, as well as to larger birds such as grosbeaks and jays. The name says it all, a platform feeder is just that-a platform.

Learn more about platform feeders >>


Small Ground Feeder	Platform Haven Feeder

Globe Feeders

Satellite Feeder

If you want to cater only to small birds like chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, goldfinches, and siskins, pick a globe feeder, sometimes called a satellite feeder. These look like flying saucers or satellites and they are suspended from a wire so they spin when a bird lands on them.

Learn more about globe feeders >>

Our Advice:

Many feeder styles are on the market, but any feeder you buy should be easily filled, emptied, and cleaned. Beware of feeders that require you to use a funnel to fill them because you may tire of lugging a funnel out every time you have to replenish the seed.

Wooden parts of hopper feeders should be made of weather-resistant cedar or stained or painted to protect against moisture. Plastic feeders should be reinforced with metal around the feeding ports to ward off chewing squirrels. Perches should be metal or replaceable dowels for the same reason. Because you may be looking at a feeder for a decade or more, it pays to buy the sturdiest and most easily maintained one you can.

With tube feeders, look at the bottom port. Is there dead space beneath it where seed can collect because the birds can't reach it? This seed will get icky and moldy-a waste of food, and a potential health hazard for the birds.

Can you take the feeder apart to scrub and clean it? If it looks like you'll need fancy bottle brushes or special tools to get it clean, select one of simpler design.

Beware of really cheap feeders. Not all of the $5 to $10 models available are going to last for more than one feeding season. Remember, these things are going to be filled with seed and hung out in the weather. Look for durable construction if you want to get your money's worth.

A recent trend in feeder design has been toward the decorative. There's nothing wrong with buying a nice looking feeder. Just make sure that the manufacturer didn't ignore function over form.

Good luck with your bird feeding station, and remember that you can receive a lot more bird feeding advice and ideas when you subscribe to Bird Watcher's Digest. Subscribe now for only $19.99/year.

Bill Thompson, III, is the editor of Bird Watcher's Digest and The Backyard Birds Newsletter. He lives with his family on a farm near Whipple, Ohio.

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