Bird Feeders And Houses

Once you’ve decided that you’d like to decorate your yard or garden with bird feeders and houses, you’ll have to decide where to place these items. Your first consideration should be to place the bird feeder in a spot that you consider easy to get to. You’ll have to be prepared to fill or clean the feeder, no matter the weather, so make sure you pick a place that you’re comfortable getting to.

You should also consider placing the feeder in a location where any discarded seeds, seed shells, and bird droppings won’t create a problem. Experts actually advise that you rotate your bird feeder among a few spots, so as to let the ground absorb discarded seed material and bird droppings; this way, there is no danger of accumulation of this organic material that could result in unhygienic conditions and spread of disease.

Also make sure that you place your bird feeder in a spot that can’t be reached by squirrels; you should especially be careful when hanging bird feeders from tree limbs. If you have a problem with squirrels at your birdfeeder, there are a number of squirrel proof feeders on the market. One of the most ingenious and entertaining ones is the Yankee Flipper birdfeeder; when a squirrel sits on this feeder, a motor is activated that spins the perch and flips the squirrel through the air. Besides the squirrel problem, you may also experience problems with chipmunks, rats, mice, starlings and house sparrows that will want to compete with your preferred bird species for the seeds found in your wild bird feeders; even more serious, you may have problems with animals interested in eating your birds, such as cats and hawks. The most important step in keeping cats away from bird feeders is to place the feeders away from shrubbery, brush piles or other structures that could be of use to a cat to either stalk birds without being seen or jump up high enough to reach the feeder.

You’ll find birdfeeders made of a wide selection of materials, such as those made of cloth, vinyl, nylon and metal netting, made of disposable plastic bags, PVC tubes, terra cotta, wood (like pine, cedar, plywood, birch and redwood), sheet metal, glass bottles, and aluminized steel. You can even make your own decorative bird feeders, especially following bird feeder plans you’ll find in books and on the internet; you can even download free bird feeder plans from the internet that will teach you how to make a bird feeder. You’ll be able to find a bird feeder plan for a coffee can bird feeder, a peanut bird feeder, and other types of unique bird feeders.

Finally, to make your bird-friendly environment complete, you can also add a bird house, which can be made with as wide a variety of materials as those used for bird feeders. Different houses will suit different birds, so do some research on the type of house used by the birds you wish to attract.