Feeding birds has provided year round entertainment and enjoyment for many people over the years. Setting up a wild bird feeder is a great way to attract colorful and beautiful birds to your yard. Along with the pleasure it gives you, the birds will also benefit, especially during a bad winter season when food becomes sparse. The birds will come to depend on your wild bird feeder.
There are a variety of wild bird feeders available. It’s important to know what type of wild bird feeder will attract the birds in your location. The different styles of wild bird feeders are window mount, tray or platform, hopper, tube, nyger®, suet and hummingbird feeders.
A window mount wild bird feeder has a small plastic container that is attached to your window with a suction cup. Another type of window mount is a platform wild bird feeder that would be hooked to the frame of the window. Window mount feeders provide a close-up view of your birds and are the safest for birds–preventing window collisions. These feeders will attract chickadees, titmice, finches and sparrows. This type of wild bird feeder is the easiest to access and they should be cleaned daily.
A Nyger® wild bird feeder is a tube feeder with very small holes. Nyger® is a small seed that is imported from Asia and Africa and is a favorite food for purple finches, house finches, gold finches, pine siskins, juncos, sparrows and towhees.
A wild bird feeder that contains a sweet liquid nectar will attract hummingbirds. You can buy a prepared mixture or make your own by combining 4 parts water to one part sugar. The nectar in this type of wild bird feeder can ferment very quickly in warm weather so please change the mixture frequently and keep the feeder clean. In the eastern United States only the ruby-throated hummingbird can be found. Sixteen other species can be found elsewhere in the United States.
Now you can choose your wild bird feeder and sit back and watch those beautiful birds!