Bird feeders can help you have a garden full of beautiful birds. Besides, it’s a nice way to thank those birds who are already singing for you for free, enchanting your summer evenings, when you sit on your porch enjoying nature. If you think you’d like to offer those birds some seeds for their efforts, here’s a guide to buying bird feeders which would hopefully help you find exactly what you need.
Hummingbird Feeders
Hummingbirds are among the most fascinating bird species. They have a wingbeat rate between 10 beats per second, in the case of the Giant Hummingbird, going up to 80 beats per second in the case of Amethyst Woodstar or Bee Hummingbird. As hummingbirds migrate, you won’t have them in your garden all year round, no matter how many feeders you may have installed for them. Hummingbirds don’t eat seeds like other birds, but nectar, so hummingbird feeders will have a special cup shape specifically designed to put nectar inside, yet to allow the bird to drink it while flying nearby the feeder. For attracting the hummingbirds, arrange your garden with those flower species they usually feed themselves from such as Azalea, Mimosa, Coral Bells, Agastache (Hummingbird Mint), Red Buckeye, Cypress Vine, Coral Honeysuckle or Trumpet Creeper. Never use pesticides on those flowers, because you’ll poison their nectar and that’s not good for the hummingbirds.
Hummingbird feeders can be made of plastic, glass or ceramics. The birds don’t have problems in getting used to one type of feeder or another, so all you need to care about when buying them is how easily they can be disassembled and cleaned. Cleaning is necessary because hummingbirds usually don’t eat spoiled syrup, so if your feeder is dirty, soon you won’t see any birds coming to feed themselves from it. When buying your feeder, try to see if you can find a dripless one, in order to keep away the ants. Some feeders feature an ant most which needs to be filled with water to keep the insects from eating the syrup. Perky Pet, Droll Yankees, Hummzinger and Birdscapes are among the most popular hummingbird feeder brands.
Wild Bird Feeders
Wild birds are usually beautifully colored, so attracting them into your garden would allow you take great photos. Such feeders are available in multiple shapes and finishes, so you can buy whatever fits best your other garden decorations. If you live in an area with squirrels, you could seek for a squirrel-proof model of bird feeder, otherwise squirrels would eat the seeds and maybe even destroy your feeders. If you want, you can use squirrel and raccoon repellents, as their active ingredient is capsaicin, a substance that makes the pepper hot. It’s not harmful for birds, it just keeps squirrels and raccoons at a distance.
If you have cats, you may want to make sure they don’t get to catch the birds. The easiest way is to tie a bell around your cat’s neck, so the birds hear it and fly away when she gets too close to the feeder.
Oriole Feeders
Orioles feed themselves with nectar, so their feeders will have a specific shape to serve this purpose. When choosing the feeder, your main concern should be how easy it is to clean. Oriole feeders need to be cleaned every week. In order to ease this task, you may consider purchasing a special bird feeder cleaning mop from Perky Pet. The mop can be used on hummingbird feeders too.
If you treat birds that visit your garden nicely, you’ll have the chance to enjoy their company almost all year round. Bird feeders can help you do that.
