I love watching the birds at my feeders during the day, at night we have the pleasure of seeing southern flying squirrels, which is really cool! I have used a lot of bird feeders over the years. I want to share some of my favorites that have stood the test of time and can be found all around my yard.
Watching the birds brings me a lot of joy and provides me with thousands of photo opportunities which is something this hobby photographer loves. These are my 8 favorite bird feeders:
The No/No Red Ball Feeder by Perky Pet
This fun-shaped feeder comes in red and green. I use the red but red and green would be perfect for Christmas since they look like ornaments. They are low maintenance and supposed to be squirrel and small animal proof. They are better, but not foolproof. I have some pretty smart squirrels and frankly, as long as they do not break the feeders, I don’t mind them coming in for a snack. Even if they do manage the tough task of removing the top, this feeder has not broken. That is a huge plus as plastic feeders don’t stand a chance!
It is easy to fill and holds 6 cups of black oiled sunflowers very well. I have a few of these and they are out all year-long in the frigid, snowy winters of Upstate New York and hold up well. The birds really like them and they are one of my most flocked to feeders in my yard. I just noticed Amazon has the green feeder on a super sale now for only $5.98. I am picking up a few more because I like color and I can always find more places to use them on my property. I think they would make a nice gift for teachers at the end of the school year. I guess I should get a few more.
Ladybug Mesh No/No Feeder by Perky Pet
This feeder is one I bought when shopping with my young sons in our local garden center. It adds a whimsical touch to our yard. It does not hold as much as the ball feeders and it is a little harder to fill, but not terrible. The birds really like this feeder and I think it might be the contrasting colors that make it stand out. The little legs add a perching area for the birds coming in for a snack.
No/No Bronze Tray Bird Feeder by Perky Pet
This is a feeder with a huge capacity of 2.5 lbs. I like this feeder because of its large capacity, if I have to be away for a day or two, I know the birds can count on this feeder. It can feed many birds at once which is great, because we have many birds that dine at our house.
I love these metal feeders almost as much as the birds do. I like the colors, they remind of colorful houses in the Caribbean. I hang them off my porch which may occur for my only issue. The squirrels can, with a lot of work, pop out the plastic seed guard and perch. They are very tough and I have been able to pop them right back, but I think if they were not in such an easy area for the squirrels to reach them, it would not be an issue.
They are so easy to fill, the red and blue hold a nice amount of seed. I just love the look of the bright colors among my home and gardens. Red is the largest, then blue and yellow is the smallest.
Wildbird Care Vertical Cedar Bird Feeder
I like this feeder because the seed guards and perches are screwed in Even though we have squirrels dropping or flying by for a treat, they cannot remove them and happily snack from the tray on the bottom. It is very attractive and is a beautiful addition to our yard. This is another feeder I will be buying a few more of.
Droll Yankees New Generation Finch Flocker
Along with black oiled sunflower seeds, I like to put out Nyjer or thistle seed and since they are so tiny, they need a special feeder. I have used sock feeders, but they are hard to refill and can get moldy. I wanted something better. I found the Droll Yankees New Generation 8″ Finch Flocker fit my needs.
This feeder is very well made and allows for several of our colorful finches to eat at the same time. An internal seed baffle directs seed to an additional seed port located at the lowest level of seed to ensure that the feeder empties completely without allowing seed build-up. It is easy to fill and holds 1/2 lb. of seed. It has a manufacturer’s lifetime warranty against squirrel damage.
This feeder is perfect for filling with dried mealworms that our Bluebirds love!
Stokes Select Double Suet Bird Feeder with Metal Roof
If one is good, two is better, right? My birds seem to think so! The Stokes Select Double Suet Bird Feeder has a metal roof and room for two suet cakes. It looks nice and gets a lot of traffic. Stokes also makes a larger cylinder style that I may give a try. If you feed suet, check these out!
I will not get into hummingbird or oriole feeders now, I will let you know about those in an upcoming post. Let me know what your favorite bird feeders are.
