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Recommendation on Feeders We Chose (1 Viewer)

Agrajag

Member
So we've been in our new home a year and finally got around to cleaning up the hidden (and messy) back yard. We added some feeders and it's been eye-opening. We're now hooked on relaxing while watching the birds that visit. The most surprising part is how all of them seem so much a part of our local community now. The same birds come time and again and they're easily identifiable to the point that we've named several of them. This is not behavior I ever expected to be associated with. hehe

Anyway, we started with a single-arm pole we inherited from the last owners and quickly found it lacking for both arms and height. The squirrels also had a field-day with it. So we moved to two much taller polls (84 and 94 inches) and put aprons on both. Both required adjustment as the squirrels found ways around them, but now they seem completely effective. Phew.

There are three feeders. Two Squirrel Busters and a humming bird feeder.

This first one has been extremely reliable, but seems to limit our visitors. We specifically got it due to its flexibility in species it could support:

Squirrel Buster Plus

The second has been a complete let-down. The birds love it, but larger birds, most notably a family of Common Grackles among others, hop on it and shake it to death. The food piles out of it to the point of my having to refill it virtually daily. At this point I've given up on it. Is it hopeless?

Squirrel Buster Legacy

Last is this hummingbird feeder. It works far better than the basic vertical bottle-type I had that the squirrels effectively destroyed early on. However, it sits on one of the dual arms of the 94" pole across from the first feeder. We get one or two hummingbirds that drop by and they feed from it, but only for a moment or so and they they're gone. It's RARE to see anything there. Is that normal?

It was also quite a blast to watch the squirrels go at this one before I found the current setup with the aprons. They'd drop down on it and then lay on it like they were scared to death with arms and legs draped out across it, licking at the holes. If I scared them off, they really got spooked at the drop and seemed to hesitate before scrambling.

Aspects Hummzinger Excel

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
 
If your setup has the squirrels baffled, you can just use normal tube feeders. Do put a seed tray on them, it catches much of the spillage and Cardinals prefer standing to eat, rather than clinging. Business will be slow during the summer, the birds really don't need food now as much as water. If you can put in a shallow bath, ideally with a drip or a mister, your yard will become much more active.
Safflower seed is a helpful alternative, it lacks appeal for the Sparrows, but Cardinals and Mourning Doves like it. There is a learning curve though.
Remove the perches from the tube feeders, the small birds don't mind and it makes it less comfy for the Starlings and Grackles.
 
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