How many feeders are too many? (1 Viewer)

[MicheleFla]

Hi fellow bird lovers,

I have been feeding backyard birds for over twenty years and I've always had several feeders but in the past couple of years I find myself putting up more and more feeders for every kind of bird.
I live right outside of a city and we have many birds stopping by so the feeders are always full of birds.

As much as I love my birds, it costs a fortune and I feel like it's becoming a full time job.
For some weird reason I have the inclination to feed as many as I can. It's as if I worry they won't find the food they need considering that most of our area is paved over and there are very few wild places left for them to find food.

Does anyone else feel this way?

Thanks for your input!
Michele

 

[Elkhornsun]

I recently changed both the bird seed and the feeders that I use. I went with a large nyjer feeder and a large 'super squirrel sunflower kernel feeder, and a special platform feeder with a seed hopper. I but the seed in 40 or 50 lb bags and as I know what I want I can shop around for the best price. I have very little waste with this approach for the songbirds, woodpeckers, Stellers jays and similar birds.

With the hummingbirds it is a different story and I use 32 oz capacity feeders and always have at least two outside and disinfect them every other day. In March I had dozens of hummers and even with 6 feeders I was having to replace them every day. I was buying sugar in 10 lb bags. But after the heavy spring rains their numbers are greatly diminished.

It seems to me that the hummers are very territorial when there are only one or two feeders available. When I had 6 feeders out the demeanor of the hummers changed radically and I could have 10 of them sharing a single feeder with no issues.

 

[Bossmanrocks]

I went the opposite route. I cut down on all the bird feeders switching them out for two large ones that can hold a lot of mixed seed and berries, so I more or less cover every type of bird in my garden. I also hang up Woodpecker blocks with the kind of food they like because I noticed that they do not go to the feeders. Best place I found to buy seed in bulk is Tractor Supply. If you have a store near you then check them out. Better quality too than say from a place like Walmart. The price of seed has gone through the roof over the past several years. I used to buy a large bag of mixed seed and buy another large bag of fruit and nuts and mix them altogether. It used to cost me $8 for the fruit and nuts. That same size bag is now over $25. Just crazy.